ROCKINGHAM — A seven-point scoring stretch by senior shooting guard David McNair late in the first half electrified an already intense atmosphere and shifted Friday’s playoff game in favor of the Richmond Raider basketball team for good.
Still dancing, the No. 2 Raiders and head coach Donald Pettigrew are headed back to the NCHSAA 4A East regional championship.
Playing in their final home game of the season, the Raiders used McNair’s scoring run and a strong second half to defeat No. 3 Green Level High School 75-57.
Richmond and Pettigrew had made the Elite 8 each of the past three seasons, and now they’ll get a shot at bringing home their second straight regional title in the Final 4.
Not intimidated by Green Level’s size, the Raiders opened their four-point halftime lead with a 22-15 run in the third. Richmond broke the game open by outscoring the Gators 24-17 in the final eight minutes.
Seniors Paul McNeil Jr. and Javian Drake, like they have all postseason, led the team offensively.
McNeil Jr., who picked up three fouls within the first nine minutes of the game, shot 7-of-14 for 24 points. He connected on four three-pointers, grabbed nine rebounds, dished out six assists and had two blocks, all while not committing another foul the rest of the game.
Drake, who didn’t score a point in the first half, exploded for 20 points in the second half on 7-of-15 shooting. He drained a trio of three-balls and had five rebounds and four assists.
Six other players scored in the fourth-round win, including senior Jamarion Wall, who had 11 points on three triples and a bucket.
McNair finished with seven points, senior Braylon Barfield and sophomore Jayden Hamilton both had five points, while juniors Keyonta Davis and Ahaiver McDonald netted two points and one point, respectively.
As a team, Richmond connected on 25-of-52 from the field (48.1%) and 13-of-26 from downtown (50%).
A low-scoring first half saw three ties and four lead changes in the first quarter, which ended with the Raiders ahead 12-10.
Wall’s only first-half points came on Richmond’s first bucket, a jumper from the left corner at the 6:54 mark to take a 2-0 lead. Barfield broke an early tie with his first two points on a putback after grabbing an offensive board.
The Raiders entered the bonus near the midway point of the first, as McNeil Jr. got his scoring started with a free throw. Hamilton, coming off the bench, splashed down a three-pointer from the left side to give Richmond an 8-7 lead.
Green Level jumped ahead 10-8, but a 4-0 run courtesy of a McNeil Jr. triple from the left corner and a McDonald free throw in the final 1:24 of the quarter made it a two-point lead. Barfield muscled in a basket at the buzzer, but it was waved off.
An equally grueling second quarter of physical play saw the Gators take a 15-12 lead. McNeil Jr. erased the deficit with a deep triple from the top of the arc.
Hamilton made a basket under the hoop and one McNeil Jr. free throw tied the game again at 18-18, resulting in a timeout called by the Gators with 4:01 to go before the half.
In the latter half of the quarter, Richmond went on an 11-7 scoring stretch to enter the break up 29-25. McNeil Jr. scored those first four points on another deep three-ball and made the ensuing free throw after being fouled.
After Green Level retook a 23-22 lead, McNair caught fire and scored his seven crucial points in a span of 1:11. He first knocked down a transition three-pointer from in front of the Gators’ bench, and followed that on the next run down the floor with another three-ball from the left side.
With 5.8 seconds left on the clock, McNair added a bonus free throw to make it 29-23, Richmond’s largest lead of the first half. Green Level scored just before the buzzer to cut the game to four points.
In addition to a strong press defense used throughout the majority of the game, the Raiders opened the third quarter on a 7-2 run. McNeil Jr. netted another trey from the left side and Drake got in the mix with a drive through the lane, which caused another Green Level timeout.
After a bucket by the visitors, Davis made a move along the baseline and laid in a bucket to increase Richmond’s lead back to nine points, 36-27, at the 6:00 mark.
Drake gave the Raiders their first double-digit lead when he hit a step-back three-pointer from the right wing. Barfield had the next three points for Richmond on a free throw and a monster two-handed jam following an offensive rebound.
With Raider Gymnasium on its feet, Wall and Drake hit back-to-back three-pointers to make it a 48-33 lead.
Green Level answered by cutting its deficit back to 10 points, but in the final 30 seconds, Drake hit a jumper and a free throw with 0.06 seconds on the clock to carry a 51-40 lead into the fourth.
In the final stanza, Drake and McNeil Jr. each scored nine more points, with Wall locking in the win with his final two threes.
Drake had a three-pointer, two field goals and two free throws, with McNeil Jr. netting three buckets and three shots from the line. Wall’s final triple with 2:24 to go, gave Richmond its largest lead of the game, 22 points, 71-49.
The Gators (29-2) were led in scoring by Israel Eatman (27 points) and Isaac Erickson (23 points).
The No. 2 Raiders (25-5) will look to reign as kings of the 4A East in next week’s regional championship game. It will be played Thursday, March 14, at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem.
Richmond will play No. 1 New Hanover High School (31-0), which defeated No. 12 Panther Creek High School 63-61in the fourth round Friday.
Richmond athletic director Mike Way announced the Raiders will be the third of four games played that day, with tip-off against the Wildcats set for approximately 6 p.m.
Tickets go on sale Saturday at 1 p.m.
Sports editor’s note: Unofficial statistics provided by assistant coach Keith Parsons and Willie Gaskins.
