LAURINBURG — Having a chance to sweep its competition Thursday, the Richmond Senior High School boys’ bowling team settled for a split.
The Raiders and head coach Chris Larsen returned to competitive action for the first time in two weeks at Laurinburg Lanes.
Bowling against Sandhills Athletic Conference opponents Union Pines and Hoke County high schools, Richmond took its first match against the Vikings and dropped its second match to the Bucks.
The Raiders rolled their way to a comfortable 4-1 victory over Union Pines. High scores on both sides with Hoke County ended in a 3-2 loss.
“We had a great opportunity to go 2-0 today and we almost did that,” Larsen said. “We started out really strong against Union Pines and were able to pick up four points in the standings. It was back and forth with Hoke County and we just couldn’t shut the door at the end.
“We’ve been competitive in every match this season, so we’ll continue working on being able to close frames when it matters. The guys had some of their best numbers of the season against Hoke County, so that’s something we can build on.”
Taylor, Summerlin guide Raiders past Vikings
Starting the day with a win, the Raiders took three of the four games against the Vikings and added another point thanks to the final pin count. Game scores were 140-119, 199-140, 159-170 and 154-127 for a total match score of 652-556.
Averaging 163 pins per game, Richmond used six bowlers to roll 17 strikes and 11 spares. As a team, the Raiders closed 28-of-44 frames for a team average of 64%.
Picking up eight of those 17 strikes was senior Landon Summerlin, who bowled in the anchor spot in the fifth and 10th frames. Marking a single-match season-high in strikes, Summerlin added two spares to finish the four games with a .710 closing percentage (10-of-14).
Fellow senior Landon Taylor was also productive on the hardwood, adding two strikes and five spares. Closing 7-of-8 frames, Taylor led the team in the match with an .880 closing percentage.
Junior Azariah Daniel had his best individual performance of the season against the Vikings, rolling three strikes and two spares, the latter of which tied a single-match season-high. Daniel was good on 5-of-8 frames (63%), also his best average this season which he matched later against Hoke County.
Contributing to the win were junior Owen Hancock (three strikes) and senior Ahjujuan Ewing (two spares), who made his season debut with six frames. Rolling the other two frames was senior Jabari Douglas, also in his season debut, as he notched one strike in his two attempts.
Pin count deciding factor in high-scoring match with Bucks
Despite putting up some of their best individual and team numbers through four matches this season, the Raiders fell 15 pins shy of defeating Hoke County. In the back-and-forth affair, scores were 223-168, 160-194, 202-244 and 176-170.
The Bucks won the match thanks to a final pin count of 776-761.
Richmond bowled single-match season-highs in closing percentage (33/45, 73%), single-game high score (223), single-match pin total (761) and single-match game average (190.3).
Among those who collected their best numbers of the young season were Daniel (.630 closing percentage, 5-of-8), Douglas (three strikes, three spares, .750 closing percentage) and Hancock (five spares).
Rolling 19 strikes and 14 spares as a unit, Richmond was led by six strikes each from Taylor and Summerlin in the fourth and fifth spots in the lineup, respectively. Summerlin added a trio of pickups for a 9-for-13 performance (69%) and Taylor knocked down a spare to go 7-for-8 (88%).
Finishing the meet with the highest individual closing percentages across both matches were Taylor (88%), Douglas (70%) and Summerlin (70%).
The Raiders (2-2) bowl again next Thursday against Scotland and Southern Lee high schools at the Sandhills Bowling Center in Aberdeen. Practice will start at 4 p.m. followed by the first match shortly after.
PHOTOS: Click here to view photos of Thursday’s match.
