ROCKINGHAM — For the second time in three chances this season, the Richmond junior varsity boys’ basketball team let a late-game lead slip away.
On their home floor for the first time this winter, the JV Raiders let a seven-point lead disappear in the closing three minutes.
That collapse, coupled by a big run, allowed Grace Christian School to earn a 60-56 victory.
The JV Raiders suffered a similar loss in their season opener last Monday at Fairmont High School. Missed opportunities and turnovers kept Richmond from its second straight win.
Big nights from sophomore Josiah Brewington and freshman Kerick Hairston Jr. saw the two lead the team in scoring with 22 points and 19 points, respectively.
Hairston Jr. netted a team-high three three pointers. Brewington went to work in the paint, scoring most of his points in the lane or on second-chance buckets.
Sophomore Jayden Ratliff scored five points, freshman Xander Chavis and sophomore Landon Legrand each had four points and sophomore Jacques Jackson scored a bucket.
Richmond trailed 16-11 after the first quarter. Hairston Jr.’s five points paced Richmond and Brewington had his first four points on two field goals.
Trailing by eight points, 25-17, midway through the second quarter, the JV Raiders went on a 10-0 stretch to end halftime up 27-25.
Brewington started the run with a baseline drive with 3:15 to go in the half and followed that with a drive through the paint on Richmond’s next possession.
Hairston Jr. netted his second triple from the top of the arc and Ratliff connected on a three-ball from the left wing with 1:12 to go before half.
Richmond extended that scoring stretch to 13 straight points to start the third quarter when Hairston Jr. tallied his final triple from the left side.
Richmond would quickly build its lead to 40-31 thanks to a Brewington drive, a Hairston Jr. putback and two Brewington shots from close range. The final two points were courtesy of Hairston Jr. sweeping under the baseline for a layup.
However, Grace Christian answered with a 9-2 spurt in the final 2:46 to cut Richmond’s lead to 42-40 entering the fourth quarter.
Netting their final 14 points in the final eight minutes from five different players, the JV Raiders couldn’t keep pace with Grace Christian’s 20 points.
Brewing scored his final six points in the first five minutes of the quarter. His kiss off the glass on an inbound pass with 3:10 left recorded Richmond’s last points.
Chavis, Hairston Jr., Legrand and Ratliff all had two points in the fourth. In the closing 3:00, the JV Crusaders rattled off an 11-0 run to secure the win.
The JV Raiders (1-3) return to action next week against Pinecrest High School.
