LAURINBURG — Looking to make a late-season push in the Sandhills Athletic Conference standings, the Richmond boys’ bowling team was perfect Thursday.
Earning two wins against Hoke County and first-place Southern Lee high schools, Raiders added all 10 possible points to the standings and won their fourth-straight match.
Entering the day in fourth place in the standings with 28 points, Richmond used a pair of 5-0 wins over the Bucks and Cavaliers. They won all eight possible games and added the final two points on total pin count.
“The guys bowled pretty consistently all day,” head coach Chris Larsen said. “They were able to pick up some good wins down the stretch in some tight games.
“With that consistency, we were able to rely on James (Eason) and Sam (Thompson) in the anchor spot to really run away late in games,” he added. “They combined to go 14-for-20 in the 10th frame alone. We needed these 10 points.”
Facing their respective opponents for the third time this season, the Raiders stayed unbeaten against the Bucks (3-0) and took an edge in the series with the Cavaliers (2-1).
As a unit, Richmond bowled a .674 closing percentage and closed 62-of-92 frames. Eason had the best run for the Raiders, closing 17-of-19 frames (89.5%).
Season-high team strikes help against Bucks
Knocking down a single-match season-high 21 strikes as a team, the Raiders defeated Hoke County by scores of 198-182, 142-128, 208-187 and 180-137 for a final tally of 728-634.
Richmond averaged 182 pins per game, added 10 spares as a team and closed 31-of-46 frames (67.4%).
Five different Raiders bowled at least two strikes and the team was led by Thompson’s six strikes and two spares (72.7%). Eason had the highest closing percentage (9-for-11, 81.8%) with five strikes and four spares.
Juniors Landon Summerlin and Landon Taylor had matching performances, closing 62.5% of their frames with four strikes and one spare. In his six frames, sophomore Azariah Daniel bowled a strike and two helpers.
Junior Jabari Douglas chipped into the win with a spare in one of his two frames. Eason and Thompson, who each bowled the 10th frame in two games, each recorded two strikes in the final frame one time.
Eason, Thompson pave way to win over Cavs
With their anchor remaining hot, the Raiders took down the first-place Cavaliers. Scores were 201-140, 152-141, 163-149 and 182-146 for a final count of 698-576.
Richmond saw its game average drop to 174.5 pins but eclipsed a 200-pin game for the seventh time this winter. The Raiders also rolled 13 spares.
Eason and Thompson were lights out in the match, combining for 15 strikes of the team’s 18 strikes. Closing 100% of his frames, Eason had seven strikes and one spare from the No. 4 spot.
Serving as the anchor the entire match, Thompson bowled eight strikes, a personal best in a match this season, and added three helpers for a .785 closing percentage (11-for-14). He was a combined 19-for-25, a season-high 76% between both matches.
In the 10th frame alone, Thompson had seven strikes, including closing out the fourth game with a turkey.
Douglas, Summerlin and Taylor each had one strike and combined for six spares. Daniel closed half of his six frames with three spares.
The Raiders (8-4) will finish their regular season schedule next Thursday in Aberdeen. Senior night will start at 3:45 p.m. followed by matches.
