SANFORD — For the first time in more than two seasons, the Richmond Senior High School boys’ basketball team suffered a loss in conference play.
The Raiders were on the road Friday at Southern Lee High School to start Sandhills Athletic Conference action and fell to the undefeated Cavaliers 81-62.
The loss snapped a 36-game winning streak against SAC teams dating back to Jan. 26, 2022. That 80-76 loss to Pinecrest High School was the previous most recent SAC loss in the regular season or conference tournament for Richmond.
Saying that the team is still finding its footing early in the season, head coach Donald Pettigrew pointed to too many turnovers as a reason why the Raiders weren’t able to complete the comeback.
Two positives Pettigrew did share, however, were that he liked the Raiders’ energy and no-quit attitude until the final buzzer.
Eight Raiders scored against the Cavaliers, led by a trio of players who reached double-digits.
Senior Keyonta Davis had a team-high 17 points, followed by junior Jayden Hamilton (16 points) and senior Ahaiver McDonald (11 points). Those totals were all single-game season-highs for all three.
Freshman Donovan Jones added five points, junior Domonic Tillman and sophomore Chance Crowder each had four points, senior Davion Ingram chipped in three points and junior Amer Morrison had two points.
Not deterred at the start of the game, Richmond used a 7-2 run in the first quarter to erase a deficit and take a 16-14 lead into the second.
Davis had all the points during that stretch, netting three free throws, a jumper and a shot under the basket on an assist from Morrison.
Field goals from Hamilton and McDonald, along with another Davis free throw, kept the score close for Richmond in the closing minutes of the first. Jones collected his own rebound and put it back up for his first two points with just a few seconds left.
The Cavaliers (8-0, 1-0 SAC) answered with a 9-2 run to start the second and closed the stanza on an 8-0 stretch that put them up 35-25 at the break.
Davis scored three points in the second on a basket and free throw to give him a team-high 11 points at intermission. McDonald, Crowder and Morrison each netted a field goal before halftime.
Richmond wouldn’t be able to close the gap to more than nine points twice early in the third quarter and trailed by double figures for most of the remainder of the game.
Hamilton brought his scoring to life in the third quarter with eight points on three baskets and two free throws, including the final two points near the buzzer that made it a 51-39 deficit.
Richmond’s other six points in the third were from Davis and Crowder on field goals, along with two free throws by McDonald.
Southern Lee opened up its lead to as many as 23 points in the fourth quarter. Using outlet passes to beat Richmond’s press, the Cavaliers benefited from their transition game to close the night on a 30-23 run.
Hamilton led Richmond with six points in the fourth, draining a pair of three-pointers from nearly the same spot along the left wing. McDonald scored his final five points, including three shots at the line, and Davis capped his scoring with two field goals.
Ingram scored all three of his points in the fourth, which were matched by Jones’ final three points, all coming on free throws. Tillman rounded out the comeback attempt with two foul shots.
Southern Lee’s leading scorers were Nysheed Williams (25 points), Brett Tate-Blanks (18 points) and Jamauri Hall (17 points).
Richmond (1-4, 0-1 SAC) is set to compete in the Jimmy V Showcase at Panther Creek High School Saturday. The Raiders will face Apex Friendship High School (3-2) and begin at 3:30 p.m.
