ROCKINGHAM — A slow start and a seven-point halftime deficit didn’t deter the No. 1 Richmond Raider basketball team in Tuesday’s opening round of the NCHSAA 4A East state playoffs.
Clicking their offense into a higher gear in the final two periods, the top-seeded Raiders used five double-digit scorers to defeat No. 32 Green Hope High School 88-72.
Richmond outscored the Falcons 62-39 in the second half, netting 31 points in each of the third and fourth quarters.
Leading the way was sophomore shooting guard Jamarion Wall, who finished with a season-high 19 points, netting 12 points in the final two periods.
Fellow sophomore shooting guard Paul McNeil netted 17 points (15 in the second half) and had a double-double with 13 rebounds. He nearly had a triple-double with 6 assists.
Sophomore Paul McNeil dunks the ball in the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s playoff win. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
Junior forward Zion Baldwin also registered a double-double, scoring 15 points (11 in the second half) and grabbing 14 boards. The other two double-digit scorers were senior Deshon Watson (13 points) and sophomore Javian Drake (10 points).
The No. 1 Raiders opened their quest to try and capture their first state championship in program history with an evenly scored first quarter against the Falcons (10-16). The two teams battled out to a 14-14 tie after the first eight minutes.
Watson led the way with six points on a baseline floater, a three-pointer from the right corner and a free throw. Baldwin, McNeil, Wall and junior Dakota Chavis (9 points, 6 assists) all added two points.
Kevon Riley paced the Falcons with six points in the first quarter, and finished with a game-high 22 points.
Bence Koloszar netted four of his five points in the opening stanza, and Michael Kaleta and Rashaun Tart added a bucket, with Tart’s jumper tying the game with just over a minute left.
Senior Deshon Watson (4) scores two of his 13 points. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
Battling out to ties of 16-16 and 18-18 in the early part of the second, the Falcons closed the final 6:37 of the first half on a 15-8 run. Nine of those points came from Riley, Tart hit two triples, Kaleta added a three-pointer and Koloszar had a free throw.
Wall helped keep it a seven-point deficit at the break, 33-26, with a three-pointer from the left wing and a bucket. Watson also drilled a triple from the opposite side and both Baldwin and Drake added baskets under the rim.
Helping turn the tide for good was a 16-4 run to open the first five minutes of the third quarter for the Raiders. Watson added his final four points of the game on a pair of free throws and a bucket on an inbound pass.
Wall laid in a transition basket and added a putback for four more points. McNeil, who scored 9 points in the third, added to the run with a tip in. Senior Will Dawkins collected an offensive board and powered his way back to the rim for his two points in the game.
Capping the run was Drake, who rattled in a three-pointer from the left corner and added a free throw at the 3:15 mark.
A 3-0 run by the Falcons was ended when McNeil completed an old-fashioned three-point play. Leading 45-40, Drake, McNeil and Baldwin each added two points in the next minute of play.
Putbacks by Baldwin and McNeil, coupled with a steal and transition basket by Chavis with 10 seconds left, gave the Raiders a 57-44 lead entering the fourth.
Junior Zion Baldwin (10) pulls down one of his 14 rebounds against Green Hope. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
Six Raiders contributed to the 31-point fourth quarter, led by eight points from Wall (two baskets, four free throws). Baldwin had 7 points in the period on three field goals and a free throw.
A jam from McNeil at the 6:36 mark kept Richmond ahead by 13 points, 62-49. He added four more points before the final buzzer. Chavis concluded his scoring with a shot off the glass and three free throws.
Drake netted his final two points on a drive, and freshman Ahaiver McDonald got the crowd on its feet when he sank a three-pointer from the left corner, his first career varsity basket, for the team’s final points with 12 seconds to play.
Tart added 15 points in the loss for the Falcons, Kaleta had 14 points and Josh Bevan scored 8 points.
For the fourth time in the last four seasons, the Raiders are headed to the second round of the NCHSAA 4A state playoffs. They will look to advance to the third round for the first time in head coach Donald Pettigrew’s five-year tenure.
No. 1 Richmond will host Thursday’s second-round game against No. 16 Wake Forest High School (18-6). The game will begin at 7:30 p.m.
The Cougars defeated No. 17 Wakefield High School 65-55 in the first round on Tuesday.
