SOUTHERN PINES — Tuesday’s Sandhills Athletic Conference boys’ basketball game was decided in the fourth quarter between Richmond Senior and Pinecrest high schools.
The high-energy game saw several lead changes in the third and fourth quarters, which ended in a 62-58 loss for the Raiders.
Despite holding a nine-point lead with 6:15 to play, Richmond ran out of gas and allowed the Patriots to close the game on a 19-6 run.
Head coach Donald Pettigrew said the team has shown improvement over the last handful of games, adding the Raiders just need to find a way to close out games.
Pettigrew also said that Richmond lost some of its energy late after running its press for much of the game.
Junior shooting guard Amer Morrison led the Raiders in scoring with 17 points, a single-game career high. Also netting double digits for Richmond was senior guard Keyonta Davis, who had 10 of his 15 points in the second half.
Six others scored for the Raiders — senior Ahaiver McDonald (8 points), junior Jayden Hamilton (7 points), senior Davion Ingram (5 points) and senior Ali Tyson, junior Domonic Tillman and sophomore Chance Crowder each had two points.
Pinecrest took an 18-9 lead to open the first eight minutes, using a 9-2 run to give the Patriots (5-3, 1-0 SAC) a little bit of a cushion. Morrison had his first five points on a triple from the top of the arc and a layup following a steal.
A putback jam by Davis added two points and Tillman netted his field goal on a putback under the rim.
The Patriots opened their lead to 26-12 near the midway point of the second quarter. Richmond found its offensive rhythm in the closing half of the stanza and went on a 14-3 run to pull its deficit to 29-26 at halftime.
Morrison started that run with the second of his team-high three three-pointers in the game. Using the press to force turnovers, Davis, Hamilton and Morrison each scored a field goal off a takeaway in less than 30 seconds to make it 26-21.
McDonald won a battle at the rim, tipping the ball into the net for his first two points, capping 11 straight points by the Raiders with 1:12 to go in the half. Hamilton launched a triple at the buzzer from the left wing, making it and pulling Richmond within a possession.
To start the second half, Hamilton made a quick basket to make it a 29-28 deficit. Pinecrest maintained a lead until a pair of McDonald free throws at the 2:39 mark of the third started an 11-2 run that gave Richmond its first lead of the game.
Morrison accounted for the next five points, draining another three-ball and laying in an easy basket following another Pinecrest turnover. That surge made it a 44-40 advantage for Richmond.
Following a Pinecrest timeout with 1:42 left in the third, Morrison found McDonald under the hoop on an assist for two more points. Ingram, who splashed down a three-pointer earlier in the period, sank both of his free throw attempts with 27.3 seconds left to make it a 48-42 lead.
Starting the final stanza up by six points, early buckets from McDonald and Davis in the lane gave Richmond a 52-43 lead, its largest of the game.
Unfortunately for Richmond, those points would be its last for a stretch of nearly six minutes. Pinecrest took advantage and went on an 18-0 run to regain a 61-52 lead.
A drive by Davis with 30 seconds left ended the drought for Richmond and cut the deficit to seven points. Morrison scored a transition bucket with 13.5 seconds left but it was too little, too late for the Raiders.
Scoring at the buzzer was Tyson, which made it a four-point loss.
Richmond (1-6, 0-2 SAC) will head to non-conference South Mecklenburg High School (3-4) Thursday. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m.
