ROCKINGHAM — Records are meant to be broken and Paul McNeil Jr. broke a 74-year-old record in an historic performance Tuesday.
In front of his home crowd, McNeil Jr. scored 71 points in a 118-52 win over Lee County High School.
Shooting 28-of-49 from the field and tying Richmond’s record with 10 three-pointers in a game, McNeil Jr. wrote his name in the record books. He was also 5-for-6 at the line.
McNeil Jr.’s 28 made field goals (18 buckets, 10 three-pointers) also broke an North Carolina High School Athletic Association single-game record, which was previously 25 field goals..
McNeil Jr. scored 35 points in the first half and followed with 36 points in the second half. The entire final two quarters were played with a running clock and McNeil Jr. sat the final three minutes.
Not only was it the most points scored in a game in Richmond’s history, McNeil Jr.’s barrage of scoring broke Bob Poole’s record of most points in a single game in NCHSAA history.
Poole, who played for Clayton High School, scored 67 points in 1950. That record held for over seven decades until McNeil Jr. earned the crown Tuesday.
Only nine players have surpassed the 60-point mark in a game in NCHSAA history. McNeil Jr. became the second this season following Isaiah Evans (North Mecklenburg, 62 points).
The other seven scorers were: Poole (67), JamesOn Curry (Eastern Alamance, 65) and David Smith (North Surry, 65), Cam Hamilton (Vance, 63) and Jeff Ward (Nakina, 63), Chris Paul (West Forsyth, 61) and John Byrne (60).
McNeil Jr.’s previous single-game career-high was 50 points, which he scored in a 90-45 win over First Flight High School on Dec. 1.
This season, McNeil Jr. has also scored 49 and 47 points in two other games (Pinecrest, Hoke County). The 71-point performance brings his career total to 1,952 points.
Winning their fourth game in a row, the Raiders set the tempo early and led by 41 points at halftime.
Scoring the most points in a single game during Donald Pettigrew’s six and a half seasons as head coach, the Raiders used a season-high 24 points from senior point guard Javian Drake.
Six other players scored in the victory — Ahaiver McDonald (six points), Jayden Hamilton (five points), Davion Ingram (four points), Keyonta Davis and David McNair (both with three points) and Tyshawn Harris (two points).
McNeil Jr. and Drake both got off to a strong start, netting 15 and 10 points, respectively. They accounted for the majority of a 28-13 run in the first quarter.
Ingram made a basket and Davis knocked down a free throw to put Richmond ahead by 15 points.
Taking over in the second quarter, Richmond broke the game open with a 39-13 scoring stretch to enter halftime ahead 67-26. McNeil Jr. scored 20 more points on five three-pointers, two baskets and a free throw.
Drake also got hot from beyond the arc, netting two triples and adding 10 points total thanks to two field goals. McDonald scored four points, McNair rattled home a three-ball and Harris made a shot in the paint.
Starting the third quarter with a running clock, Richmond shot at a high rate and added 32 more points. Four more three-pointers from McNeil Jr. were accompanied by four field goals and a free throw for 21 more points.
He surpassed his previous career-high of 50 points with a three-pointer in the right corner with 1:16 to go in the third.
The fourth quarter belonged to McNeil Jr., who resorted to working in the paint for the majority of his final 15 points. He made six close-range shots and finalized the record with a deep three-pointer just inside the half-court line.
Drake and McDonald each scored their final two points in the closing eight minutes.
It was Kamaree Butler who led the Yellow Jackets (5-9, 1-3 SAC) in scoring with 20 points. Also contributing in the loss were Melvon Cox (10 points) and MJ Sanders (seven points).
The Raiders (11-5, 5-0 SAC) will host Pine Forest High School (7-6) Wednesday for the fourth annual Jason Norton Classic. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
Sports editor’s note: Statistics provided by Richmond assistant coach Keith Parsons. The Richmond Observer will update rebound statistics when they’re made available.
