ROCKINGHAM — With the scoreboard glaring a 15-point deficit less than a minute into the start of the fourth quarter, it looked like the Richmond Raiders’ run at a Sandhills Athletic Conference tournament championship were slim.
Trailing No. 6 Purnell Swett High School 44-29 with 7:35 left to go in Tuesday’s opening round game, the No. 3 Raiders finally found their offense and closed the game on a 20-2 run.
Thanks to an eight-point quarter from junior guard Caleb Hood, the Raiders escaped with a 49-46 victory to advance to the semifinals.
Hood, who finished with a team-high 17 points and eight rebounds, scored five of Richmond’s final seven points. He was responsible for the game-tying bucket, grabbing a steal near half court and completing a spinning drive past Jayden Locklear off the glass in the paint with 30.9 seconds left.
Locklear was called for a blocking foul, sending an emphatic Hood to the line. He completed the three-point play with the free throw. The tally gave Richmond a 47-46 lead.
Purnell Swett inbounded the ball with 23.5 ticks on the clock and missed two shot attempts to try and retake the lead. The second loose ball was scooped up by Richmond and was delivered to junior forward Nygie Stroman, who put an exclamation point on the win with a right-handed jam just before the buzzer.
“Man, this time of year is the best time to be playing good basketball,” head coach Donald Pettigrew smiled in the locker room after the game. “Hats off to Purnell Swett and their seniors — they came out ready to play and didn’t want their season to end.
“But our guys kept fighting and playing hard, believing in what we are doing,” he added. “(Purnell Swett) was out-rebounding us and they were tough. I didn’t realize we went on a 20-2 run, but that was big for us.”
The third-year head coach added that Hood “got it going” for the team in the fourth quarter, using his size and speed to “play tough” in the paint.
The Rams (7-16) entered the game on a four-game losing streak and had been beaten by Richmond by an average of 33.5 points in the two regular-season meetings. A much closer outcome on Tuesday was thanks in part to senior forward Xavier Jones, the SAC’s leading scorer.
Averaging 24 points per game before facing the Raiders, Jones got to work early with 12 first-half points and finished with a game-high 21 points.
“Jones got going early and was making contested shots,” Pettigrew said. “He’s a tough player who can shoot the ball. He’s got a soft touch and can finish strong. Our guys did a good job of staying on him, but he did a better job of scoring.
“(Purnell Swett) also did a good job defensively,” he continued. “They packed it in and made it tough for us on three-point shots and inside. That was big for them tonight.”
Both teams started the game trading baskets and finished the first quarter tied at 14 points. Senior guard Quamir Sivels scored five of his 11 points for the Raiders, as Stroman added four of his eight points.
Jones knocked down two triples and two field goals for 10 points to help keep the Rams competitive. Stroman laid in a bucket with 20 seconds left in the first to tie the game.
The Rams would outscore Richmond by two points, 10-8, in the second stanza to take a 24-22 lead into the break. Six of Richmond’s points came via the free throw line, seeing Hood, Jakolbe Baldwin and PJ McLaughlin all knock in two.
Richmond (18-7) would pull within a point, 30-29, following a Sivels jumper with just over three minutes to go in the third. But Purnell Swett used a 10-0 run to close the frame and take an 11-point advantage into the final stanza.
Jones was responsible for four of those points, while teammates Garyan Maynor, Nolan Locklear and Logan Jacobs each added two points.
Jacobs and Jones hit buckets to start the fourth quarter on a 4-0 run for the Rams, giving them a 15-point lead, 44-29, their largest of the game.
But Hood started the comeback with a shot under the basket at the 7:35 mark. During the big run, McLaughlin would add a drive and a foul shot, Stroman and Sivels notched two more points each and senior Jarvis Tillman added his only points of the game on a three-pointer from the left corner with 4:02 left.
Just prior to his game-tying bucket, Hood drove the baseline and made an athletic basket from under the hoop to pull within two points, 46-44.
The exciting finish for the Raiders will see them travel to No. 2 Lumberton High School on Thursday for the semifinal game. The Pirates (21-4) defeated No. 7 Hoke County 59-55 on Tuesday.
Richmond will look to avenge two regular-season losses to Lumberton. Pettigrew said his team will “come ready to play,” with tipoff set for 6 p.m.
VIDEO: Click here to watch Caleb Hood and Nygie Stroman discuss the win over Purnell Swett.
