Home Local Sports JV Raiders ‘didn’t do the little things’ in loss to Pinecrest

JV Raiders ‘didn’t do the little things’ in loss to Pinecrest

Sophomore Emoni McBride drives the lane past Will Stites (22) in the first half of Wednesday's game.
Kyle Pillar — Sports Editor.

ROCKINGHAM — An uncharacteristically slow night shooting the ball haunted the Richmond Senior High School junior varsity boys’ basketball game on Wednesday.

Returning to the hardwood for the second time in as many nights, the Raiders struggled to put points on the board against a scrappy Pinecrest High School team. Richmond dropped its second straight game by a final score of 60-43.

Head coach Kenta Hutchinson said there was a lot of hype entering the matchup, but a slow start on offense set the tempo early for the Raiders. He noted that Richmond wasn’t as effective as it has been on doing the fundamental things needed to win a basketball game.

“We didn’t do the little stuff like boxing out and rebounding,” Hutchinson said. “Crashing as a whole, setting picks, taking charges, executing plays, we just didn’t do that tonight. When you play a team like Pinecrest, you have to do the little things because they’re going to make you work.

“Rebounding was our biggest issue, we didn’t do that well at all,” he added. “It comes down to being able to execute.”

Sophomore guard Emoni McBride led the Raiders with 10 points, while freshman point guard Javian Drake etched eight points.

Sophomore Z’yon Baldwin led the team with 10 rebounds and added six points, while fellow sophomore Zion Baldwin grabbed nine boards and scored six points. Freshman Toby McInnis was also helpful on the glass, snagging seven rebounds.

Trailing 9-3 in the first quarter, the Raiders picked things up with a 7-0 run to close the opening eight minutes. McBride started it with his second triple in the frame and Drake scored his first two points on a steal and an easy transition bucket.

Zion Baldwin added the final bucket with 25 seconds left on a dish from McInnis under the rim. Richmond took a 10-9 lead into the second.

Pinecrest regained the lead with a 9-0 run that was highlighted by a three-pointer from Will Stites, one of his four first-half triples. Jamerson Walton stopped the bleeding for Richmond with a putback and an and-one opportunity at the 3:50 mark.

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Freshman Jamison Jones rattled in a three-pointer from the left wing and Richmond’s final point of the half came on a Z’yon Baldwin free throw with just over a minute to play. Stites knocked down two more threes in the closing 42 seconds to give Pinecrest a 31-17 lead.

“Going into halftime, we felt like we could make a push,” Hutchinson said. “But in the second half, we couldn’t put it all together. We tried to play catch up, and even though we were making stops, we didn’t score as a result of that. Pinecrest definitely made us work for our buckets.”

Pinecrest outscored Richmond 18-12 in the third, helping swing the game’s momentum in its favor. A 9-0 run in the middle of the frame saw Stites hit another triple, while teammate Sean Thomas added four points under the basket. Demarion Tomlinson also added a field goal.

McBride and Drake both drilled three-pointers from the top of the arc prior to the Pinecrest run.

Trailing 42-23, Hutchinson called a timeout, but the Raiders would only add two free throws, a bucket from Zion Baldwin and an own-basket by Pincrest to close the quarter.

Down by 20 points to start the fourth, Richmond made an effort to close the gap with 14 points. Z’yon Baldwin added his final five points, while Drake and freshman Tristan Wall each hit a three-ball, with Wall’s coming near the buzzer.

McInnis tacked on a free throw and Zion Baldwin added two more shots from the stripe, but it was too late for Richmond.

Stites led the Patriots with 15 points, while Tomlinson and Malachy White each scored 11 points.

“Friday is a big game to close the season,” Hutchinson closed. “We are down 0-2 this week so we want to win on our home court. It’s the JV team’s last game, so I think we’ll be ready and won’t let something like this happen again.”

The JV Raiders (6-2) will look to end their two-game slide by welcoming in rival Scotland High School on Friday. Tip is set for 5 p.m. in Raider Gymnasium.



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Kyle Pillar is a 22-time North Carolina Press Association award-winning sports editor with The Richmond Observer. Follow the sports department on X @ROSports_ for the best in-depth coverage of Richmond County sports.