ROCKINGHAM — Adding to the four-team sweep over rival Scotland High School on Tuesday, the Richmond junior varsity boys’ basketball team collected a 16-point win.
The JV Raiders played host to the JV Fighting Scots, and used seven different scorers to defeat them 75-59.
Four Richmond players netted double figures in the win, including a game-high 22 points from freshman guard Ahaiver McDonald.
Sophomores David McNair and Jada Zimmerman each tallied 12 points and freshman Keyonta Davis knocked down 10 points, including three three-pointers.
Just outside of double digits were freshman Raymond Knotts (9 points) and sophomore Toby McInnis (8 points).
Head coach Kenta Hutchinson said he was pleased with the team’s efforts over Scotland, considering much of the last two weeks have been impacted by the JV Raiders following COVID protocols.
Tuesday’s game was the first time the JV Raiders have played since Jan. 4, which was a win over Hoke County High School.
“Coming off not being able to play and practice for almost a full two weeks, it just felt good to be back home and on the winning side of things,” Hutchinson said. “The boys had been upset, so I think they were a little extra motivated tonight to come out at home and play hard.
“We’ve played our best ball at home so far this year and we looked really good early,” he added. “We jumped out in the first quarter to a 24-7 lead which is what we wanted to do against our rival.”
McDonald and Zimmerman were two players to help the Raiders jump out to a fast start, netting seven and six points, respectively. Zimmerman knocked down a trio of field goals and McDonald added two buckets and a three-pointer.
Knotts added all four of his first-half points in the opening period and Davis got on the board with his first triple. McInnins tacked on two baskets for four early points.
The JV Raiders outscored Scotland 18-15 in the second quarter to take a 42-22 lead into the break. McNair joined the scoring with three field goals for six points and McDonald added another triple and a basket for five points.
McInnis, Zimmerman and freshman Keidreion Crump all added two points before the half, and Davis hit a free throw.
A push from Scotland in the third quarter closed Richmond’s lead, but the JV Raiders added 26 points in the third compared to Scotland’s 19 points. McNair capped his scoring with his final six points to lead the team in the period.
Knotts hit a three-pointer and a basket for the final of his nine points in the game, and both McDonald and Zimmerman connected on two field goals to add four more points.
A Davis three-pointer and another bucket from McInnis put Richmond up 68-41.
Despite a 15-7 run by the JV Scots in the fourth quarter, the JV Raiders held on for the win. McDonald scored a free throw, a field goal and a three-pointer to finish as the game’s leading scorer.
“These games against Scotland are always extra fun and they always come out and compete,” Hutchinson noted.
“We’ve been teaching our guys that we want to push the ball in transition a lot more. We have some really good athletes who can get up and down the floor, and we play our best ball when we are able to do that.”
Richmond (7-4, 3-1 SAC) will travel to Southern Lee High School on Thursday and begin play at 4:30 p.m.
