LUMBERTON — Friday’s boys’ junior varsity basketball game between the Richmond Raiders and Lumberton High School didn’t come down to the final second like the teams’ first meeting on Jan. 19.
The end result was the same, however, as the Raiders picked up a 62-53 road win to improve to 6-0 on the season.
Freshman Javian Drake, like he has for much of the campaign, led the Raiders with 19 points. Sophomore Emoni McBride, who has played the last few games with the varsity team, returned and added nine points.
Head coach Kenta Hutchinson said he was proud of the team’s efforts on the road, despite not having regular starter Toby McInnis in the lineup. McInnis, who had a double-double in Tuesday’s win, was sidelined with an injury.
Sophomore Xavier Wall also left the game in the first half with an injury, after adding six points in the first quarter.
“Over the last year, no matter who we’re playing, road games are tough,” Hutchinson said. “Any team can be in the game, and last year we went into overtime when we played at Lumberton.
“Going into our game, we knew what to expect,” he added. “Lumberton has some good shooters and is really well coached. We were without Toby, and Zion Baldwin is on varsity now, so I had to go with a different lineup. We made adjustments and the second half was really good for us.”
Despite a “flat start,” Richmond took a 23-19 lead after the first quarter. Wall led Richmond with six points in the frame and freshman Jamerson Walton added all five of his points.
McBride hit a triple and a bucket for five and sophomore Zyion Baldwin collected three of his seven points for the Raiders. Zay Hubbard and Drake each added a basket.
Lumberton outplayed Richmond in the second quarter, finishing the eight minutes on a 9-4 run. Netting two more points each were Baldwin and Drake.
Jaques G. had a strong first half for the Pirates, netting 14 of his game-high 24 points. He had 10 points in the first quarter and four in the second. At the break, Richmond trailed 28-27.
“We had a really good second half and JV (Drake) found a way like he always does,” Hutchinson said. “I talked to him at halftime and told him we needed a spark. He was really big, he ran the floor really well and he got all the guys involved.
“As a point guard, he’s becoming the leader I want him to be,” he added. “As a freshman, he’s double-digits every game and he’s a big reason for how well we’ve been doing.”
Drake kicked off the third quarter with a pair of triples and later added a field goal for eight points in the frame. Hubbard ended his night with a shot from downtown and freshman David McNair got on the board with four points.
Tristan Wall knocked down a shot and helped Richmond outscore Lumberton 17-10 in the third to regain a 44-38 lead. The Pirates’ Dimetrious Jones, who netted 18 points in the loss, had five points in the third.
Eighteen more points in the fourth quarter from the Raiders iced their sixth-straight win. Drake had his final seven points, scoring two buckets and adding three shots from the line.
Freshman Jamison Jones came alive late, hitting a triple and a field goal for his five points. McBride capped his night with four more points and Baldwin netted another basket.
Jones and Jaques G. combined for Lumberton’s 15 points, with Jones adding eight points on a bucket and six free throws. Jaques G. landed three shots and tacked on a point from the charity stripe.
“We are looking to continue playing well,” Hutchinson closed. “We have three games left and we want to finish 9-0. We’re looking forward to three big games next week.”
The JV Raiders (6-0) will travel to Seventy-First High School on Tuesday, before ending the season with two home games against Pinecrest and Scotland high schools.
