FAYETTEVILLE — For the first time all season, the Richmond junior varsity boys’ basketball team found itself on its heels Tuesday night.
On the road at Seventy-First High School, the Raiders dropped their first contest of the season by a final score of 72-49.
Head coach Kenta Hutchinson said the team lacked execution on both sides of the ball and that the Raiders’ energy was outmatched by the Falcons’.
“We weren’t able to execute on offense or defense,” Hutchinson said. “We were taking shots but they weren’t falling, so we started relying on the three a lot. That wasn’t going in either.
“Seventy-First’s energy got stronger the worse we played,” Hutchinson said. “At the end of the day, we came out flat and it’s like we were playing in quicksand. We tried to play catch up but we could never recover.”
Sophomore Z’yon Baldwin had a team-high 13 points for the Raiders, and fellow sophomore Zay Hubbard hit double figures with 12 points. Richmond was without sophomore Xavier Wall, who missed the game with a foot injury.
The Raiders trailed by seven points at the end of the first quarter, 15-8. Freshman point guard Javian Drake scored five of his six points on a triple and two free throws.
Fellow freshman Toby McInnis, who returned from injury, hit a field goal for his two points in the game. Baldwin got his scoring started with a shot from the line.
The Raiders had a better success finding the basket in the second stanza, adding 14 points. Hubbard and freshman Tristan Wall each knocked home five points on a triple and a field goal, and Baldwin scored four more points in the post.
The Falcons added 20 points, however, and took a 35-22 lead into the halftime break. Seventy-First hit six field goals, a triple and five free throws to stay ahead.
“I told the guys they have to impact the game in other ways if shots aren’t going in,” Hutchinson said. “We forced it too much, and Seventy-First is a good rebounding team. They beat us on the boards tonight and that started their transition offense.”
Richmond managed to score just 19 points in the second half, led by eight points from Baldwin. Hubbard dropped two triples and a free throw for his final seven points and freshman Jamerson Walton netted all seven of his points in the final two periods.
A bucket from Wall ended his night, Drake added a free throw and sophomore Emoni McBride chipped in a field goal for his two points. To put the game away, the Falcons netted 26 points in the fourth quarter.
“Zay Hubbard had a pretty good game and was able to find the basket,” Hutchinson said. “Z’yon Baldwin was big on the glass, was really aggressive and had some nice shots around the rim.
“On back-to-back games, it’s all about carrying over our momentum,” he closed. “Hopefully we can shake this off and get ready for a big game against Pinecrest. That’s always a fun game and we’re looking to winning our last two games.”
The JV Raiders (6-1) will look to reenter the win column with a highly-anticipated game against Pinecrest High School at home on Wednesday. Tip is set for 5 p.m., followed by the boys’ varsity game.
