SOUTHERN PINES — Following Tuesday’s win over Hoke County, head basketball coach Donald Pettigrew addressed the elephant in Richmond’s locker room — the Raiders’ looming first meeting with rival Pinecrest.
A game circled on the calendar all season, and pushed back nearly a month due to a major power outage in Moore County, Wednesday’s clash between the top two teams from last season’s standings didn’t disappoint.
Remaining undefeated in the Sandhills Athletic Conference standings, and winning their third straight game, the Raiders took Wednesday’s matchup with the Patriots 73-55.
Although the Raiders won by 18 points, much of the game was played within a couple of possessions. Until the start of the fourth quarter, the largest lead by either team was five points.
The game featured 22 lead changes and six ties. In the second quarter, the back-and-forth play saw the lead switch 13 different times.
It wasn’t until a putback by senior forward Zion Baldwin with 1:52 left to play in the third quarter that the Raiders broke the game open.
That bucket started a 14-2 run that spanned until the 4:22 mark of the final stanza, putting Richmond up a dozen points.
Playing in front of thousands of fans in a playoff-like atmosphere, four Raiders reached double figures, two of whom added double-doubles. Junior wing Paul McNeil Jr. led all scorers with 23 points and added 15 rebounds.
Jullien Cole netted 11 points and added 12 boards in his homecoming game, as the junior shooting guard returned to his old stomping grounds where he played before transferring to Richmond.
Junior Jamarion Wall splashed down 18 points, including four three-pointers, and Baldwin finished the game with 12 points and eight rebounds. All of Baldwin’s points came in the second half.
As a team, Richmond shot 31-of-67 (46.2%), McNeil was 9-of-19 from the floor and Wall shot 7-of-11, including 4-of-6 from downtown.
Pinecrest (6-6, 1-1 SAC) had the early advantage, taking a 14-12 lead after the first quarter. Cole netted Richmond’s first five points on a drive and a triple from the left corner, but the Patriots answered with two of their six three-pointers in the game.
Three straight free throws from McNeil kept Richmond within a point, and another Cole drive made it an 11-10 deficit. A triple by Pinecrest was answered by a Wall jumper with 51 seconds left to end the first-quarter scoring.
A 9-2 stretch through the opening 1:09 of the second stanza by the Raiders gave them their largest lead of the first half, 21-16. McNeil hit a three-pointer before Wall rattled home a pair of triples.
A 6-0 run by the Patriots saw them regain a one-point lead, setting in motion nine lead changes before the two teams were knotted at 30 points. Joining the scoring was senior guard Dakota Chavis, who scored the first of his seven points.
McNeil added four points from close range, Wall connected on a baseline drive and Chavis evened the score at 30-all with a free throw at the 2:00 mark.
Four quick points from McNeil and Chavis extended the lead, but a shot at the buzzer by Colby Wallace (7 points) made it a 34-32 lead at the break.
Six more lead changes and five ties in the third quarter saw the momentum trade benches for a majority of the period. McNeil was responsible for nine more points, scoring four field goals and a free throw.
Baldwin joined the action with his first six points and junior guard Javian Drake scored his two points in the win. Baldwin and Drake’s last respective field goals in the third ignited the game-changing 14-2 run.
Starting the fourth with a 51-47 lead, the Raiders broke the game open with 22 more points. Wall led the way with his final eight points on two three-pointers and a transition basket.
Baldwin chipped in his final six points, Cole scored a pair of field goals and McNeil and Chavis added two points each.
Not going away quietly, the Patriots scored eight points in the final eight minutes. Leading the team in scoring was Elijah Melton with 12 points. J.D. Scarbrough added 10 points and Azir Gillespie scored 9 points.
Richmond (10-2, 3-0 SAC) sits atop the conference standings with an early undefeated record and will look to add another win on Friday.
The Raiders will close out their three-game week at home against Union Pines High School (7-4, 1-1 SAC), beginning at 7:30 p.m.
