ROCKINGHAM — It was raining three-pointers inside Richmond Senior High School’s gymnasium Tuesday during the first round of the NCHSAA 4A East state playoffs.
A barrage of shots from beyond the arc powered the No. 2 Richmond Raiders to a 104-47 victory on their home court over No. 31 East Chapel Hill High School.
Richmond splashed down 16-of-36 three-pointers (44.4%), one bucket shy of tying the program’s single-game record. The Raiders netted 13 three-balls before halftime.
In the closing minute of the third quarter, junior guard Ahaiver McDonald, who finished with six points, made the first of his two free throw attempts to start the running clock. The shot made it an 81-41 lead with 55.5 seconds to go.
The Raiders’ “Big 3” — seniors Javian Drake, Paul McNeil Jr. and Jamarion Wall — were responsible for much of the team’s scoring, including 15 of the 16 three-pointers.
McNeil Jr. netted a game-high 32 points on 13-of-20 shooting, including five three-pointers. Drake, who landed five triples, scored a new single-game career-high with 30 points on 11-of-21 from the field.
Wall, who has proven to be a perimeter threat all season, drained five treys himself and finished with 25 points. He finished 10-of-17 from the floor.
Five other Raiders contributed to the scoring — McDonald (6 points), senior Braylon Barfield (4 points), senior David McNair (3 points) and sophomores Jayden Hamilton and Amer Morrison (2 points each).
McNair’s three points came on the team’s final three-pointer late in the fourth quarter.
The Wildcats (10-16) held an early lead in the first quarter, 6-5. Scoring Richmond’s first five points was Wall on a jumper and a triple from the left wing.
But a deep two from McNeil Jr. with 5:02 on the clock put the Raiders ahead by a point and started an 18-3 stretch to close out the frame. Richmond never trailed again.
Drake was next to find the basket, splashing down one of his three three-pointers in the first stanza from the right corner. He followed that on the next possession with another trey, this time from the top of the arc.
Leading 13-7, drives from McNeil Jr. and Drake, paired with a McDonald free throw, put the Raiders up a dozen points. Drake made it a 21-6 advantage with his final three-ball from the right side.
The Wildcats scored a three-pointer of their own to stop the run, but a finger roll bucket by McNeil Jr. at the buzzer extended the lead to 23-9 after the first eight minutes.
A 35-point second quarter by Richmond outpaced East Chapel Hill, which netted 16 points. At the break, the Raiders held a commanding 58-25 lead, its largest of the first half.
Starting the second stanza, McNeil Jr. knocked down consecutive three-pointers and Wall hit a mid-range jumper. Five fast points from Drake on another triple and a layup following a steal put Richmond up 36-13.
Hamilton got on the board when he elevated himself to tip in an offensive rebound opportunity. Wall had Richmond’s next nine points, swooshing three of his four treys in the quarter.
In the final two minutes of the half, Drake scored a transition bucket, Wall netted another three-pointer and McNeil Jr. made it a 33-point lead with two three-pointers from the top of the arc.
Continuing to pour on the offense in the third quarter, the Raiders used one triple from McNeil Jr., who added two field goals and a free throw.
Wall capped his scoring with six points on three field goals and McDonald made a bucket and three free throws to also end his production.
Barfield scored all four of his points from close range in the third and Drake made one shot from the line.
Even with the clock not stopping in the fourth quarter, Drake went off for his final 11 points, surpassing his previous career-high by four points. He made three field goals, a final three-ball and two free throws.
McNeil Jr.’s final six points all came on dunks. The first was a breakaway jam, followed by a transition dunk on a behind-the-back pass from Wall. Putting an exclamation point on the win, Wall delivered an alley-oop to McNeil Jr.
Also scoring in the final eight minutes were McNair (three-pointer) and Morrison (putback). As a team, Richmond shot 40-for-69 from the floor (58%).
East Chapel Hill’s season came to an end and was led in scoring by Bennett Corley (12 points), Samuel Smith (10 points) and Jacob Bryan (7 points).
The No. 2 Raiders (22-5) will welcome in No. 15 Riverside-Durham (18-5) Friday for the second round of the 4A East playoffs. The game will get started at 7:30 p.m.
Riverside-Durham defeated No. 18 Apex Friendship in the first round Tuesday.
Sports editor’s note: Unofficial stats provided by assistant coach Keith Parsons.
