SOUTHERN PINES — The only thing that prevented the Richmond Senior High School boys’ basketball team from winning the 2019-2020 Sandhills Athletic Conference tournament championship was a “sense of urgency” in the third quarter.
Making the trip to face the top-seeded Pinecrest Patriots, the No. 3 Raiders saw a lapse in the third quarter lead to a 62-55 loss in the rubber match between the two schools.
Despite dropping an impressive 32 points in the final eight minutes, Richmond couldn’t eliminate a game-high 14-point deficit in the early stages of the fourth.
It was the second time in as many seasons head coach Donald Pettigrew and Richmond made the title game but came up short.
Although his team didn’t win, Pettigrew said the opportunity to be fighting for a conference tournament title was where his team wanted to be.
“It is so hard to win the conference championship,” Pettigrew said. “But to make it two years in a row, it says a lot about us. Two years ago during this time, we were doing workouts. The guys have come a long way from then, and Jarvis (Tillman) and Quamir (Sivels) have been a big part of that.”
Mentioning the efforts of his two senior players, Sivels would lead the Raiders with 16 points. He scored nine points in the first half, before adding his final seven points in the fourth quarter. Tillman contributed five points, all coming in the final period.
Second on the stat sheet for Richmond was junior forward Nygie Stroman, as the 6-7 big netted 15 points in the game. He finished tied with Sivels with a team-high in three-pointers with three.
Juniors PJ McLaughlin and Caleb Hood contributed nine and seven points, respectively. All of Hood’s points came in the first three quarters, while McLaughlin recorded two triples in the comeback attempt in the fourth quarter.
Unlike the first two games played between the Raiders and Patriots this season, which were decided by three points each, Pinecrest used a 17-4 run in the third stanza to break the game open.
Pinecrest senior Bradlee Haskell led all scorers with 21 points, hitting five of his eight free throws in the fourth.
Senior forward Will Bode also took advantage in the paint, netting 17 points in the win. Sophomore Kelvyn Harrington dropped a game-high five three-pointers for all 15 of his points.
The trio of Patriots combined for 16 of the team’s 17 points in the deciding third quarter.
“We tried to keep the ball inside more during the third quarter and we were being patient, almost too patient,” Pettigrew said. “We weren’t as aggressive as we usually are and that’s on me.
“Pinecrest did a good job of keeping it packed in on us (on defense),” he added. “We were a bit more aggressive in the fourth, but we didn’t have that sense of urgency we needed in the third. I have to do a better job of getting our shooters loose.”
After entering the locker room tied at 19 points, a 12-2 run by the Patriots in the opening 5:19 of the third distanced the home team. Stroman recorded the only points for Richmond in that stretch, a drive through the paint, at the 4:35 mark.
Following a triple from Harrington, Pettigrew called a timeout with Richmond trailing by 10 points, 31-21. Hood responded out of the break with a layup, but Pinecrest closed on a 5-0 run.
The Raiders wouldn’t go away quietly, outscoring Pinecrest 32-26 in the fourth quarter. After falling behind by double digits, McLaughlin hit a three-pointer to bring the Raiders within nine points, 42-33, with 5:10 to play.
The junior point guard played deja vu moments later to restore a nine-point deficit, and Pettigrew called another timeout with just over four minutes left in the game.
Both teams traded baskets, and joining the three-ball parade was sophomore Kellan Hood. Stroman knocked down three triples, while Sivels and McLaughlin added two each.
The closest Richmond would get was seven points, after Stroman swished his final three-pointer from the left wing with less than 15 seconds to go.
“I told the guys the three years I played at Richmond, we only won the conference tournament once,” Pettigrew said. “The biggest prize starts next week, and there’s a lot of basketball left to play.
“The guys are upset, but we’ve got to get our mindsets ready for the playoffs,” he closed.
Currently, the Raiders (19-8) are projected to enter the playoffs as the No. 15 seed in the West bracket with a home game against No. 18 Page High School. The NCHSAA will hold its seeding meeting Sunday and release final brackets that afternoon.
Pinecrest (24-3) is cast as the No. 2 seed in the East.
ROSports will have a full playoff preview ahead of the first round, which is set to get underway on Tuesday.
