ROCKINGHAM — If the No. 3 Raiders wanted to move past No. 6 Jack Britt High School in Monday’s Sandhills Athletic Conference tournament opener, head coach Donald Pettigrew said his post players needed to “play big.”
Answering the call were sophomore forward Nygie Stroman and senior forward Xavier Pettigrew, as Richmond escaped a defensive slugfest 55-50 to advance to the conference semifinals.
Stroman was a crucial component in the win, as his 18 points were a game-high. Pettigrew nearly reached double-double status, posting up nine points and collecting a team-high 10 rebounds.
The win not only advanced the Raiders (16-10) to round two, but it also marked the first time they have beaten the Buccaneers twice in the same season (since Jack Britt’s inception in 2000).
“We started off slow getting down 5-0,” Pettigrew said. “That’s not what we wanted to happen but the guys kept fighting, they kept believing and were resilient. Nygie posted up hard every single time, and he made a big difference making their guys work.”
Another thing Pettigrew had hoped was a fast start by his team, but Richmond trailed by five points early and didn’t net its first basket until the 4:22 mark of the opening quarter. Senior Alex Quick stepped back and drained a three-pointer at the top of the key, which sparked a 9-2 Richmond run to end the first eight minutes.
To open the second frame, Stroman kissed the glass underneath the basket, and Quick responded to a Jordian Fox triple with another one of his own. The Raiders climbed out to an eight-point lead, their largest at any point in the game, when senior shooting guard Rod Newton launched a deep three with 2:20 left.
The Buccaneers (11-15) wouldn’t go away quietly, as Fox, Eli O’Neal and Brandon Hayden combined for a 7-2 close of the quarter in the final 2:10. Hayden’s three-pointer with 2.5 seconds left made it a 24-21 Richmond lead at the half.
Head coach Isaiah Walker’s Bucs would make the third quarter their own, outscoring the Raiders 19-13 to take a three-point lead into the final stanza. Jack Britt regained the lead for the first time since the 2:38 mark of the first quarter when Calvin Washington connected on a three-pointer.
The Raiders’ third-quarter deficit grew to as many as eight points, 40-32, following a Demetri Patterson shot off the glass in the final two minutes. That’s when Stroman got to work, posting down low to hit a spinning baseline hook shot that helped end the quarter on a 5-0 Richmond run.
That spurt carried over in the final stanza, as Newton, Stroman and junior guard Quamir Sivels hit three straight drives in the paint to regain the lead 43-40. A putback by Fox, coupled with a Washington free throw knotted the game, but that was as close as Jack Britt would come to winning.
Stroman helped close the door by scoring six points in the fourth quarter, as Pettigrew added four points down the stretch. Sophomore PJ McLaughlin also connected on four of his five free throw attempts.
A block by Stroman and Pettigrew on Washington at the 1:45 mark started the unravelling for the Bucs. On the next two Jack Britt possessions, Fox and Langston Davis turned the ball over on travels. On the ensuing inbound, Davis fouled McLaughlin, who connected on both ends of his one-and-one opportunity.
Sivels, who had just two points in the win, came up big when he snagged a steal on a Jack Britt inbound with 10 seconds remaining. He sent an outlet pass to McLaughlin, who was quickly fouled. Both shots rang true, icing the win.
“Defensively we went to man in the second half,” Pettigrew explained. “That was our turning point. Our 3-2 zone was working well, but teams can adjust to it. When we play man, we double to take away the screen and it really turned things around.
“We have a day to celebrate and then we have get ready to for the next round,” he concluded. “I tell the guys that in my three years playing here, I only won the conference tournament one time. It’s a hard thing to do. We’re just going to enjoy the moment and get ready for Wednesday.”
The Raiders will travel to No. 2 Pinecrest High School for the semifinal game on Wednesday. It’ll be the rubber match between the two schools, as each won on its home floor during the regular season. The Patriots beat Scotland High School 53-38 Monday.
Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. in Southern Pines.
