ROCKINGHAM — A high-scoring second half helped the No. 9 Richmond Raider basketball team keep its perfect start to the season intact against Pinecrest High School on Friday.
In front of a packed gymnasium, the Raiders rolled the Patriots 68-40, earning their first win over their Sandhills Athletic Conference foe since Dec. 13, 2019.
The 28-point margin of victory was also the largest over the Patriots dating back to the 2001-02 season.
Head coach Donald Pettigrew said “the best student section and fans” helped snap a three-game losing skid against Pinecrest (2-2, 0-1 SAC).
Using double-digit performances from four players, the Raiders outscored the Patriots 37-13 in the second half to extend their winning streak to six games.
Sophomore guard Javian Drake netted a career-high 19 points and added four assists and three rebounds. Fellow sophomore shooting guard Paul McNeil dropped 17 points, including 13 in the second half, while registering a double-double with 14 rebounds.
Also notching a double-double was junior center Zion Baldwin, who put up 12 points and a career-high 20 rebounds.
Junior guard Dakota Chavis had 11 points and 7 boards, while sophomore forward Jamarion Wall capped the scoring with 9 points and 6 rebounds.
“We always talk about trying to get the fans in here like it was back in the day, and the atmosphere was great tonight,” Pettigrew said. “The student section, the fans, the community, it was one of the greatest atmospheres we’ve played in.
“Starting off 2-0 in the conference is big for us,” he added. “We want to keep going and there’s a lot of stuff we’ve got to work on if we want to win the conference championship.”
Richmond held an eight-point lead twice in the first quarter, jumping out to a 20-12 advantage after the opening period. All five players who scored in the game got their respective scoring started, including six points from Wall on a pair of triples from the right side.
Baldwin and McNeil both scored 4 points in the first, with Drake adding the first of his three three-pointers from the top of the arc. Chavis finished an old-fashioned three-point play with 20.7 seconds remaining.
Six more points from Chavis to begin the second, paired with two Wall free throws, gave the Raiders an 11-point lead, 27-16. But Pinecrest answered with a 9-0 run in just under two minutes to cut it to two points.
Baldwin added his four second-quarter points in the final minute on two baskets under the net to give Richmond a 31-27 halftime lead.
Junior Zion Baldwin (10) drives the lane for two points in a win over Pinecrest. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
“Paul was a little off on his scoring in the first half, but he was rebounding and hustling,” Pettigrew noted. “Zion was really big for us tonight scoring and getting 20 rebounds, and J.V. (Drake) had another big game scoring.
“Playing good defense and rebounding the ball is all we ask as coaches,” he continued. “And tonight all the guys did a really good job with that.”
Two big runs in the third quarter started to break the game open for Richmond, beginning with an 8-0 stretch in the first three minutes of the third. A 10-4 run, featuring a McNeil breakaway dunk, put the Raiders ahead 50-37 at the end of the quarter.
Closing the door on the win, Richmond outscored the Patriots 18-3 in the final eight minutes. Drake netted 11 points in the final stanza, while McNeil (4 points) and Baldwin (3 points) contributed offensively.
“We have a saying where we want to put our foot on their throats late in games and play hard,” Pettigrew said. “We want to see the guys hustle and get 50-50 balls and I talk about still needing to play with a sense of urgency even when we have a big lead.
“One play can change the momentum, and what we were trying to do was keep our foot on the gas and close the game out tonight.”
Sophomore Jamarion Wall (15) attempts a three-pointer in the first quarter. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
Pinecrest’s leading scorers were Jullien Cole (15 points), Christian Freeman (10 points), and both Jackson Bode and Colby Wallace had 4 points.
“We are a young team and these guys think they can beat the world, and it’s a lot of fun right now,” Pettigrew closed. “There’s a lot of excitement, the effort is there and we’re playing the game the right way.”
The Raiders (6-0, 2-0 SAC) will have another quick turnaround and play Forsyth Country Day School (6-2) on Saturday in the Tourney Town Showcase. Tip off is set for 12 p.m. at Wesleyan Christian Academy in High Point.
