SANFORD — It was a celebration at half court for the Richmond Raider basketball team following Saturday’s 4A East regional championship win.
Presented with a trophy, the No. 2 Raiders were crowned following a 69-61 victory over No. 5 Holly Springs High School.
A defensive performance that head coach Donald Pettigrew called the “best performance all season,” the Raiders locked down and used a pivotal fourth quarter to advance to their first state title appearance since 1997.
Junior shooting guard Jamarion Wall broke the game open with nine points in the final frame, all coming on three-pointers. He hit the eventual game-winning shot from the right wing with 2:14 to play.
Wall was second on the team in scoring with 14 points, as junior wing Paul McNeil Jr. led all scorers with 30 points. He also grabbed seven rebounds.
Richmond held a 15-6 lead after the first quarter, but led by just one point, 30-29, at halftime.
The third quarter saw Richmond and Holly Springs (26-6) battle back and forth, again leading to a one-point lead heading into the final stanza, 53-52.
Adding to Wall’s performance in the fourth, McNeil Jr. had four points and junior wing Jullien Cole added the final three of his 11 points. Zion Baldwin and Javian Drake each had 6 points and Dakota Chavis had 2 points.
The Golden Hawks used 22 points from Micah Jones, Collin Kuhl scored 18 points and Ryan Crotty chipped in 11 points in the loss.
For the complete game story, including interviews with Pettigrew, McNeil Jr. and Wall, click here.
Richmond (28-2) will face Myers Park High School (27-4) in the NCHSAA 4A state championship next Saturday at N.C. State.
Below are photos from Saturday’s 4A East regional championship win, taken by sports editor Kyle Pillar.
