ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond Raider basketball team punched its ticket to the NCHSAA 4A East regional championship in dominating fashion on Tuesday.
No. 2 Richmond earned a 78-60 win over No. 6 Charles E. Jordan High School, advancing to the Final Four for the first time since 2000-01.
Junior Paul McNeil Jr. stepped up when the team needed him most, scoring a game-high 35 points and recording a double-double with 11 rebounds.
Also having a big night on offense was junior wing Jullien Cole, who added 23 points to the win. McNeil Jr. and Cole combined for eight three-pointers and all the team’s scoring in the first.
Senior guard Dakota Chavis was the team’s third double-digit scorer with 11 points, with all but three coming in the second half. Rounding out the scoring were juniors Javian Drake (7 points) and Jamarion Wall (2 points).
A 7-0 run by Cole to open the game was followed by a 12-2 scoring stretch in the final 3:00 of the first, putting the Raiders up 22-13.
Chavis, Cole, Drake and McNeil Jr. combined for all of the team’s points in the second to carry a 36-29 lead into the break.
Leading by double digits for most of the second half, McNeil Jr. netted his final 22 points in the last two periods, including 15 points in the fourth.
As a team, Richmond finished 28-of-56 shooting from the field (50 percent).
Leading the Falcons (21-10) in scoring was Ronald Bridges Jr. (17 points) and Walker Woodall and Derek Ross Jr. both had 13 points.
For the complete game story, including interviews with Pettigrew, McNeil Jr. and Chavis, click here.
Richmond (27-2) will face No. 5 Holly Springs High School (27-5) in the 4A East regional championship on Saturday at a neutral site and time to be determined.
Below are photos from Tuesday’s fourth-round playoff win, taken by sports editor Kyle Pillar.
