ROCKINGHAM — In action Friday for the final time during the 2018-19 season were the Richmond Senior High School junior varsity and freshman boys’ basketball teams. And eached capped their respective campaigns with a win over rival Scotland High School.
On the road, the varsity basketball team and head coach Donald Pettigrew also won, finishing the year in third place, with a 59-52 victory over the Fighting Scots.
JV Raiders outlast Scotland, finish third in SAC
In what turned out to be a barn burner between the home Fighting Scots and the visiting Raiders, it was Richmond that won 87-83 in Friday’s season finale.
Thanks to another big game by sophomore Jakolbe Baldwin, the JV Raiders finished the season in third place with a 10-9 overall record and a 9-5 mark against Sandhills Athletic Conference opponents. Hoke County and Pinecrest high schools took first and second, respectively.
Baldwin led Richmond with 25 points, and earned double-double status by grabbing 11 rebounds. He was one of four double-digit scorers for the Raiders, as fellow sophomore Dalton Stroman also finished with a double-double, adding 17 points and 14 boards.
The other two Raiders to reach double figures were sophomore CJ Tillman (12 points, eight rebounds) and freshman De Shon Watson, whose 17 points were a career-high.
At the end of the first quarter, the Raiders led 31-22, with Watson draining three three-pointers and leading the way with 13 points. Scotland bounced back with 26 second-quarter points to Richmond’s 15, to take a 48-46 lead at halftime. Stroman collected 13 of his 17 total points in the first two periods.
Out of the break, it was all Baldwin, as he led the second-half comeback with 19 points. Richmond tied the game, 61-61, at the end of the third quarter. Tillman had a big fourth quarter, connecting on 8-of-13 free throw opportunities to seal the deal.
Other scorers for Richmond were sophomore Dylan Lewis and freshman Jalen David with six points each. Sophomores Dayon Bright and Isaiah Jones contributed two points apiece in the win.
“It felt great to finish the season with a big win at home,” head coach Tony Terry said. “Coming into the season, we started off slow in our first few games. Once we stepped up and began playing together as a team, the guys started showing major improvements.
“It’s been an exciting season watching these guys grow as individual players and as a unit,” he added. “We went up against a lot of teams that challenged us mentally and physically. Now that the season is over, we have to focus on getting better and prepare for the upcoming season.”
Freshman Raiders end season on four-game winning streak, earn second place
Across town at Richmond County Ninth Grade Academy, the freshman Raiders pulled out a 65-48 win over the Fighting Scots to earn a second-place finish behind Pinecrest High School in the conference standings.
The regular season win also made it head coach Taivon Jones’ team’s fourth-straight win, as the freshman Raiders ended with an 11-3 overall record in 2018-19.
Having a big night for Richmond was KeSean Ingram, who netted a game-high 18 points. He scored 10 points in the first half, before tacking on eight more in the third quarter. It was also the first game all season that every one of the nine players on the Raider team found the basket.
Xavier Collazo had a season-high 16 points in the win. Other scorers for Richmond were Jaiden Covington and Donavan Gadson, both with six points. Cameron Way added five in the win, while Javares Stanback tacked on four points.
The game was never in question for Richmond, as the Raiders outscored the Fighting Scots 34-23 in the first half, and 31-25 in the final two periods.
“Offensively, we played our most complete game all season,” Jones said. “Javares and Cameron did a great job of running the offense. Xavier had a season-high for himself, and KeSean played well with 18 points. I had a great season with some great young men.”
