ROCKINGHAM — Everything went the Richmond Raiders’ way in Wednesday’s Sandhills Athletic Conference showdown with Pinecrest High School except in the final handful of seconds.
The third-place Raiders controlled the tempo for much of the game against the No. 1 Patriots, but a key three-pointer from Ian Blue with 7.3 seconds left marred Richmond’s upset attempt.
Pinecrest squeaked out the win 49-48 to remain perfect in conference play, but it wasn’t without one last look from Richmond’s senior forward Nygie Stroman.
Out of a timeout following Blue’s shot from the right corner, freshman Paul McNeil brought the ball up across midcourt and dished it to Stroman along the right wing. With a wide open look, Stroman’s shot with 3.3 seconds on the clock hit the back iron and was rebounded by Pinecrest’s J.J. Goins.
“I told the guys in the timeout we were putting the ball in Paul’s hands and he made a good decision to pass it to Nygie who was wide open,” head coach Donald Pettigrew explained. “I’d take that shot 100 out of 100 times, and it was a good look for him.
“It’s just one of those things about basketball. He had a 50-50 chance of knocking it down to win it.”
McNeil recorded his second double-double in as many nights, notching a team-high 15 points and added 10 rebounds and three assists. Stroman also etched another double-double, netting 11 points to go along with his team-high 11 rebounds and three blocks.
Fellow senior wing Dylan Lewis chipped in nine points and 10 rebounds, and blocked two Patriots’ shots. Senior points guard Patrick McLaughlin ran the floor well, recording four points, seven boards and two assists.
Richmond opened the game on an explosive 10-0 run, starting with a deep triple from McNeil along the left wing. Sophomore Dakota Chavis, who finished with four points, answered with a three-pointer from the left corner.
Stroman got fans on their feet with a two-handed baseline jam over Blue and McLaughlin added a drive off the glass at the 4:20 mark.
Pinecrest responded with a 9-0 run to pull within a point, but the Raiders fired off an 8-2 spurt in the final 1:22 of the frame to take an 18-11 lead.
McLaughlin knocked home two free throws, McNeil hit a contested triple over Blue and freshman Jamarion Wall, who ended with five points, hit a three-pointer from the left corner in the final 20 seconds.
Richmond and Pinecrest both scored 11 points in the second to keep the Raiders’ lead at seven points at the break. Stroman added five points on a triple and a jumper, Lewis got on the board with his first four points and McNeil had a putback on an offensive board.
Pinecrest’s Bradlee Haskell, who finished with 21 points, scored 11 points in the first half. Goins had four of his 10 points and Blue had three of his 14 points.
“The guys shot the ball pretty well in the first half, we came out ready to play,” Pettigrew said. “Defensively, we did a good job at staying on shooters, talking and rebounding. The guys played hard and my hat’s off to them.
“Pinecrest did a good job of fighting back,” he added. “They always do that and it was a heck of a game.”
The third quarter saw both teams go point-for-point, with each squad netting 13 more points. McNeil, who was in foul trouble early, returned to score his final seven points on a triple and two field goals.
Stroman drove the lane for two points and Lewis tacked on a bucket and two free throws. Haskell led the third for the Patriots with six points, Goins added four and Blue notched one of his team-high three triples.
“In the fourth, the guys were getting open looks but they didn’t knock them down,” Pettigrew said. “Charges were big for Pinecrest, and our free throws weren’t great down the stretch.”
The Raiders’ six points in the fourth quarter all came on free throws, but the team missed three free throw opportunities.
Haskell missed a pair of free throws with 1:40 to play and fouled Stroman on the next sequence to send him to the line. The 6-6 Raider hit both to give Richmond a 47-44 lead.
Blue connected on two of his three free throws after he was fouled on a shot from beyond the arc to pull the Patriots within one point. Following a Lewis free throw with 38 seconds left, Blue hit the game-winner on the next Pinecrest (8-1, 6-0 SAC) rush, the only time the Patriots led. It also notched the second straight SAC title for Pinecrest.
“We started off really strong on offense and defense,” Stroman explained. “As the game went on, we slacked off a little bit and didn’t finish the way we needed to.
“We weren’t scoring late and we were trying to hold the ball,” he added of the fourth quarter. “The chances we did have, we didn’t capitalize on them. On defense, we were biting in when they were driving, and Pincrest would kick it out to the open shooter.”
The Raiders (4-3, 3-2 SAC) will look to end its regular season with a win on Friday at rival Scotland High School (3-5, 1-5 SAC). Pettigrew said a win is crucial heading in the conference tournament.
“We just have to come back stronger and go over what we need to go over to get ready for Scotland,” Stroman said. “We need to lock in and play a full four quarters.”
Tip against the Scots is set for 7 p.m. in Laurinburg.
