RALEIGH — A meeting between two of North Carolina’s reigning state runner-ups didn’t go in Richmond Senior High School’s favor Friday.
Facing Northwood High School in the semifinal round of the Devonte Graham bracket in the John Wall Holiday Invitational, the Raiders came up short 56-53.
Richmond and Northwood finished the 2022-23 season as the 4A and 3A state runner-ups, respectively.
The matchup, played at Broughton High School, also featured two future ACC players — Paul McNeil Jr. (N.C. State) and Drake Powell (UNC).
Both players were their team’s leading scorers. McNeil Jr. finished with another double-double, scoring 24 points with 11 rebounds. Powell was the game’s highest scorer with 30 points and nine boards.
The Raiders led 18-12 after the opening quarter and took a 29-25 lead into halftime. The lead held after three complete quarters, although the Chargers (8-1) cut their deficit to just one possession 39-37.
Northwood outscored the Raiders 19-14 in the final eight minutes. The game was tied at 51 points entering the final minute of regulation, which resulted in the Chargers closing on a 5-2 run.
“I’ve got to do better as a coach to find our best sets down the stretch and put our guys in a better position to finish the game,” head coach Donald Pettigrew said. “This was on me.”
Five other Raiders scored in the loss, including 16 points and five rebounds from senior shooting guard Jamarion Wall.
Senior point guard Javian Drake added eight points and three assists, senior Braylon Barfield and junior Davion Ingram each had two points and junior Keyonta Davis made a free throw.
The Chargers used 14 points from Fred Whitaker, 11 points by Cameron Fowler and a foul shot from Chad Graves to secure the win.
Richmond (7-3) will face Cannon High School (13-6) in the third-place game of the Devonte Graham bracket Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
Sports editor’s note: Stats and game information provided by the John Wall Holiday Invitational’s official scorers.
