ROCKINGHAM — Eight scorers helped the Richmond Raider basketball team earn its 20th win of the season on Wednesday.
Using a running clock that started with 2:45 remaining in the third quarter, the Raiders cruised past Lee County High School 87-37.
The 50-point win was the team’s second largest margin of victory this season, two points shy of its 98-46 win over Avery County on Dec. 29.
Richmond also reached the 20-win mark for the second time in head coach Donald Pettigrew’s five seasons.
Three Raider sophomores scored double-digits in the win — shooting guard Paul McNeil (game-high 24 points), guard Jamarion Wall (18 points) and Javian Drake (17 points).
McNeil recorded a double-double with 11 rebounds. In attendance to watch the Division-I prospect was UNC’s assistant coach Sean May.
Junior center Zion Baldwin scored 8 points and had a team-high 13 boards and senior center Will Dawkins chipped in 7 points and 8 rebounds. Wall and junior guard Dakota Chavis recorded 5 assists apiece, with Chavis adding 7 points.
Rounding out the scoring was senior center Domanyck McDonald with 4 points and 5 rebounds and senior wing Travion Dumas with 2 points.
The Raiders got off to a quick start, jumping out to a 29-8 lead after the opening eight minutes. McNeil netted 13 points in the first quarter, showing his range from all around the floor.
After a Baldwin putback and two free throws from Wall, McNeil hit a mid-range jumper and a floater in the paint. Trailing 8-0, Lee County’s Andrew Quezada scored on a jump shot to get the Yellow Jackets (3-18, 0-11 SAC) on the board.
A Wall triple from the right corner started a 14-0 run by the Raiders. McNeil and Drake both responded with a three-pointer, and McNeil added two putbacks on offensive rebounds. Drake also had a free throw.
Leading by 20 points, two more points each from McNeil and Drake, coupled with another Wall three-ball from the left side concluded the quarter’s scoring.
A 9-5 stretch to open the second featured a McNeil triple, two Drake free throws, a shot off the glass by Dawkins and a putback from Baldwin. That basket gave the Raiders their largest lead of the first half, 26 points.
In the final 2:40 of the second, Drake, Baldwin and McNeil combined for nine more points. A steal in transition led to a McNeil dunk to end the half with Richmond up 47-22.
The Raiders netted 27 more points in the third, using Wall’s final 10 points. He hit two triples and two field goals.
McNeil added his final 4 points, Drake netted 6 points on three field goals and Chavis joined the scoring with all seven of his points in the game. Baldwin had a putback with six seconds left to put Richmond ahead 76-48.
Wall’s final three-pointer came at the 2:45 mark of the third, initiating the running clock.
In the fourth, Pettigrew entered several subs. Dawkins led the way with his final five points on two shots in the paint and an and-one opportunity. McDonald battled low for two putbacks and a mid-range jumper by Dumas with 1:04 to play capped the game’s scoring.
Lee County’s leading scorer was Nolan Brown, who put in 15 points in the loss. Malachi Mclean added 9 points and Isaiah Peoples and Quezada both had 4 points.
Richmond (20-1, 10-1 SAC) will close out its regular season with a home game against rival Scotland (5-14, 3-8 SAC) on Friday. The team’s five seniors will be recognized on Senior Night.
The Raiders are still tied with Pinecrest High School (17-4, 10-1 SAC) for the lead in the conference standings. Tip-off will begin at 7:30 p.m.
