RAEFORD — The Raider varsity basketball team has been clicking on all cylinders the past month, and used the power of the three-pointer Tuesday to breeze past Hoke County High School on the road.
Entering the night, the Raiders and head coach Donald Pettigrew were riding a six-game Sandhills Athletic Conference opponent winning streak. They extended that number to seven with a 61-48 win over the Bucks.
The win marked the first time since the 2003-04 season that the Raiders have won at least seven-straight conference games. After starting the season 0-4 against SAC opponents this season, the last loss coming against the Bucks on Jan. 8, the win Tuesday completed the Raiders’ redemption tour.
Over the last seven games, Richmond has returned to the hardwood to defeat Hoke County, Pinecrest, Jack Britt and Purnell Swett, the four teams it had lost to in the opening games.
Using nine three-pointers during the game, five from senior shooting guard Roderick Newton, the Raiders improved to 12-9 overall, and 7-4 in the conference.
“The guys made some really good shots tonight and played great defense in the first half,” Pettigrew said following the game. “We’re hot right now and our confidence is up.
“Rod and Nygie (Stroman) have had it going on lately,” he added of his top two three-point shooters. “When Rod is hot, he’s hard to stop and that’s big for us.”
Newton and Stroman combined for three triples in the first quarter, which saw the Raiders explode out to 24-8 lead at the end of the opening frame. Sophomore guard Caleb Hood added another three-pointer, as the trio was responsible for 20 of the 24 points.
They were also the top three scorers for Richmond in the win, with Newton leading the team with 16 points. Both Hood and Stroman added 14 points.
To begin the second quarter, Richmond rolled out on a 9-2 run, seeing two more threes from Newton, and another by Stroman, making it a 33-12 ball game. An Xavier Pettigrew jumper at the 4:48 mark gave the Raiders a 22-point lead, their largest at any point in the game.
Junior Jarvis Tillman ended the half with a bucket under the rim and got the Raider crowd on its feet with a putback two-handed jam with just 25 seconds remaining. At the intermission, Richmond led 41-25.
The Bucks wouldn’t go away quietly, as they started the third quarter on a 13-0 run to cut the deficit to three points, 41-38. Sophomore Jaquantae Harris rattled home three straight three-pointers to start the run, before Elijah Davis Harris added the final four points.
Hood would stop the bleeding and end the Raiders’ scoring drought with back-to-back drives in the paint. Richmond’s first basket of the second half came with 1:57 remaining in the third when Hood muscled his way through two defenders and kissed the glass.
Hoke County outscored Richmond 13-4, but that was the closest the Bucks would get.
Regrouping after a timeout called by Pettigrew, the Raiders strung together 16 more points in the fourth quarter. Newton added his fifth and final triple, while Stroman added four more points. Hood hit a bucket and a free throw, while sophomore Justin Morman put the game on ice with a three-ball off the bench.
“Caleb is a monster down low and he had a really good game tonight,” Pettigrew said. “We started settling in the third quarter and stopped taking the ball inside. We have to score more than four points in a quarter, and we relied too much on the three-pointer.
“The timeout helped take the crowd out of it, and I told the guys to relax,” he added. “They’re happy we won, but not happy because of the third quarter. That’s a sign of a good team.”
Pettigrew ended by saying he was proud of his team’s “resilience and ability to finish the game,” something it had struggled with early in the season, including the Jan. 8 loss to Hoke County.
Elijah Davis Harris finished with a game-high 21 points, and Jaquantae Harris added 18 points in the loss. For Richmond, Xavier Pettigrew notched eight points off the bench.
The Raiders will look to keep their magic going when they host Lumberton High School Friday at 7:30 p.m.
