GROVETOWN, Ga. — Starting its holiday break on Friday and Saturday, the Richmond Senior High School boys’ basketball team played a pair of games in Georgia.
Competing in the Allen Iverson Roundball Classic, the Raiders split their games with host Grovetown High School and Gainesville High School.
Richmond opened the showcase tournament with a loss to Grovetown on Friday before responding with a victory over Gainesville on Saturday.
Head coach Donald Pettigrew said a slow start against the Warriors led to the team’s second loss of the season.
“We played a little better against Gainesville,” Pettigrew said. “We just have to bring energy every night.”
Raiders score season-low in points against Warriors
Entering Friday’s game, the Raiders had been averaging north of 90 points per game over their last four games. But a 20-of-54 shooting performance from the floor (37%) yielded a 60-52 loss.
Two Raiders scored double-digits in the loss to Grovetown — senior point guard Javian Drake (14 points) and senior wing Paul McNeil Jr. (12 points).
Richmond made a push in the fourth quarter to try and erase its deficit, but the Warriors held on for their third win of the season.
Junior Ahaiver McDonald added nine points and senior David McNair chipped in eight points off the bench.
Senior Braylon Barfield and sophomore Jayden Hamilton both scored four points and junior Davion Ingram connected on a free throw.
Richmond rebounds with win over Red Elephants
Closing out the two-day event, the Raiders got back in the win column with a 65-53 victory over the Gainesville Red Elephants.
Shooting 40% from the field, Richmond secured the win with a 17-for-23 performance from the free throw line.
McNeil Jr. returned to his normal scoring clip, netting a team-high 26 points which featured five three-pointers. Hamilton (12 points) and Drake (10 points) added chunks of scoring to help keep Gainesville winless.
Other scorers were Barfield and Ingram (five points each), McNair and junior Keyonta Davis (three points apiece) and McDonald had a free throw.
Richmond (6-2) is set to play in the John Wall Invitational starting on Dec. 28. The Raiders will open against Jordan High School (5-4) at 2 p.m.
Sports editor’s note: Game information and statistics provided by head coach Donald Pettigrew and assistant coach Keith Parsons.
