ROCKINGHAM — A sweep of its three opponents Wednesday by the Richmond Senior High School boys’ basketball team saw the Raiders finish the second Raider Classic Jamboree with a 5-1 overall record.
Hitting its home court for the final day of the two-day jamboree, the Raiders picked up big wins over Rocky River and St. Pauls high schools, before ending the tournament by edging Pine Forest High School.
On Tuesday, Richmond defeated Western Harnett and Pine Forest high schools, and suffered its only loss to Marlboro County High School.
With the six-game jamboree now in the books, third-year head coach Donald Pettigrew reflected on how his team played against a variety of teams from around the state.
“Offensively we did a really good job of sharing the ball both days,” Pettigrew commented. “We took the right shots at the right times, and for the most part, the guys didn’t rush and played well. Our turnovers are way down than what they were during last season.
“PJ (McLaughlin) and Quamir (Sivels) are a year older now and there’s a big difference in how they’re playing,” he added of his two rising senior guards.
Richmond opened Day 2 with a decisive 47-24 win over the Rocky River Ravens. Rising senior center Jarvis Tillman and rising junior forward Nygie Stroman each scored 13 points in the win, while rising sophomore DeShon Watson chipped in eight points of his own.
A strong first half saw five Raiders find the hoop, as Richmond used a 25-10 run in the final 12 minutes of the frame to take a 30-16 lead into the break. A slow start to the second half was redeemed when the Raiders outscored Rocky River 14-0 in the final 5:05.
With an hour between games, Richmond rested up and bounced St. Pauls in a 59-40 win. This time it was Sivels who recorded a game-high 18 points, with 16 of them coming in the first half. Tillman was right behind him with 15 points, with many of his points coming down low in the paint.
Up by 30 points early in the second half, Pettigrew replaced his veteran players with a set of all rising sophomores and freshmen. Upcoming sophomores Watson, Javares Stanback and Jalen David, along with freshmen Dakota Chavis and Emoni McBride finished out the game and all scored at least one bucket.
The Raiders faced off against the Pine Forest Trojans for the second time and two days, and came out on the higher end of a 64-61 decision. A day earlier, Richmond knocked off Pine Forest 58-43. It would be the trio of Stroman, Sivels and Tillman that led Richmond to its fifth and final win, as they scored 21 points, 16 points and 16 points, respectively.
“All the guys are so unselfish, which is a big part of our team,” Pettigrew said. “I expect those kind of numbers from those three guys, and they’ll all get more touches as the season goes along. We’re hoping Nygie will average 18 points a game this season, and Jarvis has been playing really good defense. He knows he needs to slow down and hit more shots.
“The 3-2 defense isn’t where we want it to be,” he closed. “We’re getting better and the guys know we’re not rotating quick enough and doing other small things. We’ll work it out this summer.”
Up next for Richmond is the Fred Lynch Invitational in Wilmington, N.C., this weekend.
