ROCKINGHAM — A 16-point deficit three minutes into the third quarter of Saturday’s game wasn’t too much for the Richmond Raider basketball team to overcome.
In thrilling fashion, the Raiders erased that deficit and forced not one, but two overtimes, to hand South Mecklenburg High School its first loss of the season.
The Sabres entered the game a perfect 13-0, but a 19-2 scoring run by the Raiders in the final 4:55 of the third quarter, coupled with what head coach Donald Pettigrew called an ingrained “toughness,” led to a 94-91 victory for Richmond.
Saturday’s non-conference meeting was also a reunion for Pettigrew and South Mecklenburg head coach Chris McDonald. The two were teammates at Richmond in the late 1990s.
Senior wing Paul McNeil Jr. netted crucial points at the end of regulation and the first overtime to tie the game both times.
Finishing with a game-high 31 points and 20 rebounds, he also scored the eventual game-winning tip-in with a minute to go in the second overtime.
With the Raiders trailing 73-69 in the fourth quarter, McNeil Jr. hit two free throws and drove the lane to the game with 14.6 seconds left.
After a defensive rebound on the other end, McNeil Jr. launched a deep three-pointer attempt that just missed at the buzzer.
Entering the first overtime period, four points from Myles Howard gave the Sabres the lead. McNeil Jr., who netted 11 points in the extra eight minutes, stole the ball and laid it in to cut the deficit in half.
Down 80-75 with 1:41 to play, Richmond closed the first overtime on a 7-2 run. Junior Keyonta Davis, who finished with 11 points and four rebounds, started the run with a free throw.
Senior point guard Javian Drake netted the first two of his four points in the extra periods on a mid-range jumper. Drake was the second-leading scorer for Richmond, notching 18 points and five rebounds.
Junior Ahaiver McDonald added the final two of his eight total points on a baseline drive and that was followed by a pair of McNeil Jr. free throws with 8.4 seconds on the clock.
On the ensuing inbound, senior David McNair tracked down the ball and intercepted a pass attempt deep in the defensive third to keep the game tied.
To start the second four-minute overtime quarter, it was Davis who put Richmond ahead. He banked a shot off the glass on an assist from McNeil Jr.
Breaking an 84-84 tie, McNeil Jr. drained a three-pointer from the right wing with 3:10 to play. Davis sank a free throw and sophomore Jayden Hamilton scored his two points of the afternoon in timely fashion, stealing the ball and driving through the paint to extend the lead to 90-86.
After a Sabres basket and leading by two points, McNeil Jr. tipped in a second-chance opportunity for what proved to be the game-winning bucket with 60 seconds left.
In the final minute, McNeil Jr. blocked a shot attempt by Isaac Sanchez and knocked down two more free throws with 8.2 seconds left to extend the lead to 94-88.
A three-pointer by Ben Houpt (17 points) went in for South Mecklenburg just before time expired.
The first quarter was a series of runs by both teams, with Richmond going on an 11-4 stretch to take an early 18-16 lead. But South Mecklenburg used a barrage of three-pointers to retake the lead 29-18 to end the first.
Richmond’s deficit grew to 15 points two different times during the second period. The Sabres scored seven three-pointers in the first half, as Peter Moye led the team with 14 points at the break.
Down 51-38 to start the third quarter, Richmond fell behind 58-42, its largest hole of the game. Igniting the game-changing 19-2 scoring burst was senior Jamarion Wall, who laced in a three-pointer from the left corner.
Wall, who scored 14 points and grabbed twoo rebounds, followed with a mid-range jumper. Davis rattled in a triple from the right corner and senior Braylon Barfield (10 points, seven rebounds) scored his final two points.
Trailing 60-52, the Raiders used the remaining 2:46 to go on a 9-0 run and take a 61-60 lead into the fourth. Drake had four of those points on a three-ball and a free throw, McNeil Jr. splashed down a shot from beyond the arc and Davis netted a transition bucket.
As a team, Richmond shot 34-of-77 (44.2%) and went 19-of-22 from the line (86.4%). McNeil Jr. was 9-of-22 from the field and a perfect 10-for-10 from the charity stripe.
The Raiders’ defense also managed to slow down Moye (18 points), holding him to just four points in the second half and overtime periods.
Other top scorers for the Sabres were Howard (19 points), Anderson Skelton (16 points) and Sanchez (13 points).
The Raiders (9-4, 3-0) will make the trip to Union Pines High School (9-4, 1-1) to pick up Sandhills Athletic Conference play Tuesday. Action will begin at 7:30 p.m.
The Richmond Observer will publish a photo gallery of Saturday’s double-overtime win soon.
Sports editor’s note: Statistics provided by Richmond assistant coach Keith Parsons and Taneika Reader.
