SANFORD — In a meeting between the first and last place teams in the Sandhills Athletic Conference on Friday, the Richmond Raider basketball team kept its hopes for a conference title alive.
Capping a perfect three-game week, and extending its winning streak to four straight games, Richmond stung Lee County High School 84-59.
A week after netting a dozen three-pointers as a team, the Raiders set a new season-high with 14 triples against the Yellow Jackets. Richmond knocked down nine in the first half and added the other five in the final two periods.
Sophomore shooting guard Paul McNeil had six of those triples, and finished with a double-double — team-highs with 29 points and 13 rebounds.
Adding five three-balls and 19 points was sophomore guard Javian Drake, and junior center Zion Baldwin netted 10 points and grabbed 10 boards.
Recording the other three-pointers were senior Deshon Watson (two) and junior Dakota Chavis (one). They finished with 8 and 7 points, respectively.
A 12-0 run to open the first quarter featured eight points from McNeil. Watson and Baldwin added the other four points, and Lee County got on the board thanks to a putback by Jaden Hill.
Junior Zion Baldwin (10) lays in two of his 10 points during Friday’s win. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
Another big stretch by Richmond’s offense, 13-9, closed the remaining 3:52 of the first quarter. McNeil connected for his third three-ball in the frame, Baldwin scored two more putbacks and Drake splashed down a triple from the right corner with 25 seconds left.
Leading by 14 points to start the second, a 19-2 run broke the game open for the Raiders. Baldwin, McNeil, Drake, Watson and Chavis contributed to the run that saw three more triples find the basket.
In the closing three minutes of the half, Drake scored two three-pointers from the right corner to give him 11 points at the break. Heading into the locker room, Richmond led 50-28 and McNeil had 21 first-half points.
Keeping the Yellow Jackets in the game was junior Malachi Mclean, who tallied a game-high 34 points. He scored 19 points in the first half and added 15 in the final two periods.
Midway through the third, the two teams traded baskets. Mclean had several drives in the paint, but those points were erased when Drake and McNeil each scored another three-pointer.
Chavis also scored two buckets in the paint on back-to-back possessions in the early part of the third.
Helping give the Raiders a 24-point advantage going into the fourth were two McNeil free throws, Drake’s final three-pointer and a putback by senior WIll Dawkins, who had five points and four boards.
Senior Domanyck McDonald joined the scoring with all six of his points in the fourth quarter. He had a bucket and four free throws and added five rebounds.
McNeil and Watson rattled home one final shot from downtown, Dawkins completed an old-fashioned three-point play and Drake scored a jumper in the fourth.
Senior Domanyck McDonald shoots a free throw in the fourth quarter. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
Lee County (3-16, 0-9 SAC) also used 13 points from Dawson Buchanan and 6 points from Hill.
The Raiders (19-1, 9-1 SAC) will eye their 20th win of the season when they host Lee County on Wednesday. That will be followed by Senior Night against rival Scotland on Friday to close the regular season.
Richmond and Pinecrest High School are currently tied for first place in the SAC standings. Play will begin at 7:30 p.m. against the Yellow Jackets and Fighting Scots.
