SANFORD — Fresh off its first week of practice, the Richmond Senior High School boys’ basketball program got its first taste of competition Saturday at Southern Lee High School.
Third-year head coach Donald Pettigrew and the Raider varsity team played in two scrimmages against High Point Central and Broughton high schools, and the junior varsity team played Gray’s Creek High School’s varsity program.
To open the day, Richmond defeated High Point Central 44-14, before rolling past Broughton 71-39. The JV team capped the day with a 61-44 loss to Gray’s Creek.
The Raiders bring back several varsity starters from last season, including junior point guard Patrick “PJ” McLaughlin, junior forward Nygie Stroman, senior center Jarvis Tillman and senior guard Quamir Sivels, among others.
All four were in action Saturday, but Richmond was without a handful of players due to football, including Caleb Hood, Kellan Hood, Jakolbe Baldwin, Dalton Stroman and CJ Tillman.
“Today went pretty good, and during this week of practice the guys were ready to see some other faces and play,” Pettigrew said. “Defensively, we looked solid and we’re right about where we left off from last season. PJ had eight steals, and Quamir had his three ball going.
“We’ve been working hard all summer and it showed today,” he added. “It feels great to be back out here and the guys who were here today were ready.”
Richmond played in a wealth of summer jamborees, including hosting the Raider Classic in June. Pettigrew noted his team’s experience and strong summer slate were reasons to call Saturday’s scrimmages a success.
Against Central High Point, Tillman led all scorers with 14 points, including seven in the first eight-minute quarter. Sivels and Stroman, who is 6-7, chipped in seven points, while junior Dylan Lewis and freshman Dakota Chavis added five points each.
Sivels had a strong second scrimmage against Broughton, dropping four three-pointers on his way to a game-high 24 points. He had 12 points in each half, including three triples in the fourth quarter. Four other Raiders would hit double digits: Lewis (13 points), Tillman (12 points), and Stroman and sophomore Deshaun Watson tallied 11 points apiece.
The JV Raiders, who are under the direction of first-year head coach Kenta Hutchinson, competed well against a tough Gray’s Creek varsity squad. Watson dropped down and scored a team-high 11 points, while fellow sophomore Xavier Collazo netted nine points.
Other players to get in on the action were sophomore Mehki Harrington (8 points), Chavis (6 points) and Travion Dumas (4 points). Sophomore Robert Bethea and Donovan Gadson each contributed three points.
“I was looking to see how we played together today,” Pettigrew explained. “Looking to see if we made the extra pass and controlled our rebounds. Defense was big too, and we’re making forward progress.”
Richmond will have one more scrimmage next Saturday at Wilson High School in Florence, S.C. The Raiders officially open the season on Tuesday, Nov. 19, at home against non-conference Anson High School.
ROSports will publish a full varsity season preview this week, complete with Raider Video Chat segments of players and coaches.
