GASTONIA, N.C. — The Richmond Senior High School boys’ basketball team kept its holiday spirits high, along with its undefeated start to the season intact, with a road win on Thursday.
Head coach Donald Pettigrew and the Raiders kicked off the first game of the third annual Ashbrook Holiday Hoopfest at Ashbrook High School with a 51-46 win over Weddington High School.
Junior forward Nygie Stroman matched his season-high with 21 points, helping the Raiders improve to 8-0 on the campaign. Senior forward Jarvis Tillman would chip in 10 points in the five-point victory over the Warriors.
The win distanced this year’s team to the program’s third best start in its 47-year history. The only other teams to have better starts are the 2003-2004 Raiders who started 11-0, and the 2011-2012 team (10-0).
“We came out strong,” Pettigrew said of the win. “The guys were playing good basketball and making the right decisions. They took care of the ball and were being patient, especially when (Weddington) tried to trap the wings.
“In the second half we got a little careless with the ball, but that’s going to happen sometimes,” he added. “It was another good team win for us. Jakolbe (Baldwin) had some crucial drives for us late. We’re trying to continue to get better and grow as a team.”
The Raiders outscored the Warriors 15-7 and 12-7 in the opening two quarters, respectively, seeing Stroman lead the way with 11 of his 21 points in the half. He opened with a triple before adding four field goals in the first half, while Tillman notched six first-half points.
Stroman would also finish the game as Richmond’s leading rebounder, grabbing eight boards. Tillman collected six rebounds and added four blocks. Junior point guard PJ McLaughlin continued to grow in his role as the team’s floor general, dishing out 12 assists along with three points.
Entering the game, Stroman was shooting 47.6 percent from the field, and his 21 points moved his average to a team-high 15.38 points per game this season.
Junior guard Caleb Hood, who was coming off his season-high 18 points against Cheraw High School on Dec. 17, contributed seven points off the bench. He had four points in the first half.
Leading 27-14 at the halftime break, the Raiders were outscored 19-13 in the third quarter by the Warriors (8-3). Seven different Warriors would contribute to cut into their deficit, with junior Isaiah Noch scoring five of his 10 second-half points to lead the team.
Stroman and Tillman kept the Raiders’ pace with 11 combined points in the third. Junior Dalton Stroman added a pair of free throws to take a 40-33 lead into the fourth.
Up by 16 points with just over two minutes to go in regulation, Richmond suffered a lapse on both sides of the ball. Weddington’s Brock Bowen and Noch each scored five points, and a bucket from Ben Juhl pulled the game within five points.
But a pair of drives through the paint from Baldwin, along with three points each from Nygie Stroman and Hood kept the Warriors short of tying the game. Bowen and Noch each scored a team-high 10 points for Weddington.
“PJ has continued to play really well,” Pettigrew noted, adding the Raiders were without junior point guard Dylan Lewis (illness) and sophomore Jalen David (second-half injury). “He picked up the slack when we were down two point guards.
“We’re going to continue to believe in what we’re doing,” he added of the eight straight wins to start the year. “The guys stay poised in every game and that showed today. We’re so connected and it’s all about believing in each other.”
Richmond (8-0) will look to keep its undefeated streak going in the second round of the tournament on Friday when it rematches Hunter Huss High School (7-1). Last season, the Raiders lost by four points to the Huskies in the opening round of the Holiday Hoopfest.
Huss defeated Hickory Ridge High School 67-62 in Thursday’s first-round game. Tipoff between the Raiders and Huskies is set for a time to be determined at the time of publication.
