ROCKINGHAM — Notching its second win in as many games to start the season Friday, the Richmond Senior High School boys’ basketball team showed off its depth.
Playing in front of their home crowd for the first time this season, the Raiders took care of business against non-conference Westover High School.
Using points from nine different players, including four players in double digits, Richmond defeated the Wolverines 72-61.
In what was a close game through the first three quarters, the Raiders broke it open in the final stanza thanks to a 13-0 scoring run. That stretch of points gave Richmond a 15-point lead, its largest at any point in the game.
Following his career-high scoring performance in Tuesday’s season opener, senior shooting guard Jayden Hamilton netted a team-high 17 points. Richmond’s other senior captain this season, shooting guard Amer Morrison, added 16 points.
Senior big man Domonic Tillman finished with 12 points, scoring eight points in the fourth quarter, including a couple of dunks. Netting 10 points was sophomore Kerick Hairston Jr., who did all of his scoring in the second half off the bench.
Other scorers for Richmond were freshman Cam’ron Coley (seven points), sophomore Donovan Jones (four points) and a trio of players with two points each — juniors Josiah Brewington and Chance Crowder, and freshman Jimmy Tillman.
A low-scoring first quarter yielded a 10-7 lead for the Raiders. Morrison made the first point of the game from the line before the Wolverines (2-4) took a one-point lead.
Richmond capitalized on a Westover scoring drought of 5:44 to go on a five-point run. Domonic Tillman made a free throw and a bucket on an inbound pass, which was followed by Morrison making a layup after being fed an outlet pass from Jones who made a steal.
Leading 8-7, Richmond’s final points of the quarter came when Jimmy Tillman muscled his way to the hoop for his only basket of the game with 15 seconds left in the quarter.
Westover began the second stanza on a 9-0 run in the first 38 seconds thanks to three three-pointers. Not panicking, the Raiders answered with a 12-0 run to take a six-point lead.
The run began with Domonic Tillman’s final point of the half from the line. Morrison made a basket on an inbound play and Hamilton scored the first of his six points in the second quarter on a putback with 4:35 to go.
Driving the lane two possessions later, Hamilton scored a layup to give Richmond a one-point lead. Crowder added to the run with a steal and transition bucket before Coley got on the board with a three-ball from the left wing to make it 22-16.
In the closing 2:20 of the half, Hamilton scored a transition basket on an assist from Morrison, Jones connected on two shots from the line and Brewington made a steal under the hoop and powered back to the rim for two points.
Leading 28-20 to start the third quarter, Hamilton maintained the eight-point lead when he rattled home a pair of triples from opposite corners of the floor in the opening 50 seconds.
A jumper from Coley kept Richmond ahead by two possessions, 36-30, near the five-minute mark. Jones capped his scoring with a drive through the paint with 4:21 left in the third to maintain a 38-33 lead.
Morrison accounted for the next four points for the Raiders, first turning a steal into a layup, followed by another transition basket on an assist from Jones.
With 18 seconds left, Hairston Jr. made the first of his two second-half triples to give Richmond a 45-40 lead at the end of the third.
A bucket and a foul shot by the Wolverines cut Richmond’s lead to two points, 45-43, just 26 seconds into the fourth.
Again not hitting the panic button, Richmond answered with the game-changing 13-0 run. Hamilton began the stretch with his final triple of the night from the right corner, which was replicated by Hairston Jr. less than a minute later from the opposite corner.
With the defense forcing turnovers on back-to-back possessions, Hairston Jr. turned the steals into four more points when he was fed the ball on outlet passes for easy layups.
Morrison ended the big run when he completed a drive through the lane and added a free throw, which made it 58-43 with 3:52 to play.
Coley’s final field goal of the night maintained a double-digit lead. Domonic Tillman recorded the next six points for the Raiders, which included two close baskets and a one-handed breakaway jam.
Going to the line with the team up 10 points, Morrison and Hamilton both made a pair of free throws inside the final minute. Putting an exclamation point on the victory with the final basket, Domonic Tillman completed an alley-oop dunk from Crowder in transition.
The Raiders (2-0) will face a familiar foe twice next week in Scotland High School (2-0). First will be a road game Tuesday, which will start at 7:30 p.m.
The Richmond Observer will publish photos of Friday’s home-opening win later this weekend.
Sports editor’s note: The Richmond junior varsity boys’ basketball team didn’t play Friday.
