ROCKINGHAM — Kellan Hood said he was looking to find his shot Friday, and the opportunity presented itself in the second half for the sophomore shooting guard.
The Raiders were looking to rebound from a tough loss earlier in the week to Pinecrest High School when they closed the regular-season series against Sandhills Athletic Conference foe Jack Britt High School at home.
Fortunately for Hood and the Raiders, both got what they were looking for in a 60-53 win over the Buccaneers. The seven-point win marked the fourth-straight victory over Jack Britt dating back to last season and completed the sweep this winter.
Hood, who came off the bench, netted a game-high 15 points, all of which were scored in the second half. He found lightning in a bottle and sparked a late charge that saw the Raiders overcome a one-point halftime deficit.
Picking up a double-double was junior forward Nygie Stroman, who netted 12 points and snagged 10 boards. Just shy of the double-digit mark was junior wing Dylan Lewis, who put up nine points, all in the first half, including seven in the opening frame.
Head coach Donald Pettigrew said he decided to switch things up following the loss to Pinecrest, one of which was implementing a “smaller lineup” against Jack Britt.
Hood was a part of that, as he, fellow sophomore point guard Jalen David and junior point guard PJ McLaughlin picked up significant minutes together on the floor.
“It’s been a long time coming for Kellan,” Pettigrew smiled after the game. “We’ve been expecting that kind of performance from him all season. He’s been working so hard coming back from (a shoulder) injury and he hasn’t been playing as much as he wanted to.
“But he came out after having a couple good practices this week,” he added. “Coach (Tony) Terry told him to use that in the game, and he popped his shot. He can shoot and he got us going when we needed it tonight.”
The Raider and Bucs battled back and forth the first half, culminating in a 31-30 Jack Britt lead at the half. Richmond trailed 11-4 in the first quarter, but closed on a 13-6 spurt to enter the second quarter tied at 17 points.
Hood played much of the second quarter but didn’t register any points. That changed in the third when he connected on a baseline floater with 1:40 remaining in the frame for his first two points.
David and Hood combined for back-to-back three-pointers from opposite corners of the floor in the final 65 seconds of the third to give the Raiders a 44-43 advantage.
His five points in the third was just a warm up to his 10 in the fourth, as Hood contributed nearly two-thirds of the Raiders 16 points to close the win.
In the opening minute of the fourth, Hood splashed down a triple from the same spot he did to end the third, and added a mid-range jumper to put the Raiders up 53-45 with 5:35 remaining. The eight-point lead would be Richmond’s largest advantage at any point during the game.
Getting the crowd on its feet, Hood landed his final three-pointer of the game from the left corner, before also tacking on both ends of a one-and-one opportunity when Jack Britt fouled him with 46.6 seconds left in the game.
Stroman helped ice the win with his final four points, which came on a pair of fouls shots and a putback under the rim.
“Today I found my shot again and that really helped us out a lot by creating a spark,” Hood said after the game. “It showed my teammates they could rely on me on offense.
“We thought to ourselves that if we couldn’t beat a good team like Jack Britt, how are we going to make a run in the playoffs,” he added. “We started playing better as a team and I just tried my best to help us score late in the game.”
For Jack Britt, senior forward Jordian Fox kept the Bucs in contention with 14 points. Demetri Patterson added 13 points, seven in the first quarter, in the loss.
Stroman, McLaughlin and junior wing Caleb Hood provided some theatrics for the fans, starting with an alleyoop dunk by Caleb Hood on a dish from McLaughlin. The jam by the elder Hood tied the game at 26 points with 1:40 left in the first half.
McLaughlin later assisted on a two-handed jam by Stroman, bouncing a ball to the 6-7 big in transition. That basket pulled the Raiders within a point in the third.
Down the stretch, the work of Kellan and Caleb Hood going a combined 3-for-4 from the charity stripe in the final seconds helped Richmond earn its seventh SAC win of the year.
“Some guys got in foul trouble, so we relied on Dalton Stroman and Jakolbe Baldwin to play big minutes, who are both elite athletes,” Pettigrew said. “Any given night, they can play. They both gave us second chances with rebounds and are so athletic.
“This is a win we needed,” he closed. “It’s tough to get wins in this conference and Jack Britt has always been a defensive squad, and they showed that tonight. Now we’re going to try and stay the course the rest of the season.”
The third-place Raiders (14-6, 7-3 SAC) will welcome in seventh-place Hoke County High School (7-13, 2-8 SAC) on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
