FAYETTEVILLE — A strong offensive performance, coupled with a stifling defense, helped the Richmond Senior High School boys’ junior varsity basketball team return to the win column on Friday.
Avenging a loss to Jack Britt High School from the first round of Sandhills Athletic Conference play, the Raiders rolled to a 75-58 win.
Nearly identical scoring in both halves, 37 points in the first two quarters and 38 more in the second half, propelled the Raiders to another conference win after falling to Pinecrest High School on Tuesday.
Sophomore point guard Deshon Watson set the tempo for the Raiders with 20 points, which was also a game-high. All of his points came on field goals, and Watson scored 10 of Richmond’s 19 points in the third quarter.
Sophomore shooting guard Micah Jackson was hot in the first half, netting 12 of his 15 points, including draining a team-high three triples. Also reaching double figures was freshman guard Dakota Chavis, who added 12 points, eight coming in the final two periods.
Sophomore wing Xavier Collazo rounded out the four players to eclipse the 10-point mark with 11 points of his own, all coming in the opening 16 minutes before the halftime buzzer. Luke Williams notched eight points, Travion Dumas added six more and Zion Baldwin finished with three points.
Head coach Kenta Hutchinson said the key to the win was using a strong defensive presence, which in turn created easy transition baskets on offense.
“I’m just so proud of our guys for getting a quality road win, especially when it’s always tough to win on the road,” Hutchinson said. “This was the game we really wanted because they beat us by one at home last time, so we wanted this one a little more.
“Our goal going into the game was to overwhelm them early on the defensive end,” he continued of the game plan. “The guys defend well in man-to-man and they did just that. We also pressed a lot and were able to cause a lot of turnovers, which transitioned over to offense.”
Jackson connected on two three-pointers and two field goals for 10 points in the first quarter, and Collazo notched seven points to help give the Raiders a 19-12 lead at the end of the opening stanza.
Seven different Raiders put points up on the board in the second for 18 more points. Watson got on the board for the first time with a pair of field goals, and his four points were matched by Collazo and Travion Dumas.
Adding a bucket apiece were Jackson and Chavis, and netting one free throw were Baldwin and Williams. At the break, the Raiders led 37-18.
Jack Britt responded with two 20-point quarters in the second half, outscoring Richmond 40-38. But the strong first half by the green and gold was enough to keep the Bucs at bay.
Watson came alive in the third with 10 points, while Jackson added his final triple of the night. Baldwin, Chavis and Dumas each pushed through a field goal.
Helping ice the game down the stretch in the fourth quarter was Williams with a triple and two field goals for seven points. Watson and Chavis each collected their final six points.
“We’re looking forward to the last two weeks of basketball for us,” Hutchinson closed. “I’m confident that the guys can win out in our final four games.”
Richmond’s record improved to 12-6 overall and got back to the .500 mark at 5-5 against SAC opponents. The JV Raiders will travel to Hoke County High School on Tuesday as the regular season winds down, with tip set for 6 p.m.
