FAYETTEVILLE — An issue that has plagued the Richmond Senior High School boys’ basketball team during the first half of the season cost it a chance at staying in the win column Friday.
Playing their first Mid-South Conference road game of the season, the Raiders couldn’t close the door at Jack Britt High School.
Despite holding a six-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter, Richmond lost 66-60. The Raiders were outscored 20-8 in the final eight minutes.
Head coach Donald Pettigrew was straight to the point following the loss, citing a poor performance by the team in the fourth quarter as a recurring issue this season that ended up resulting in a loss to the Buccaneers.
“We have got to be a better team in the second half, especially the fourth quarter,” Pettigrew said. “This isn’t the first time we haven’t been able to score late in games this season and tonight we went over four minutes (in the fourth quarter) without scoring. That cost us.
“We put ourselves in a good position in the first half and led by double digits, but we need to really want it late in the game if we want to win. There were too many turnovers tonight and this is conference play now – we can’t be making those same mistakes.”
Senior Jayden Hamilton was the lone Raider to finish with double digits on the scoresheet, finishing with a team-high 18 points. Hamilton had six of Richmond’s eight points in the fourth.
Senior Amer Morrison and sophomore Kerick Hairston Jr. each finished with nine points. All of Hairston Jr.’s points came from three-point land.
Other players to find the basket were freshman Cam’ron Coley (8 points), sophomore Donovan Jones (7 points), senior Domonic Tillman (6 points) and junior Josiah Brewington (3 points).
Both teams took some time to get their offensive rhythm going in the first quarter, as Jack Britt led 12-10 after the first.
Hamilton had his first four points on a jumper and a drive, the second basket putting Richmond ahead 8-7 with 2:09 to play. Coley and Morrison each had a field goal early on, and Tillman made a close-range shot to extend Richmond’s lead to 10-8.
Jack Britt closed the final 1:30 of the first on a 4-0 run to take a two-point lead.
After a Morrison free throw and a triple by the Buccaneers (9-6, 1-0 MSC) started the second, a putback off the glass by Jones ignited a 9-0 run for the Raiders.
Morrison netted a transition basket off a steal, Jones had the next three points of a free throw and a bucket, and Coley finished a layup to put the Raiders ahead 20-15 with 4:24 to play before the half.
A field goal by Jack Britt stopped the run, but Hairston Jr. began an 8-0 run when he splashed down a pair of triples from the right side on back-to-back possessions. Adding a basket in transition was Hamilton to give Richmond a 28-17 lead.
The Raiders’ largest lead of the game, 12 points, came with about a minute left in the quarter when Hamilton scored a baseline drive and Morrison connected on one free throw.
Up 31-19, Richmond allowed the Bucs to score a pair of three-pointers to cut its lead to 31-25 at halftime.
That momentum carried over for the home team to start the third, which went on a 7-1 run to tie the game at 32 points. The lone point for Richmond was a Morrison free throw.
The next six points belonged to the Raiders, who used baskets from Coley and Brewington, along with a spinning jumper by Morrison to regain a 36-30 lead with 4:22 on the clock.
Brewington added a foul shot and Hairston Jr. made his final three-pointer with 3:02 to go in the third to maintain a six-point lead.
Hamilton and Tillman both had four points apiece in the last 2:00 of the quarter and a basket by Jones made it 52-46 entering the fourth.
A quick layup by Hamilton on the opening possession of the fourth made it an eight-point lead, but Richmond wouldn’t find the basket again until the 5:02 mark when Coley scored a drive.
Chipping away, Jack Britt tied the game at 56 points with 2:14 to play. With the Bucs leading by five points, Hamilton ended a scoring drought of nearly four minutes when he drove the paint. His basket cut Richmond’s deficit to 61-58 with 40.6 seconds to go.
Pettigrew called a timeout, but Richmond missed a shot on the ensuing possession and Jack Britt got the rebound. A field goal and three free throws by the home team helped keep it ahead.
Richmond’s final basket was a Coley shot on an inbound pass as the clock expired.
The Raiders (10-5, 1-1 MSC) will have a quick turnaround and play at Lee County High School Saturday as part of an MLK Jr. weekend tournament. Richmond will play Westover High School.
