ROCKINGHAM — Patrick McLaughlin may have only scored two points in Tuesday’s first-round NCHSAA 4A state playoff game, but they were the biggest ones for the No. 13 Richmond Raiders.
Hosting No. 20 Butler High School and the game knotted at 55 points with just 4.1 seconds left on the clock, McLaughlin was fouled by Chastin Gatewood driving through the paint.
With the game and the team’s season on the line, McLaughlin drilled both shots from the charity stripe to earn a 57-55 win and advance the Raiders to the second round for the second straight year.
“I missed a free throw just before on a one-and-one, and I got frustrated,” McLaughlin, a junior point guard, said. “Coach (Pettigrew) told me to keep my head up and when I got fouled I knew he believed in me.
“I just followed through and it went in,” he added of the game-winning shot.
Richmond held an 11-point lead over the Bulldogs early in the third quarter, but Butler’s Patrick Wessler, a 7-foot center, scored 11 of his game-high 22 points to pull his team close in the fourth.
Butler battled back to tie the game three times, the last time on a three-pointer from sophomore shooting guard Ty Black with 10.7 seconds left. The ensuing Raider inbound found McLaughlin, who drove the lane and was fouled.
“PJ got down on himself but I told him ‘who cares, keep playing’,” head coach Donald Pettigrew said after his second career playoff win. “All I wanted him to do is play hard and he’s been doing that all year. He made the buckets when it counted most.
“The crowd was electric, it was a playoff atmosphere,” he added of the full house. “They’ve been great all year and I appreciate all of them. Having that crowd and seeing the community come together, there’s nothing like it.”
Junior forward Nygie Stroman led the Raiders with 18 points, netting 12 of his points in the second half. He picked up a double-double with 10 rebounds. Fellow junior Caleb Hood tacked on 10 points and 10 boards for a double-double.
Having one of his best performances of the season was junior forward Dalton Stroman, who added eight points off the bench. He scored five points in the second quarter to help the Raiders take a 22-13 lead at halftime.
Trailing 9-5 after the opening quarter, and falling behind by as many as eight points, 13-5, to start the second, Richmond closed the final 5:35 of the half on a 17-0 run.
Dalton Stroman scored his first three points and Nygie Stroman got his scoring started with six straight points, all on field goals. A stepback jumper by Nygie Stroman at the 3:25 mark gave Richmond a lead it would carry into the break.
The Bulldogs (12-14) would outscore the Raiders 24-17 in the third quarter behind seven points from junior guard Moses Payne. Carson Evans added five points in the frame and Black hit the first of his three second-half triples.
Raider sophomore shooting guard Kellan Hood scored all five of his points in the fourth, starting with a triple from the right corner that broke a tie with just over seven minutes to play.
Nygie Stroman rattled home two three-pointers down the stretch, and senior Jarvis Tillman recorded a block on Gatewood in the paint in the closing minute to maintain the lead.
Kellan Hood, Tillman and senior Quamir Sivels all added five points in the win. Black’s nine points for Butler were second most.
“Jarvis, Dalton, Nygie and Jakolbe (Baldwin) all did a good job of defending (Wessler),” Pettigrew said. “They put a body on him and made it difficult on entry passes. It was a full team effort on defense.
“I’m proud of the guys for keeping their composure during the game,” he closed. “We had some ups and downs and could have gotten down on ourselves. But the guys stayed focused and finished strong.”
Richmond (20-8) will hit the road Thursday for a second round rematch from last season at No. 4 Independence High School (20-7). The Raiders were eliminated a season ago in a 58-39 decision on the road.
The time has yet to be decided.
