ROCKINGHAM — The closing minute of Monday’s boys’ basketball game was filled with a lot of drama, a few missed opportunities and one crucial rebound, as the final score favored the Richmond Raiders.
Getting redemption for a loss suffered to Jack Britt High School on the road Jan. 16, the Raiders and head coach Donald Pettigrew evened their Mid-South Conference series with the Buccaneers.
A game that saw Richmond hold the lead for the majority of the four quarters came down to the wire in a 60-59 win. With the victory, the Raiders maintained their first-place spot in the conference standings.
Up 11 points near the end of the third quarter, Richmond allowed Jack Britt (12-11, 4-5 MSC) to slowly shoot its way back into contention in the final stanza.
With Richmond trailing by a point with 39.5 seconds left in regulation, senior shooting guard Amer Morrison scored a shot off the glass on an inbound pass.
That bucket made it 60-59, although the Raiders would have to work for the win in the time remaining and use a couple of lucky breaks, too.
“This is a game we’ve had circled on the schedule for a month,” Pettigrew said. “We felt like we let the game (on Jan. 16) get away from us and the guys wanted to have their shot to get even. We played a really good, physical first three quarters but then it was like looking at how the other game ended.”
After Morrison made the eventual game-winning bucket, a series of timeouts were called by both teams. Pettigrew used that time to refocus the Raiders.
“My message to the guys was to just make smart plays and not turn the ball over,” Pettigrew explained. “We had a one-point lead and so we just had to play our game and not make any mistakes.
“We got lucky a couple of times, but when it mattered, we played strong defense on the last possession to force a tough shot.”
One of those breaks Pettigrew alluded to was a turnover by Jack Britt with 27.7 seconds to play that was the result of a five-second violation caused by Richmond’s defense on a Buccaneers’ inbound attempt.
Later, after a missed layup that would have put Richmond ahead by three points, Jack Britt’s Khalil Fielder missed both free throw attempts after being fouled in the paint with 9.9 ticks to go.
Richmond turned the ball over after getting the ensuing rebound, which set the final possession of the game in motion.
With Jack Britt inbounding the ball with 8.2 seconds remaining, junior Chance Crowder and freshman Cam’ron Coley crashed down on Deryian Mitchell in front of the Bucs’ bench. A successful pass to Derek Mitchell on the baseline was met by Morrison and senior Jayden Hamilton applying defensive pressure in the paint.
Derek Mitchell attempted a contested shot near the left elbow, but it missed the rim entirely. There to secure the defensive rebound off the right side of the glass as the clock ran out was sophomore Donovan Jones.
Seven Raiders scored in the win and it was Hamilton (16 points) and Morrison (12 points) who led the way. Nine of Hamilton’s points came in the second half and Morrison scored eight points after the break, including six points in the decisive fourth quarter.
Coley, Crowder and Jones each had eight points, with senior Domonic Tillman adding four points and sophomore Kerick Hairston Jr. netting two points.
The Raiders opened the game on a 9-4 run thanks to field goals from Hamilton, Tillman and Morrison, which were followed by a Crowder three-pointer. Crowder broke an 11-11 tie with a drive, and a basket from Coley and an old-fashioned three-point play by Jones gave the Raiders a 16-13 lead after one.
Jack Britt surged ahead to lead 19-18 with just under six minutes to go in the second quarter. Hamilton scored five points in the second, including a three-pointer from the top of the arc that started a 7-0 run for Richmond.
Adding to that stretch were Coley and Hairston Jr., who scored on a drive and a layup following a steal, respectively. Leading 25-19, field goals from Jones, Morrison and Hamilton kept Richmond ahead by two possessions, 31-25, at halftime.
Richmond slowed the tempo down in the third quarter and steadily built its lead to as many as 11 points. Early baskets from Hamilton and Tillman were added to by four straight points from Coley. He made a putback and two foul shots to make it 39-30.
Drives to the basket by Crowder and Hamilton inside of three minutes gave Richmond its largest lead of the game, 43-32. Seven straight points from the Bucs cut it to four points, but a Jones free throw and a Morrison transition basket put the Raiders ahead 46-39 to start the fourth.
Prior to everything that unfolded in the final minute, Hamilton knocked in his final five points on an inbound play and a triple in front of the student section. Morrison made a layup and later had a spinning drive in the paint to give Richmond a 55-51 lead with 2:40 to go.
Helping set up Morrison’s game-winning basket were Crowder and Jones, who combined for three points on a free throw and a drive.
With a chance to clinch the inaugural MSC title outright, the Raiders (17-6, 7-2 MSC) will close their regular season schedule with a final conference road trip Friday at Pine Forest High School (4-15, 1-7 MSC). Action will get started at 7:30 p.m.
