ROCKINGHAM — Fresh off its run at a Mid-South Conference championship title, the Richmond Senior High School boys’ basketball team is shifting its focus at another hopeful late run this winter.
The North Carolina High School Athletic Association playoff brackets were finalized Saturday and the Raiders and head coach Donald Pettigrew are guaranteed at least one home game.
Falling into the 7A West bracket, Richmond earned the No. 9 seed. As a result, the Raiders’ first-round pairing is with No. 24 Ballantyne Ridge, the same opponent as the No. 17 Lady Raiders basketball team.
A new school which opened in Aug. 2024 to relieve overcrowding at Ardrey Kell and South Mecklenburg high schools, No. 24 Ballantyne Ridge (10-15) will make the trip to Rockingham Tuesday to face No. 9 Richmond (18-6).
Rolling into the postseason on a four-game winning streak, and winners of eight of their last 10 games, the Raiders will try and replicate the success of other postseason runs the past few years.
In order to do that, Pettigrew said the team has to remain focused on one opponent at a time and not get ahead of itself when looking at potential matchups. With the experience and skills to go deep in the playoffs, the Raiders have to take care of themselves first.
“It’s good to be back in the playoffs and have a home game,” Pettigrew shared. “Playing in front of our home crowd is something that we thrive off of and it’s something that will certainly help us in the first round.
“(Ballantyne Ridge) is a new school, but we know the area they pull from,” he continued. “That gives us an idea of what to expect. But our focus right now is on ourselves as a team. Looking too far ahead isn’t a good thing. We will better our chances if we follow our game plan for each opponent, which starts Tuesday.”
The Raiders made it to the third round of the former 4A East playoffs last season, a mark that has sort of been the standard in recent years.
In the Southwestern Conference this season, the Ridge Wolves tallied a 3-7 record and finished in fifth place (out of six teams). Inversely, the Raiders had a 7-3 record against MSC opponents and topped the standings following the inaugural season.
Entering the playoffs, Ballantyne Ridge has lost five of its last six games. The only win during that stretch was a forfeit to Rocky River High School.
Richmond has the upper hand in scoring this season between the two teams, having netted 1,589 points to average 66.2 points per game. In their 25 games, one more than Richmond’s played, the Ridge Wolves have scored 1,281 points (51.2 PPG).
Ballantyne Ridge’s defense is allowing 55.2 points per game, while Richmond’s defense has given up a few more points per contest this season (57.5 PPG).
Richmond’s dual threat of shooting guards in seniors Jayden Hamilton and Amer Morrison leads the team in scoring this season. Hamilton has averaged 14.9 points per game, while Morrison is also in double figures with 11.0 PPG.
Sophomore Donovan Jones (9.1 PPG), junior Chance Crowder and freshman Cam’ron Coley (both 8.5 PPG), are all on the cusp of averaging double digits.
No individual player for the Ridge Wolves is in double figures. Leading the team with 9.4 PPG is Jimmy Neubauer. Just behind him are Ayden Sanner (9.3 PPG) and Cameron Sapon (9.1 PPG).
Tipoff between the No. 9 Raiders and No. 24 Ridge Wolves is set for Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at the conclusion of the Lady Raiders’ home playoff game.
