LAURINBURG – After a rollercoaster ride that has been the 2017-2018 Richmond Senior High School Raiders basketball season, head coach Donald Pettigrew’s first season as head coach is in the books. But his players didn’t go down without a valiant effort in Tuesday’s opening round of the Sandhills Athletic Conference tournament.
The No. 7-seeded Raiders flirted with a possible upset of No. 2 Scotland High School from game’s start to finish Tuesday, but a failure to “execute down the stretch” led to the Fighting Scots escaping with a slim 59-54 victory.
The third meeting this season between the rival schools, Richmond managed to control the game for most of the first half, including an explosive 21-point second quarter.
“We played a lot better (tonight) from beginning to end,” Pettigrew said following the game. “We played a good first half, but in the second half, we came out flat. We just couldn’t finish around the basket.”
Much like their Lady Raider companions, who upset No. 3 Jack Britt Monday night, the Raiders (7-18, 2-12 SAC) got a boost from a couple of junior varsity call-ups. Sophomores Quamir Sivells and Zarmodd Ellerbe made their varsity debuts, and Sivells hit two buckets in the opening quarter before finishing the night with eight points.
Neither team got off to a fast start, with much of the first quarter staying within two possessions on the scoreboard. Sivells’ four points were aided by a three-pointer from the left wing from junior guard Malik Stanback.
With Richmond up by five, 7-2, with 4:23 to go, Scotland (16-7, 9-5 SAC) forged ahead to close the quarter on an 8-0 run to take a 10-7 lead into the second stanza. And that’s when the Raiders went off, thanks to the clutch 10-point shooting performance by senior guard Da’Shaun Wallace.
A baseline jumper from sophomore center Jarvis Tillman opened the quarter and cut Scotland’s lead to one point. Then Richmond found its stride over the next 3:19 and steamrolled the Fighting Scots on its way to a 13-0 run. In that span, Wallace scored six points, including a mid-range pullup jumper and back-to-back close-range field goals off of Scotland turnovers.
Wallace added a pair of free throws and another layup before the half, and got scoring help from senior point guard Darrius Butler, who drained three free throws in the quarter. Ellerbe and freshman guard Caleb Hood each added a field goal, and Richmond zoomed out to an 11-point lead, 26-15, with 1:33 to go before heading to the locker room.
However, Scotland would surrender quietly, as junior guard Isaiah Bostick hit a big three-pointer in the final minute to help cut the deficit. At the break, Richmond maintained a 28-22 lead.
“I’m proud of our guys playing hard. Our seniors played hard, and that’s all I can ask for,” Pettigrew said. “Da’Shaun played good, and Kaleb (Douglas) played good, too. Scotland is a good team that’s senior strong. They’ve got a lot of experience and did a good job.”
But the second half was a different story, as the Fighting Scots would outscore the visiting Raiders 37-26 in the final two quarters. But Richmond never lost its composure and forced Scotland to make its shots down the stretch and earn the victory.
A quick succession of three three-pointers by Scotland’s Bostick, Janoah McRae and Niem Ratliffe in just under a two-minute span to open the third quarter gave the Fighting Scots a 32-31 lead, which proved to be the game’s final lead change. However, the Raiders never trailed by more than six points at any given time until the final minute of regulation.
Scotland’s 19 total points in the third quarter was its best shooting quarter of the night.
Xavier Pettigrew, who has battled tendinitis in his left knee for a majority of the season, has been a consistent scoring factor that Richmond has missed. Wearing a brace, he entered the game in the first half, but missed several shots that his father, and head coach, said he would “normally make” if he were healthy. But the younger Pettigrew battled through the pain to score three of his four total points in the third quarter.
“He (Xavier) gave us what he could,” Pettigrew said. “It wasn’t a lot, but he played hard. The shots he missed are usually ones he makes, we just didn’t execute.”
A smooth Wallace jumper in transition with 43 seconds in the third cut the Scotland lead to just three points, as Richmond looked to mount a comeback trailing 41-38 entering the fourth.
Both teams traded baskets for the majority of the final stanza, as Butler had his best frame of the night, collecting seven of his 10 total points.
However, Ratliffe took control late as the Raiders were forced to foul, sending him to the line. The senior guard, who was recognized in January for scoring his 1,000th career point, rang true from the line, hitting all eight of his free throw attempts, helping put the proverbial nail in the coffin for Richmond’s season.
Bostick put the exclamation point on the night when Scotland snagged a loose ball and the 6-4 junior threw down a two-handed jam. But on the ensuing Richmond possession, with just 12 seconds left on the clock, and the Raiders trailing by a game-worst 10 points, 58-48, a triple from Butler made things interesting.
Following a Bostick free throw, Sivells chucked up a desperation three that swished the net to make the game 59-54. Due to a clock error, which didn’t start on time, the officials decided to run the remaining 2.3 seconds off the clock, sealing Scotland’s come-from-behind win.
Wallace netted a Richmond-best 14 points, while getting support from Butler (10) and Sivells (8). Tillman finished the night with six points. Ratliffe led all scorers with a game-high 21 points, while Bostick (13), Janoah McRae (11) and Justin McRae (10) all reached double digits.
Despite exiting in the first round of this year’s SAC tournament, Pettigrew is already thinking about next season and is optimistic for his team’s hopeful success in its second season under his defensive-minded system.
“I’m excited about next year, and I think we’ll be pretty good,” Pettigrew said. “We have nine guys coming back, and that’s a positive. I told the guys to ‘remember this’ – to remember how things went this year. We just have to work hard.”
Richmond’s season is officially over, marking the first time since the 2009-2010 season that the Raiders won’t compete in the 4A state playoffs. Scotland will continue on in the SAC tournament and host No. 3 Pinecrest High School (19-6, 9-5 SAC) Thursday.
