ROCKINGHAM — Although it came down to a decisive fourth quarter, the Richmond Raiders completed the season sweep of third-place Union Pines High School on Tuesday.
Breaking a tie midway through the final period, and going on a 18-14 run in the last eight minutes, the Raiders, who are tied for first place, defeated the Vikings 60-54.
Sophomore guard Javian Drake collected an offensive rebound and put the ball into the basket with 5:29 to play to put Richmond up two points. His subsequent and-one shot gave the Raiders a 47-44 lead, which proved to be the final lead change of the game.
Richmond never led by more than four points during the game until Drake added a pair of insurance free throws, the final of his 14 points, with 3.5 seconds left on the clock.
Sophomore shooting guard Paul McNeil junior was also big in the win, collecting a double-double. He netted a game-high 28 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Raiders.
“Union Pines is scrappy and they made it tough for us,” head coach Donald Pettigrew said. “They did a good job of running their sets and we couldn’t throw it in the hole for nothing tonight.
“But the guys kept playing hard and kept shooting,” he added. “It was one of those conference games down the stretch we knew was going to be tough. Everyone is fighting for seeding, and we were able to get the win.”
A 7-0 run by Union Pines in the first three minutes of the game was broken when junior guard Dakota Chavis stole a pass and laid in the first two of his nine points. That started a 5-0 run when McNeil added three straight free throws.
McNeil scored a bucket and Drake knocked down a three-pointer from the left corner in the closing two minutes.
Jack Adair scored seven of his nine points of the game in the first quarter for the Vikings, and five points from Stevenson Lee Haskell and four more from Kelby Wright gave Union Pines a 16-10 lead after the first.
A McNeil breakaway jam and two free throws started a 4-0 run by Richmond to begin the second. The Raiders took their first lead of the game, 21-20, when McNeil scored a transition layup at the 4:22 mark.
That capped a 7-0 run by Richmond that also featured a Chavis three-pointer and a jumper from sophomore Jamarion Wall, who ended the game with five points.
An 8-4 spurt by the Vikings closed the first half to put the visitors up 28-25. Demari Patterson scored four of his six points in the stretch.
Sophomore Javian Drake high-fives Paul McNeil after his go-ahead layup in the fourth quarter. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
Pettigrew noted that locking down on defense in the second half was one of the biggest difference makers in the comeback win.
“Defensively, we cleaned it up a little better,” he said. “We tried to make things tougher for them by running full-court (defense) and making No. 25 (Haskell) go to his left a little more.
“The guys started to make stuff happen and they picked it up in the second half.”
Four fast points from McNeil to start the third period cut Richmond’s deficit to one point, and junior Zion Baldwin added a pair of free throws a few possessions later. He finished the game with four points and nine boards.
McNeil, who scored 12 points in the third, added a layup and Wall rattled home a triple from the top of the key to tie the game at 36 points with 2:10 left.
Following a foul in the lane, and a technical foul issued to Union Pines, McNeil connected on four straight free throws to put Richmond ahead by two points. One more shot off the glass by McNeil gave the Raiders a 42-40 lead heading into the fourth.
Drake put Richmond ahead for good with his old-fashioned three-point play and Richmond entered the double bonus with 3:48 to play. Baldwin added his final two points from the charity stripe following that foul.
McNeil scored his final five points of the game in the closing minutes, and both Chavis, who added a team-high 11 assists, and Drake notched free throws to seal the win.
Junior Dakota Chavis (5) prepares to shoot a free throw with 1:19 left in regulation during Tuesday’s win over Union Pines. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
“JV (Drake) has had a rough past two games but I told him to keep playing and find his spot,” Pettigrew said. “He’s a shooter and he did a good job of getting himself going.
“Paul didn’t shoot the three-ball well tonight, but his free throws down the stretch were really good for us. We expect that out of him and he impacts the game in so many ways.”
The Vikings (16-4, 6-3 SAC) were led in scoring by Haskell (17 points) and Wright (12 points). Adair added 7 points and Isaiah Robbins notched 6 points.
With the win, the Raiders improved to 17-1 on the season and 7-1 against SAC opponents. Richmond will return for game two of three this week on the road at Southern Lee (3-13, 2-6 SAC).
Looking to stay in a first-place tie with Pinecrest, the Raiders will tip-off against the Cavaliers at 7:30 p.m. Richmond defeated Southern Lee 70-44 on Dec. 7.
