ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond Raider varsity basketball team hadn’t beaten rival Scotland High School in nearly two years entering Friday’s game in Raider Gymnasium. But that streak ended as the Raiders picked up their third-straight Sandhills Athletic Conference win.
In front of the biggest crowd this season, the Raiders used a fast start and a game-high 17 points from senior shooting guard Rod Newton to edge the Fighting Scots 59-50.
It’s been a good week for head coach Donald Pettigrew’s team, as the Raiders upset top teams Lumberton and Seventy-First high schools before beating Scotland. An 0-4 start to SAC play has flipped in the last seven days, as the Raiders got back to 8-8 overall, and sit at 3-4 in conference play.
Off the opening tip, the Raiders rolled out to a 7-0 run in the opening 90 seconds. Sophomore Caleb Hood muscled his way through the paint for the game’s first points, while fellow 10th grader Nygie Stroman knocked in a putback under the rim.
The run ended when junior center Jarvis Tillman blocked a shot, sent an outlet pass to freshman Kellan Hood, who dished it out to a wide-open Newton at the top of the key for the first of his game-high three three-pointers. Scotland stopped the bleeding when Trevion Graham banked a shot off the glass at the 6:01 mark.
“Jarvis started the game for us tonight by blocking shots defensively,” Pettigrew said following the game. “The guys really started knocking down open shots. They’re the same shots we’ve been taking all year, but now they’re going in.
“The boys were fired up because they were playing Scotland and there’s that rivalry,” he added. “The crowd was electric and the team fed off of that.”
Richmond’s lead quickly climbed to 11 points following a Stroman triple, and the home team held an 18-9 lead at the end of the first eight minutes. Scotland only managed to score five points in the second frame, as a two-handed jam by Richmond’s Xavier Pettigrew capped off his four-point quarter after coming in off the bench.
At the break, the Raiders held a 15-point lead, their largest of the first half, 29-14.
The third quarter belonged to Graham and the Fighting Scots, as the Raider offense got stuck in a lull out of the intermission. A Newton floater in the opening 30 seconds would be the last basket the Raiders would score for 5:59 before Xavier Pettigrew drove the lane with 1:31 to go.
During that span, Graham hit three shots from down low, and got assistance from Kristopher McLean and Bryant Williams. Together, the three Fighting Scots cut their deficit to four points, 31-27.
Pettigrew’s bucket and subsequent made and-one opportunity sparked a 7-2 Richmond run to enter the fourth quarter up by nine points, 38-29.
In the final frame, only three Raiders would score, but they would combine for 21 points. Newton led the way with nine points (three-pointer, two field goals and two free throws), while junior guard Quamir Sivels netted seven of his nine total points. Sophomore guard PJ McLaughlin hit a floater before going 3-for-5 from the line to close the game out.
McLaughlin gave the Raiders their largest lead of the game, 17 points, when he hit the front end of a one-and-one opportunity at the halfway point of the fourth. From there, Scotland never got closer than 11 points until a last-second layup made it 59-50 as time expired.
“This win is really big for us,” Pettigrew shared. “Coach (Ricky) Young and Coach (Frank) Harrington have been in my ear all season telling me it’s a long season. I knew the wins were coming, I just thought it’d be earlier.
“I told the guys that if we’re going to do it the hard way, then that’s what we’re going to do,” he continued. “Our bounce is totally different now and we’re playing with confidence. PJ is growing up in front of our eyes and is being more vocal.”
He added that Sivels’ performance was an example of “the process,” where guys like him and Stroman are hitting their stride as the season progresses. Hood’s “aggressiveness” is also something Pettigrew noted as being a factor in the team’s season-high three game win streak.
Newton had a game-high 17 points, and was Richmond’s only double-digit scorer. Pettigrew, Sivels and Stroman all added nine points in the win. Leading Scotland (4-12, 2-5 SAC) was Graham with 14 points, as McLean followed up with 13 points.
The Raiders will play in the 11th annual Tony Perrou Classic Tournament at South Alamance High School on Monday, Jan. 21. Richmond is set to play Walter Williams High School at 12:30 p.m.
