FAYETTEVILLE — The last time the Richmond Raider basketball team played on the road at Jack Britt High School, then sophomore forward Nygie Stroman hit a game-winning layup with 5.7 seconds left.
That game was played on Feb. 1 of last year, and the one-point win proved the first time in Richmond’s history it had won on the Buccaneers home court. That win was followed by another in Rockingham on Feb. 18, which set up the historic meeting between the two teams on Friday.
Stroman, who is now a junior, played hero again as he went off for a season-high 27 points, which also matched his career high (first set against Purnell Swett High School on Jan. 25, 2019). The 6-7 forward made easy work of the Buccaneer’s 2-3 defense in the early going to set the tempo for the Raiders.
Richmond extended its program-best three-game winning streak against the Buccaneers with a 58-43 win. The victory helped the Raiders improve to 9-2 overall, but more importantly remain a perfect 3-0 against Sandhills Athletic Conference opponents.
Stroman accounted for 16 first-half points, scoring eight points in each of the first two quarters. In the final two stanzas, he chipped in 11 more points, with nine coming in the fourth.
Aiding the Raiders in the win was junior point guard Dylan Lewis, who matched his season-high with 10 points. Lewis moved into the starting rotation due to an undisclosed injury to senior point guard Quamir Sivels, and Lewis showed out following a recent death in his family.
Richmond commanded the floor for the first three quarters, taking a 40-23 lead into the final period. But Jack Britt would open the quarter on a 10-2 run to force Stroman and the Raiders to buckle down.
“We knew coming here that Jack Britt is always a tough team to play,” head coach Donald Pettigrew said. “When (Jack Britt) made their run, I told the guys they needed to keep their focus and they weren’t worried at all.
“Nygie continues to be big for us,” he added. “He knew how important it was for him to get things going early. Once he gets going like that, he’s hard to stop. Dylan is a great kid who has a lot of confidence in his shot. He was inspired tonight and really helped us.”
Both teams got off to strong starts, seeing Richmond take a 16-10 lead into the second quarter. Adding to Stroman’s eight points were a pair of triples from Lewis and a mid-range jumper from senior Jarvis Tillman.
The Raiders’ defense locked down the Buccaneers in the second quarter, holding them to just two points on a Langston Davis field goal. Stroman accounted for eight of Richmond’s 11 points, while junior Dalton Stroman chipped in the other three points.
Dalton Stroman laid in a bucket on a nice bounce pass assist from junior point guard Patrick McLaughlin, and junior wing Caleb Hood punched away a shot attempt by Davis in the closing seconds of the half. At the break, Richmond led 27-12.
Five different Raiders would find the bucket in the third quarter, steadily adding to their lead. Hood, who proved to be a game changer with his size and strength beneath the basket in the second half, scored five of his nine total points in the third.
His made free throw with just over a minute to go in the quarter gave the Raiders their largest lead of the night, 21 points, 39-18. McLaughlin dropped a floater in transition and added a free throw, while Lewis and Nygie Stroman each added a bucket.
The Buccaneers, led by six points from Jordian Fox and five more by Davis, outscored the Raiders 20-18 in the final stanza. Following the 10-2 run by Jack Britt, CJ McArthur and Chris Crosby splashed down three-pointers to make it a three-point deficit, 46-43.
But a putback by Tillman on his own rebound ignited a 12-0 run by the Raiders to shut the door. Hood followed with a hard drive through the paint, and Tillman swatted a shot attempt by McArthur on the next possession.
To put an exclamation point on the win, both Nygie Stroman and Hood threw down a two-handed jam in the final minute. Stroman’s dunk was fed by Hood on a bounce pass in transition.
“Caleb can be tough to handle, especially with how strong he is under the basket,” Pettigrew said. “To be 3-0 in conference feels great because we’ve continued to stay focused. It’s a long conference season and now we’re getting ready for a tough week next week.
“I told the guys we need to win the games we’re supposed to win,” he closed. “We’re looking forward to starting with Hoke next week. These are great kids who are having fun and making their high school experience great.”
Richmond will saddle up for a trip to Hoke County (5-7, 0-3 SAC) on Tuesday, before hosting Lumberton High School (11-1, 2-0 SAC) on Friday. Both games will begin around 8 p.m.
