RAEFORD — Similar to its shift in positive momentum the past seven weeks, the Richmond Senior High School boys’ basketball team tapped into that mojo during the second quarter of Friday’s game.
Reaching the 10-straight-win mark, the Raiders and head coach Donald Pettigrew didn’t panic when a 13-point lead was cut to a one-point advantage near the midway point of the second period
Using a 15-0 run to set the tempo for the rest of the Sandhills Athletic Conference game, Richmond cruised to an 89-62 win at Hoke County High School.
Scoring a single-game season-high in points, the Raiders relied on eight scorers and their suffocating press defense to complete the regular-season sweep of the Bucks (7-12, 2-7 SAC).
Netting his second 20+ point performance this week, junior shooting guard Jayden Hamilton scored a game-high 23 points. He shot 7-of-13 from the field and 7-of-10 from the line.
Continuing his big offensive contributions, fellow junior Amer Morrison finished with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting.
Two others reached double-digits — senior Ahaiver McDonald (17 points) and sophomore point guard Chance Crowder (10 points). They combined to shoot 7-of-10 and 3-of-9 from the floor, respectively.
As a team, the Raiders connected on 32-of-61 shot attempts, finishing with a .525 shooting percentage. Other scorers were senior Davion Ingram (9 points), senior Keyonta Davis (6 points), junior Domonic Tillman (3 points) and senior Zyonn Mason (2 points).
Opening the first quarter on a 17-4 run through the opening 3:35, the Raiders connected on several three-pointers. Davis pulled up from the top of the arc for the night’s first points, as McDonald and Crowder followed with one triple apiece from the left side.
Adding to the strong start were Hamilton (four points) and Tillman (two points). Crowder and McDonald each added a free throw.
Despite its large deficit, Hoke County scored a field goal with 4:15 to play, which started a 14-7 run to end the quarter. That carried over into a combined 28-14 scoring run until there was 5:02 left in the second quarter to make it a 31-30 Richmond lead.
Before the first quarter ended in a 25-18 lead for the Raiders, Morrison scored his first two buckets in the paint. McDonald returned his own rebound to the hoop and Ingram got on the board with a free throw.
As the Bucks continued to chip away at Richmond’s lead in the second quarter, Crowder, Tillman, Ingram and Hamilton combined for the team’s first six points.
Up 31-30 with 4:47 to go before the half, Crowder was fouled on a jumper. He sank both free throw attempts, which sparked a 15-0 run in a 1:54 span, ultimately breaking the game open.
McDonald had the next four points on a shot under the hoop and an easy lay-in following a steal. With the press on, Hamilton followed with a steal on an inbound pass and completed the ensuing bucket and foul shot opportunity.
Ingram and McDonald both scored a field goal to open the lead to 44-30. Stuffing a shot against the glass on the defensive end, Ingram hustled down the floor and redirected his own rebound for a basket to cap the run and make it 46-30.
In the final 90 seconds, Morrison had seven of Richmond’s final nine points and brought his first-half total to 11 points. He completed an old-fashioned three-point play before finishing two aggressive drives through the paint.
Prior to those final two buckets by Morrison, Davis made a free throw to help give the Raiders a 54-36 lead at the break.
Hamilton recorded 11 of his 23 points in the third quarter, pacing the Raiders to a lead by as many as 29 points. His first two points were from the foul line to start the quarter, which was followed by a breakaway jam by McDonald, which started with a takeaway near half court.
Richmond continued to pour on the offense thanks to a Crowder baseline jumper and drives from Davis and McDonald. Hamilton connected on a three-pointer and a deep two from the left side on consecutive possessions to make it 69-40.
The final 2:18 of the third saw McDonald, Hamilton and Morrison combine for seven points. The Raiders carried a 76-50 advantage into the final stanza.
Richmond went on a 13-12 scoring stretch to complete the victory. Morrison scored his final six points to lead the team, which included four free throws and a bucket.
Hamilton was true one more time from three-point land and Ingram and Mason both had a bucket.
Hoke County’s top scorers were Josiah Jacobs (21 points) and Gabriel Mcleod (14 points).
The Raiders (11-7, 6-2 SAC) will have off until Tuesday when they travel to Union Pines High School (12-6, 3-3 SAC). Going for the regular-season sweep of the Vikings, the game will start at 7:30 p.m.
The Richmond Observer will publish a photo gallery of Friday’s win over the weekend.
