ROCKINGHAM — Playing its third game of the week Saturday, the Richmond Senior High School boys’ junior varsity basketball team suffered its third straight loss.
Similar to Friday’s game at Scotland High School, the JV Raiders let a late lead slip away Saturday at home against non-conference Hillside High School.
Ahead by three points to start the final quarter, Richmond couldn’t close out the win and lost 68-64.
Using a platoon of scorers, the JV Raiders were led by sophomore Devin Haynes (15 points) and William Bryant (13 points). Haynes and Bryant combined for seven three-pointers, with Bryant finishing with a team-leading four triples.
Nearly reaching double figures were sophomores Xander Chavis (9 points), Zymere Gillespie (8 points) and JaVeion Littlejohn (8 points).
Four others scored in the loss — freshmen Zakai Wilson (6 points), Jazari Dawkins (2 points), TJ Watkins (2 points) and Cam Everett (1 point).
Aside from an early drive from Chavis and a free throw from Everett, the JV Raiders found themselves down 17-3 with about a minute left in the opening quarter.
A putback by Haynes started an 8-2 run in the final minute to get Richmond back in it. Haynes followed with two free throws to make it 17-7.
Wilson made a basket after an offensive rebound with 6.6 seconds left. After a steal on the inbound, Haynes recorded his final two of his six first-quarter points with a jumper in the paint.
Down 19-11 to start the second quarter, the JV Raiders built some momentum with a couple of small scoring runs.
A three-ball in the left corner from Gillespie opened the quarter’s scoring and that was followed by a putback by Dawkins to put Richmond on a 5-0 run.
Bryant later made a free throw to make it a two-possession game, 21-17. Littlejohn started his own 5-0 run after a Hillside three-pointer, first netting a triple in the right corner before pulling in a board and putting it back up for a bucket.
The closest the JV Raiders got in the second was 26-25 when Haynes splashed down a three-pointer with 40 seconds left. A free throw by Chavis in the final 10 seconds kept Richmond’s deficit 28-26 at the half.
Using a strong third quarter, the JV Raiders outscored the JV Hornets 20-15 to take a 46-43 lead. The three-pointer was dialed in for Richmond, as Bryant and Williams each scored two shots from beyond the arc and Chavis added the first of his two second-half triples.
A pair of free throws by Watkins and a field goal by Wilson gave the JV Raiders the three-point lead heading into the fourth.
Down the stretch, however, Hillside scored 25 points to Richmond’s 18 points in the fourth to secure the four-point victory.
Three-pointers from Bryant (2), Chavis, Littlejohn and Gillespie accounted for 15 of Richmond’s points. Wilson netted two free throws and Gillespie had one.
A free throw by the Hornets with 9.1 seconds left made it 68-64 and Richmond missed a layup on the ensuing run down the floor, bringing the game to an end.
The JV Raiders (1-3) play at Grace Christian School (7-3) Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
