LAURINBURG — An early season battle of unbeatens between two neighboring rivals resulted in a third straight win for the Richmond Senior High School boys’ basketball team Tuesday.
Able to shake another slow start, the Raiders used a crucial run in the third quarter to defeat Scotland High School.
Thanks to four double-digit scorers, and nine total players finding the basket, Richmond defeated the Fighting Scots 83-72.
In what head coach Donald Pettigrew said was a “game where we played well in spurts,” the Raiders used a 15-2 stretch in the final 3:30 of the third quarter to open up a three-point lead and distance themselves from a scrappy Scotland squad.
Richmond’s top tandem of scorers — senior shooting guards Jayden Hamilton and Amer Morrison — led the way in scoring for the third straight game.
Morrison finished with a single-game career-high 21 points, while Hamilton chipped in 17 points for the second straight game. Morrison scored all but two of his points in the second and third quarters and had 12 points in the game-changing third stanza.
Also setting new career-highs were freshman Cam’ron Coley (14 points) and sophomore Donovan Jones (12 points), both of whom Pettigrew noted played more aggressively.
Adding to the scoring surge was junior Josiah Brewington and his eight points, followed by senior Domonic Tillman’s six points. Other scorers were junior BJ Hinson and freshman Jimmy Tillman with two points each and senior Zamarion Robinson (one point).
Scotland controlled the tempo early and used the three-pointer to take a 15-6 lead. Richmond settled in and answered by scoring 14 of the next 16 points in the game, starting with Hamilton making two free throws following a technical foul.
Eight points from four players — Coley, Jones, Domonic Tillman and Brewington — extended the run to 10 points to retake a 16-15 lead. After Scotland scored a bucket, Brewington went on a four-point run by himself with a basket and two free throws to give Richmond a 20-19 lead after the first.
The first four minutes of the second stanza saw both teams trade buckets and the Raiders lead by as many as three points five times.
Trailing 30-29, Coley muscled his way back to the rim for two points following an offensive rebound to give the Raiders a one-point lead with 4:00 to go, a lead the team wouldn’t lose the rest of the game.
Padding the lead were two free throws by Jones, a drive by Hamilton and a bucket and a foul from Morrison to make it 38-30. Scotland’s Collin Hill ended the Raider run with a free throw, only to be answered by Jimmy Tillman’s two points from the line.
In the closing two minutes of the half, Jones, Coley and Morrison each netted a field goal to give the Raiders a 46-37 lead at the break.
Five quick points on a Coley putback and a Hamilton triple to start the third quarter boosted Richmond’s lead to a dozen points. Scotland, however, closed the gap with an 11-2 run thanks to three three-pointers and a bucket to cut its deficit to 53-50 and 4:53 on the clock.
Making the first of his two third-quarter three-pointers, Morrison drained a shot from the top of the arc to begin the 15-2 scoring stretch. After a basket by Scotland, Coley and Morrison combined for the next 12 points.
Coley made a free throw and added a putback off the glass with 2:38 to play. Adding to the 61-54 lead, Morrison made a transition basket and splashed down another three-ball to regain a 12-point advantage.
Running the trap effectively, Richmond’s defense forced two Scotland turnovers which were returned to the cylinder by Morrison to end the run and make it a 16-point lead. The Fighting Scots scored before the horn, keeping Richmond’s lead to 70-56.
A free throw by Coley and an old-fashioned three-point play by Jones grew Richmond’s lead to 18 points early in the fourth. Three quick transition buckets, two by Hamilton and one by Morrison, gave the Raiders a 22-point advantage, 80-58, their largest lead of the night with 5:10 left.
Pettigrew sent in a full set of reserves near the midway point of the quarter, which played out the rest of the game. Hinson hit a jumper and Robinson had the final point of the game from the line with 16.9 seconds to play.
The Raiders (3-0) will look to sweep the Fighting Scots (3-1) in a home game Friday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Sports editor’s note: The Richmond Observer will publish a JV Raider basketball article Wednesday.
