ROCKINGHAM — Honoring the life and legacy of a former coach and athletic director Tuesday, the Richmond Senior and Pine Forest boys’ basketball teams met in the annual Jason Norton Classic.
Remembering the long-time Richmond coach and Pine Forest athletic director, the Raiders and Trojans also officially opened Mid-South Conference play.
A tight contest in the first half was opened up by the Raiders in the second half, especially the third quarter, resulting in a 61-45 victory.
Following the game, Richmond head coach Donald Pettigrew was given the Jason Norton Classic trophy and senior Amer Morrison presented it to members of Norton’s family.
Among those in attendance were Norton’s wife Lauren and youngest son Jase, as well as his sister Ryan Norton-Smith. The team and Norton’s family members posed for a picture at half court.
A total of nine Raiders found the basket in the win, led by senior Jayden Hamilton’s 14 points. Netting double-digits were Morrison (12 points) and junior Josiah Brewington (11 points).
Freshman Cam’ron Coley added eight points, while senior Domonic Tillman and junior Chance Crowder each netted five points. Junior Bryan Hinson and sophomore Kerick Hairston Jr. and Donovan Jones all scored two points.
Happy with the way the Raiders took control to open a two-point lead at half in the third quarter, Pettigrew shared that the team needs to be more efficient with its scoring in the fourth quarter. He added that capitalizing off set plays needs improved, too.
Six Raiders contributed to a 13-12 lead at the end of the first quarter. Two free throws by Coley and a transition bucket from Morrison made it 4-0 a minute into the game. Brewington got on the board less than a minute later with a triple from the left corner to extend the lead to 7-3.
With the game tied following a short run by the Trojans, a jumper by Hamilton and a transition triple from Crowder gave Richmond its largest lead of the first quarter, 12-7.
With under a minute to go, Tillman connected on a free throw to break another tie to lead by a point going into the second.
Pine Forest (3-9, 0-1 MSC) took an early lead in the second thanks to a 6-2 run. A drive by Crowder kept the deficit at three points, 18-15.
Starting with a drive by Hairston Jr. at the 6:01 mark, the Raiders battled out to a 24-20 lead. Hamilton made an athletic basket around a defender and answered that with a three-ball from the left wing. A baseline drive from Morrison added to the lead.
The Trojans surged back to take a 26-24 lead before Brewington scored the game’s next five points on his own. He powered through the paint for a bucket and then made a putback and the ensuing and-one opportunity after a steal on an inbound attempt.
With 32 seconds to go before the break, Brewington scored his ninth point of the half with a free throw to make it 30-28 at intermission.
A more-energized Raiders team took control of the floor to open the second half, starting the third quarter on an 11-0 run to take a 41-28 lead. Twice during that span Pine Forest called a timeout, but neither had much impact on Richmond’s scoring.
Starting the surge was a Coley drive, followed by Hamilton’s second triple of the game, this time from the top of the arc. Hamilton scored the next basket in transition off a turnover, which was added to by close-range shots from Brewington and Morrison.
The Raiders grew their lead to as many as 13 points four different times in the third. Morrison netted the final six of his eight points in the third stanza on two transition buckets and a jumper.
Jones helped make it 49-36 at the end of the quarter when he returned his own rebound to the hoop.
Keeping the momentum going early in the fourth, Tillman took advantage of a breakaway chance to throw down a one-handed jam for the first points.
Before the midway point of the quarter, Hamilton and Coley each scored a field goal to give the Raiders their largest lead of the game, 17 points, 55-38.
Pine Forest wouldn’t go away quietly, as the Trojans chipped away at their deficit to cut it to 55-43. Adding insurance baskets for the Raiders in the closing 2:12 were Tillman, Coley and Hinson.
The Raiders (10-4, 1-0 MSC) head to Jack Britt High School (8-6, 0-0 MSC) Friday for another conference game. Action will get underway at 7:30 p.m.
Click here to read about the junior varsity boys’ basketball team’s 58-53 win over Pine Forest.
Click here for a recap of the Lady Raiders’ conference-opening 42-23 win Tuesday.
The Richmond Observer will publish photo galleries of all three games later in the week.
