The Richmond Senior men’s basketball team has been itching to return to the court since a 68-45 loss to Cape Fear on Dec. 17 — the Raiders’ first defeat of the season.

Richmond (5-1) will end its 10-day layoff Monday when it participates in the Seventh Annual Holiday-in-the-Pines basketball tournament at James Moore Gym at host Pinecrest High School.

“It has been good to get some practice time in, and be able to work on some things,” Laton said. “But the kids and the coaches would rather play, and it’s going to be a good thing to play three games in three days.”

There will be four first round games on Monday. The event continues with second round tilts on Tuesday and concludes with three consolation games and the championship contest on Wednesday.

The Raiders’ first round opponent will be Broughton High School out of Raleigh, with tipoff slated at 6 p.m. The Capitals, coached by Jeff Ferrell, are 4-3 on the season and are making their first appearance in the tournament.

Laton expects Broughton to be a quality opponent.

“I’ve talked to people that have seen them play, and they’re going to be a tough opponent,” Laton said. “From what I know, they’ve got a couple outstanding perimeter players and two solid post players.

“Usually, when you’re solid in those two aspects of the game, you’re in pretty good shape,” Laton added. “They also like to play different defenses, and we’re going to have to adjust offensively. This is going to be a good test for us.”

Richmond has added some depth to its roster with the return of Tedarrius Wiley. Wiley sat out the first five games, recovering from shoulder and ankle injuries sustained during football season. He scored six points in his 2009-10 debut against Cape Fear.

According to Laton, Wiley, who has played on the varsity team for the past two years, is capable of playing both the guard and wing positions.

Laton added Wiley should be continue to be a valuable asset to the Raiders.

“Tedarrius is a versatile player who has very good leadership qualities,” Laton said. “I also believe his demeanor and personality should help our team.”

After participating in the three-day tourney next week, Richmond will begin the new year with two more nonconference games before beginning its Southeastern Conference schedule.

The Raiders will play back-to-back homes against South Robeson on Tuesday, Jan. 5, which is a makeup date from Dec. 15.

Richmond will play the following night against South View at Raider Gym. The Raiders opened the season with a 74-58 win over the Tigers. Richmond will begin conference play on the road at Hoke on Friday, Jan. 8, which will be the first of 10 straight league games on the schedule.

“At this time of year, we’re just trying to get ourselves better and we’re not doing a lot of strategizing or scouting in these out-of-conference games,” Laton said. “We’re just hoping to be ready once conference season rolls around, when we will then put more emphasis on strategy.”

Laton believes the upcoming eight-team tourney should be beneficial to his Raiders. While the objective is to win the tournament championship, Laton wants his squad to make a strong showing.

“We know this is going to be a very good tournament, and we’re going to be facing teams that we don’t know much about,” Laton said.

“It’s going to be interesting to see how we respond against these quality nonconference teams. We’re just going to take it one game at a time, and see what happens. Hopefully, we will represent ourselves and the school well on the court.”

Wakefield, which is not a participant this season, defeated Pinecrest 62-52 in the 2008 Holiday in the Pines’ title game.

Contact sports reporter Corey Davis at 997-3111, ext. 44; e-mail cdavis@yourdailyjournal.com



Holiday-In-The-Pines

Tournament Schedule

Monday. – Game 1 – 2 p.m. Southern Lee (6-4) vs Trinity Christian (7-1); Game 2 – 3:30 p.m. Fuquay-Varina (1-9) vs Overhills (4-5); Game 3 – 6 p.m. Broughton (4-3) vs Richmond (5-1); Game 4 - 7:30 p.m. West Montgomery (3-2) vs Pinecrest (8-0); Tuesday. – Game 5 – 2 p.m. Loser G1 vs Loser G3; Game 6 – 3:30 p.m. Loser G2 vs Loser G4; Game 7 – 6 p.m. Winner G1 vs Winner G3; Game 8 – 7:30 p.m. Winner G2 vs Winner G4; Wednesday. – Seventh place - 2 p.m. Loser G5 vs Loser G6; Fifth place 3:30 p.m. Winner G5 vs Winner G6; Third place - 6 p.m. Loser G7 vs Loser G8; Championship game – 7:30 p.m. Winner G7 vs Winner G8.