SOUTHERN PINES — Jalen McDonald understands his role is going to change with the return of Josh Calhoun.
After starting the first 11 games at point guard, McDonald slid over to the shooting guard position Saturday morning against Heritage in the seventh-place contest in the 10th annual Holiday in the Pines Tournament.
McDonald responded to the move by scoring 15 points, eight in the fourth quarter, as Richmond Senior rallied to claim a 68-60 victory to snap its two-game losing streak.
Calhoun scored four but was instrumental in getting the Raiders into their offensive sets, but also swapped positions with McDonald on a few possessions.
“This was real big following the two losses,” McDonald said. “We were playing pretty bad. It’s going to take some time to figure out what our roles will be.”
After leading for the majority of the game, the Raiders went into the final period trailing 49-47. McDonald tied the contest with a floater in the opening moments and Calhoun followed with a layup to put Richmond in front for good. McDonald added another floater in the lane a minute later to put his team up by three.
“I feel really comfortable shooting that,” McDonald said. “We practice it every day and I just go to it.”
McDonald was not the only Raider to shine against the Huskies as Shydamion Ellerbe finished with 23 points. Ellerbe and McDonald combined to score 14 of Richmond’s 21 points in the final quarter.
“Shydamion and Jalen played well in fourth,” Richmond coach David Laton said. “Jalen is a great senior and made some great shots and great decisions. Shydamion played against a pretty good big man.”
Laton also played a big role in the come-from-behind victory. He pulled the Raiders out of their 2-3 zone and into a man-to-man defense. The switch limited the Huskies to 11 points in the fourth after scoring 20 in the third.
“They were starting score a lot against the zone,” Laton said. “Our rebounding needs to be better, but we are pleased to get the win. It’s nice to be 9-3.”
Richmond will return to action at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday when it travels to face Anson County.
In the other action from the Holiday in the Pines’ final day, Mount Zion captured the tournament title with a 58-50 victory over Pinecrest. Nansemond River (Va.) cruised past Southern Lee 71-53 in the third-place contest, while South Lakes (Va.) edged Middle Creek 62-60 in overtime for fifth.
Mount Zion’s Brittan Reed was the MVP of the event. The all-tournament team consisted of: Brandon Kamga of South Lakes, Devon Oakley of Nansemond River, Noah Mellette of Southern Lee, Adam Cummings of Pinecrest and Jawan Bland of Mount Zion.
— Sports editor Shawn Stinson can be reached at 910-997-3111, ext. 14, or by email at sstinson@heartlandpublications.com.
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