Contributed by Jimmy McDonald Richmond Senior forward Jordan Richardson scored a team-leading 15 points in his first game this season after battling a knee injury.

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ROCKINGHAM — Just like the two schools’ first contest, Richmond Senior got off to another sluggish start in the first quarter against Marlboro County, S.C.

But unlike Saturday, the Raiders were unable to recover as the Bulldogs held on for a 70-62 victory Tuesday night at Raider Gymnasium.

“We didn’t do a good job of stopping them,” Richmond coach David Laton said. “I don’t like giving up 70 points to anybody.”

After trailing by 11 at halftime, the Raiders (4-1) trimmed the deficit to three on two occasions in the fourth quarter. The first came on Xavier Davis’ 3-pointer from the top of the key with 5:54 remaining in the contest. The last time was when Raheem Bowden hit 1-of-2 free throws after a steal to cut the lead to 60-57 at the 2:31 mark.

It was as close as Richmond would get as Marlboro pulled away in the final 40 seconds as Tyreek Blair got free underneath the basket for a layup. Seconds later Demetris Knox hit a floater in the lane after a Raider turnover. The mini 4-0 run pushed the Bulldogs’ advantage to 68-60 and clinched the victory for the visitors.

“Anytime you score 24 points in the fourth quarter, you ought to win,” Laton said.

Blair was one of three Bulldogs to score 16 points in the victory. Andre Underwood and Raheem Ward also netted 16 for Marlboro.

For Richmond, Jordan Richardson scored a team-high 15 points in his first game this season after sitting out because of an injury. Richardson was only cleared to return to the court early Tuesday.

“I felt good, but my knee was sore running up and down the court,” Richardson said. “I have to go home and ice it. It bothered me a little bit on my drop-step. I’m at about 90 percent.”

With the Raiders returning to action at 7:30 p.m. today at home against Cheraw, S.C., Richardson added he should be able to play against the Braves.

Kendo Wallace chipped in with 14 points and Bowden added 13 off the bench for the Raiders. Leading scorer Shydamion Ellerbe, who scored a season-high 27 against the Bulldogs Saturday, was limited to five.

“They did a nice job against Shydamion,” Laton said. “He was averaging 20 points coming in.”

— Sports editor Shawn Stinson can be reached at 910-997-3111, ext. 14, or by email at sstinson@heartlandpublications.com.