WADESBORO — Da’Shaun Wallace, Malik Stanback and Malik Flowers took care of the scoring Friday night.
Wallace posted a game-high 21 points, Stanback added 15 and Flowers chipped in 12 in order to lead the Richmond boys basketball team to a 58-50 victory over Parkwood in the opening round of the Anson Shootout.
The only other Raiders to score in the win were senior guard Darius Butler (4 points), junior forward Alex Quick (4 points) and junior guard Bobby Terry (2 points).
“They (Wallace, Stanback, Flowers) were big for us, but I told the guys that more guys have to step up and score,” head coach Donald Pettigrew said. “To compete in our conference, we’ve got to be able to score points. We’re not going to win a lot of games scoring 58 points.”
Richmond (3-5, 1-3 SAC) trailed by two points at the end of the first quarter after leaving Parkwood’s Deonte Autry uncontested for a layup with seconds left on the clock. The team would begin forcing turnovers — and scoring more baskets — in the second stanza thanks to a more intense approach on defense.
A combined 23 points from Flowers, Stanback and Wallace in the quarter would help the Raiders take a 33-19 halftime lead.
The second half was much different, however, as Parkwood (3-8) stuck around and eventually threatened Richmond’s lead in the final minutes. A layup from Wyne McGriff cut the Rebels’ deficit to just two points (49-47) with 1:43 to go in the game, but the Raiders were able to hold on for their second consecutive win.
“We’ve got to do a better job of playing the whole 32 minutes,” Pettigrew said. “We’ve got to put guys away when we’ve got them, instead of giving them false hope.”
Richmond will face either Anson or Chesterfield in Saturday’s championship game.
SWINEY, LADY RAIDERS ALSO ESCAPE
WADESBORO — The Lady Raider basketball team also had to hold off, what had the potential to be, a late-game comeback from Anson on Friday.
Patience Marshall and Revie Byers did their best to keep the Lady Bearcats in the game in the fourth quarter, but timely buckets from Allexis Swiney and Lexyonna Ingram helped the Richmond girls basketball team escape with 45-33 victory in the first round of the Anson Shootout.
Richmond (2-5, 1-3 SAC) felt the pressure of the home crowd as Marshall’s layup, and free throw, cut its lead to six points with just minutes to go in the matchup. But the team was able to stand tall in the middle of a short-lived run thanks to Swiney’s ability to slice through the defense and either score the ball or dish it off to a wide-open teammate.
Swiney would finish with a game-high 13 points and fellow sophomore Keionna Love wouldn’t be far behind with her nine-point performance. Love’s assist to Ingram in the final stanza put the Lady Raiders ahead by 10 points, and then Swiney’s basket in the midst of three defenders gave the team a 40-28 advantage.
Junior guard Jordyn Horne would essentially seal the deal with a layup after grabbing her own miss. Swiney scored Richmond’s last two points from the free throw line.
The Lady Raiders will go up against Parkwood in the title game on Saturday.
Reach sports editor Leon Hargrove Jr. by phone at 910-817-2673 or by email at [email protected]. For stories, scores and updates, follow the Daily Journal’s sports section on Twitter @RCDailySports.