The Richmond men’s basketball team appears to be feeling a little better about its chances going into the new year.

The Raiders have weathered the storm of a seven-game losing streak, and has won three of their last four games.

Richmond started the turnaround with a 71-51 victory over Green Sea Floyds on the last day of the Shootout By the Sea tournament at North Myrtle Beach. The Raiders continued its winning ways with a 70-54 win over Overhills in the first round of the Holiday in the Pines tournament at Pinecrest High School. A loss to Wakefield snapped the winning streak, but the Raiders took third-place with a 47-44 win over Trinity Christian, which avenged a home loss earlier in the season.

Richmond has the luxury of a full roster after the football season. Senior forwards Lovell Joy and Scooter McDonald has given the Raiders production in the paint. Joy is averaging a double-double, 16 points and 10.5 rebounds per game, while McDonald is scoring 13.3 points and pulling down 8.8 boards.

“The team chemistry is improving, and the guys are getting used to playing with each other,” Raiders coach David May said. “Lovell and Scooter down low have been big for us. They allow us to get some easy baskets down low, and they’ve helped us tremendously on the boards. Having players that can give you that type of production, makes the game a lot easier.”

May feels the team needs to improve on handling defensive pressure, which he said it will face when the Raiders travel to Douglas Byrd tonight around 7:30 p.m. in a Mid-Southeastern Conference matchup.

The Eagles (6-6, 0-2) come into the contest, searching for its first league win, just like Richmond (5-8, 0-3).

Last year, Douglas Byrd was led by the conference’s leading scorer Terry McKinnon, who averaged 19.2 points. With McKinnon gone, the scoring has been spread out. The Eagles have three players averaging double figures: Dock McNair (12.3), Brandon Smith (12.1) and Xavier Carey (10.3).

May indicated Richmond must controlled the pace against the up tempo Eagles.

“The biggest thing we’ve got to do is shutdown their transition game,” May said. “We can’t get caught up in a run-and-gun game. If we don’t give up easy baskets, I feel we will have the advantage.”

Lady Raiders return to the court

The Richmond women’s basketball team should be well-rested after its extended holiday break.

The Lady Raiders weren’t involved in any tournaments after a mix-up with Pinecrest administration, which kept the team from participating in the women’s version of the Holiday in the Pines tourney.

Richmond hasn’t played a game since routing the Lady Patriots 74-37 back on Dec. 19. Despite the 17-day layoff, Lady Raiders coach David Laton doesn’t anticipate rust being a factor when they travel to Byrd today at 6 p.m.

“I wished we would’ve played a game or two over the break, but I don’t think it’s going to be a problem,” Laton said. “We got some practice time in during the break, and we’ve just got to be ready to play.”

The 5-8 Lady Eagles are coming off its first conference victory of the season with a 61-49 win over Pinecrest. Byrd is paced by Shemila Suleman, who is averaging 13.3 points per game and has connected on 17 3-point field goals.

“She’s a pretty talented guard, who shoots the ball well from beyond the arc,” Laton said. “We’re going to have to be ready to defend her.”

The Lady Raiders (6-2, 2-1) are 5-0 at home and 1-2 on the road.

Richmond has averaged 75.8 points per game at Raider Gym and 54 points away. Starting with today’s game, six of the Lady Raiders next 11 games are away from home.

“We’ve played awfully well at home, but we got to carry that over on the road,” Laton said. “We’ve got some road games coming up, and hopefully we will play well.”

Laton said he has been satisfied with the play of his team. Richmond had four players score in double figures versus the Pinecrest, while shutting them down on the defensive end.

The Lady Raiders’ pressure forced turnovers with senior Patrice Legrande recording a career-high 10 steals.

“I think our defense and passing is improving,” Laton said. “We still got to improve on our rebounding. But hopefully we can pick up where we left off.”

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