FAYETTEVILLE— The first game of the new year for the Richmond men’s basketball team didn’t go the way it liked.

The Raiders just missed on gaining their first Mid-Southeastern Conference victory of the season, in a 51-50 loss to Douglas Byrd Tuesday night.

“We beat ourselves,” Raiders coach David May said. “They made plays in critical situations, and we made critical errors.”

May said the Raiders had a chance to win at the end of the game, but Lovell Joy was called for an over-the-back foul on an inbound pass with 1.4 seconds remaining.

According to May, the Raiders were their own worst enemy by committing 21 turnovers, and were just 13-for-24 at the free-throw line.

“We had 18 turnovers that were self-inflicted,” May said. “A lot of their baskets they got in transition were off our turnovers. We missed eight foul shots in the second half, which hurt us as well. We just didn’t make the plays to win.”

The Raiders (5-9, 0-4) jumped out to a 16-8 first quarter lead, and stretched the advantage to 21-10 in the second quarter.

“We were doing a good job of attacking their press, and making our layups,” May said.

However, the Eagles closed the gap to 23-22 late in the second quarter on a 12-2 run. But Richmond closed the scoring in the first half with a basket before horn to extend its advantage to 25-22 at halftime.

Douglas Byrd (7-7, 1-3) opened the third with a 16-3 blitz to take a 10-point lead, but Richmond responded with a 13-3 run to knot the game at 41 going into the fourth period.

“We didn’t execute offensively very well, and that really cost us the game,” May said.

Markus Diggs was the only Raider to reach double figures with 13 points. Richmond will try to rebound against conference rival Scotland on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Scotland (5-5, 2-2) has lost three of its last four games, including a 69-50 loss to undefeated Seventy-First on Tuesday. James Robinson led the Scots with 13 points, while Chris Moss had 12 points.

According to May, the team, which is last in the MSEC, realizes how critical the Scotland game is to any post-season hopes.

“If we’ve got any aspirations of making the playoffs, we’ve got to get this game,” May said.

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