Corey Davis

Richmond County Daily Journal

The Richmond junior varsity boys basketball team has lost several close games this season, but Friday’s contest against Jack Britt may have been the toughest to stomach.

The Raiders squandered a seven-point lead in the final 80 seconds of play to fall 56-55 to the Mid-Southeastern Conference foe Buccaneers. The win gave Jack Britt the sweep in season series. It the was third time this season the JV Raiders (6-7) have lost a game by a point.

“We practice game-time situation in practice all the time, and they acted like they didn’t know what to do,” JV Raiders coach Donald Pettigrew said. “We just don’t do a good job of executing down the stretch.”

A tip-in from Anthony Keane pushed the lead to 55-48 and the Raiders appeared to have the game under control.

However, Jack Britt forced the Raiders to turn the ball over on their last four possessions of the game.

“We went to a 3-2 zone to counteract their size due to the fact they were beating us up on the boards and scoring in the post,” JV Bucs coach Rick Money said. “Our zone forced them to shoot outside. We also went to a full-court man trap that caused some turnovers, and we were able to capitalize on them.”

Britt (13-2) closed out the game with a 7-0 run capped by Arkel Minick’s game-winning putback on Darius Carter’s missed jumper with four seconds remaining. Minick scored a game-high 19 points, eight in the fourth quarter.

“I wasn’t really feeling that well because I slightly hurt my back,” Minick said. “But when Darius’ shot went off, I just followed it up. I’m just happy we didn’t give up and we were able to pull it out.”

Will Freeman scored a team-high 18 points for Richmond, while Andrew Carter added 12 points.

The Raiders will look to rebound when they travel to Westover on Tuesday.

JV Lady Raiders

beat Lady Buccaneers

The final buzzer was the only time Jack Britt was able to get away from the JV Lady Raiders’ stifling defense.

Richmond’s suffocating pressure forced the Lady Bucs into 32 turnovers in a 45-23 victory, improving its record to a perfect 11-0 on the season.

In both victories over Jack Britt, Richmond has allowed a total of 43 points, with the Lady Bucs only scoring in double figures in one of the eight quarters.

“They don’t really have any shooters,” JV Lady Raiders coach Nellie Harrington said. “Teams that don’t shoot the ball well from the outside are going to have a hard time scoring on us. We played a matchup zone, and they couldn’t get their shots off. We did a good job of getting into the passing lanes, and getting steals.”

Shaquitta Covington connected on three 3-pointers, to finishing with a game-high 13 points. The JV Lady Raiders hit seven 3-point field goals in the contest.

“I was surprised by how well we shot the ball from the perimeter,” Harrington said. “In most of our games, we’ve got our points out in the fastbreak. It was a good thing to see.”

The JV Raiders travel to Westover Tuesday at 5 p.m.

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