ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond Senior boys basketball team quickly erased any thoughts of having a letdown following its loss to Hoke County last week.
The Raiders jumped out to a 28-point halftime lead and went on to cruise to an 81-56 home win over Purnell Swett Tuesday night.
Four Raiders finished in double figures and all 11 players cracked the scoring column, led by Trey Pettigrew’s 19 points. Josh Calhoun added 12, Greg Patterson scored 11 and Kendo Wallace netted 11. Richmond’s leading scorer, Shydamion Ellerbe, was limited to four points.
Mitchell Hill was the lone Ram to score double digits, hitting for 13.
The victory keeps Richmond in second place in the Southeastern Conference with a 5-2 mark. The Raiders are now 15-5 overall. Purnell Swett drops to 3-14 on the season and 1-5 in the SEC.
“We’re not worried about finishing second,” Richmond coach David Laton said. “We told the players that this is the first step to the conference tournament. That’s what we are shooting for now. Every game is a step towards the conference tournament.”
A second-place finish in the SEC would give the Raiders a bye into the semifinals as well as a home game. The Bucks remain undefeated in league play and atop the standings after their 81-63 victory over Lumberton Tuesday.
“We’re not concerned about holding onto second,” Laton added. “We are talking about getting better and getting ready for the conference tournament. Finishing second is going to be a by-product of trying to get better.”
Richmond will return to the court 7:30 p.m. Friday when Lumberton visits Raider Gymnasium.
— Sports editor Shawn Stinson can be reached at 910-997-3111, ext. 14, or by email at sstinson@civitasmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @scgolfer.
Post a Comment
