The Richmond Gold freshmen boys basketball team found out what can almost happen when complacency sets in.

The Gold team nearly blew a 13-point fourth quarter lead, but was able to hold on down the stretch and escaped with a 47-43 win over South View Thursday night at the Ninth Grade Gymnasium.

The victory allowed Richmond to rebound from Tuesday’s loss against Scotland, and improve its record to 3-2 on the season.

“We kind of lost focus, and we definitely put ourselves in a bad spot,” Gold team coach Milton Swinnie said.

“We also bailed them out with untimely fouls. We’ve got to learn in the future how to keep playing harder and smarter. But I’m pleased with the fact we were able to bounce back from the Scotland loss and get a victory.”

Steven McDonald paced the Gold team with a team-high 15 points, scoring 11 in the second half, while C.J. Lyons scored nine of his 13 points in the first half.

“Steven and C.J are both tough players,” Swinnie said. “This is Steven’s first year of playing organized ball, and I’m pleased with how, he’s coming along.

“Steven does a good job of getting good post position, but we just want him to convert more around the basket. C.J. has been playing organized ball for a while, and is the most aggressive kid on the team.”

Lyons’ steal and assist to Robert Williams, who scored seven of his 10 points in the fourth, extended the Gold team’s advantage to 40-27 with less than five minutes remaining.

But the Tigers crawled back into the contest as Corey Baize, who scored 13 points, banked in a 3-pointer, capping a 13-3 run, narrowing Richmond’s lead to 43-40 with 2:30 left to play. Baize would later score on an acrobatic layup and get fouled in the process, trimming the Gold team advantage to 45-43 with 9.7 seconds to go in the final quarter.

After Baize intentionally missed the free throw that would’ve completed the three-point play, Richmond grabbed the rebound and called timeout. Following the timeout, Lyons threw a long inbound pass to Williams, who broke free from the Tigers’ defenders, finished the play by scoring a layup and was fouled.

Williams failed to complete the three-point play, but gave Richmond a 47-43 cushion with 7.5 seconds remaining. South View failed to get off a shot on its next possession and the Gold team prevailed with a four-point victory.

The Gold team led wire-to-wire, leading 13-10 after the first quarter and led 23-19 at halftime. Richmond outscored South View 12-6 in the third to push its lead to 35-25, heading into the fourth.

For the Gold team, Kendo Wallace scored eight points and Drew Butler chipped in with three points.

Devonte Stephens scored a game-high 18 points for South View.

The Gold team return to action against the Richmond Green team next Thursday, Dec. 17 at the Ninth Grade Gym with tipoff slated for 6 p.m.

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