The Richmond junior varsity men’s basketball team’s undefeated season was hanging in the balance late in the fourth quarter Thursday night against Cape Fear.

The J.V. Raiders trailed by two points with under a minute remaining, but came-from behind to score the final four points to prevail 47-45 over the Colts at Raider Gymnasium.

The victory allowed Richmond to improve its record to a perfect 6-0.

Cape Fear led 45-43 with 55 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. DJ Bailey, who paced the Colts with 15 points, missed two free-throws, and the rebound was grabbed by Richmond. Jamal Keglar, who paced the Raiders with a game-high 20 points, missed a pull up jumper, but Tuquan Breedon tipped in the putback, tying the contest at 45-all with 41 seconds left.

“That was a big play by Tuquan, and he came out of nowhere to make the play,” J.V. Raiders coach Donald Pettigrew said. “We do a lot of tip drills in practice and it worked for us in this game. I tell the guys what we do in practice, we’ve got to carry it over to the game.”

On the Colts’ following possession, Shydamion Ellerbe blocked a long attempted jumper from Cape Fear. Ellerbe, who had six rejections in the game, raced down the court and received a long pass from Jalen Clark. Ellerbe finished the play by converting a layup, while being fouled hard in the process, giving Richmond a 47-45 lead with six seconds to go in the game.

“Shydamion is only a ninth grader, and he’s averaging about five or six blocks a game,” Pettigrew said. “I think other teams don’t know how long he is. Jalen did a good job of looking up court, Shydamion went down the middle and Jalen made a good pass.”

Ellerbe missed both foul shots and Richmond missed another free-throw after getting the rebound.

But Cape Fear failed to gain possession of the ball, allowing the JV Raiders to run out the clock and stay unbeaten on the season.

“That was the best team, we’ve played so far,” Pettigrew said.

“With only seven guys, we don’t have a lot of depth, but we’re in pretty good shape.”

Richmond jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the first. But Cape Fear came back to trail 10-9, going into the second. The JV Raiders led 23-18 at halftime. Keglar scored a baseline layup before the third quarter buzzer, tying the game at 32-all, heading into the fourth.

The J.V. Raiders return to action tonight at Trinity Christian with tipoff slated for 4:30 p.m.

The Richmond junior varsity girls’ basketball team’s game was delayed due to Cape Fear arriving late for the contest.

It still had no effect on the J.V. Lady Raiders as Richmond used stifling defense to crush Cape Fear 53-10 Thursday afternoon and improve to 6-0 on the season.

Richmond’s Deshantia Bell led all scorers with 13 points, while Keyana Harris netted 10 points and Tiara Ellerbe chipped in with nine points. Shaquitta Brewington pulled down 10 rebounds.

The J.V. Lady Raiders led 14-6 at the end of the first quarter. Richmond increased the defensive pressure in the second.

Richmond held Cape Fear scoreless in the quarter, outscoring the Lady Colts 14-0 and taking a commanding 28-6 halftime advantage. Richmond forced Cape Fear to commit 30 turnovers, 13 coming in the second quarter and led 38-8 at the end of the third.

The JV Lady Raiders return to action following the Christmas break at South View, Wednesday, Jan. 6. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m.

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