The seemingly unstoppable train otherwise known as the Richmond Senior men’s J.V. basketball team continued to roll through its 20009-10 schedule Tuesday night, as the Raiders overcame a somewhat sluggish start to run away to a 74-42 win over visiting Scotland.

With the win, the J.V. Raiders improved to a perfect 17-0 on the year.

The J.V. Raiders got out to an 11-4 lead early in the first quarter, but the Scots hung tough, battling back with a quick 6-2 run to close to within three at 13-10.

Richmond led just 18 -14 at the first stop.

But the J.V. Raiders picked up the offensive intensity out of the gate in the second quarter, opening with a 12-5 run to push out to a 30-19 advantage. They led 43-29 at intermission.

The J.V. Raiders picked up where they left off in the third quarter, coming out of the locker room with a 12-4 spurt for their biggest advantage of the contest at 55-33. Richmond coasted to victory from there.

J.V. Raiders coach Donald Pettigrew was pleased with his team’s effort, especially the way they picked up the intensity in the second quarter.

“We came to play, and we got after it,” Pettigrew said. “We did a much better job of finishing our shots tonight.”

Pettigrew also liked his team’s sense of urgency in transition. That’s been an area of concern lately, and something Pettigrew and his assistants have been working on with the team in practice.

“We want the boys to push the ball up the floor as soon as we score,” Pettigrew said. “We did a much better job of that tonight.”

The J.V. Raiders got balanced scoring Tuesday night, with five players in double figures. Shydamion Ellerbe led the way with 16 points, while Jammal Kegler added 14. Jesse Simpson had 11 and Trey Little and Tuquan Breeden chipped in with 10 points each.

The J.V. Raiders travel to Hoke Friday night. Tipoff is slated for 6:30 p.m.

J.V. Lady Raiders 65, Scotland 27

Earlier, the J.V. Lady Raiders also kept their season umblemished at 13-0 with their rout of the Scots.

Richmond got out to a big early lead and held a 32-10 advantage at halftime.

Deshantia Bell had a huge night for Richmond, pouring in 31 points.

“We wanted to take control of the game early,” said J.V. Lady Raiders coach Lisa Bigby.

“We didn’t want to give them a chance to get their offense going.”

Bigby was pleased with Bell’s big night. “Deshantia is a strong leader for us, and she really came through tonight,” Bigby said.

The Lady Raiders also got 10 points from Brittany Covington, seven from Shaquita Brewington and six from Tiara Ellerbe.

The J.V. Lady Raiders return to action on Friday night when they travel to Hoke.

Tipoff is set for 5 p.m.

Contact sports editor David Vantress at 997-3111, ext. 14 or via email at dvantress@yourdailyjournal.com.