Though the final score may not indicate it, there was plenty of drama and suspense in the waning seconds of the Richmond junior varsity men’s basketball game Tuesday night.

Trey Little’s fallaway 3-pointer at the buzzer allowed Richmond to reach the century mark as the J.V. Raiders — in their first game since the passing of teammate Jammal Kegler— pounded Purnell Swett 100-45 in an electric Raider Gymnasium.

The victory allowed Richmond to continue its quest to finish undefeated as the J.V. Raiders improved their record to a perfect 18-0 on the season.

The J.V. Raiders led 97-45 with 11 seconds remaining. After a couple unsuccessful tries from beyond the arc, Little grabbed the rebound, quickly took a couple dribbles behind the 3-point line in the right corner, heaved up the shot and hit nothing but net as time expired. Little finished with 18 points.

The crowd jumped up in jubilation as Little, his teammates and the Richmond coaching staff shared hugs with each other and embraced the fans coming onto the court. There were no question who Little credited for hitting the dramatic shot.

“All I got to say it was my cousin Jammal, who helped me hit that shot,” Little said. “I just threw it up, hoped it would go in and he put it in for me.”

J.V. Raiders coach Donald Pettigrew said the team first talked about trying to score 100 points when the players all gathered at Kegler’s mother’s house last week. A somber Pettigrew said after the game that he felt a little apprehensive during the final ticks of the contest.

“I felt like the game was tied up because I was a little nervous towards the end,” Pettigrew said. “I wanted us so bad to get to 100, and I was glad we were able to accomplish that goal. There were so much emotion that came out following the game.”

Richmond started the first one minute and 52 seconds of the game with four players until Little came in with 6:08 left in the first quarter. Pettigrew said he thought Richmond was going to be assessed a technical, but Purnell Swett coach declined for his team to shoot it.

“I was surprised that we didn’t get a tech, but I found out that the Swett coach didn’t want us to get it,” he said. “I thought it was good sportsmanship. The guys were down about us going with four guys, and it really didn’t hurt us.”

Richmond got off to a sluggish start as Swett’s Josh Oxendine gave the J.V. Rams a 9-6 lead on a 3-pointer with a little more than four minutes remaining in the first.

“I expected us to get off to a slow start because we only practiced one day last week,” Pettigrew said.

But the J.V. Raiders got going as Richmond picked up its defensive pressure and blitzed Swett with a 17-0 run capped by Justin Glenn’s layup, giving the J.V. Raiders a 23-9 lead with 1:08 seconds remaining. Glenn scored 17 points and Richmond led 25-13 after the opening quarter.

During the huge run, a fast-break one-handed crowd-pleasing dunk by Jalen Clarke gave Richmond a 15-9 advantage.

“That was a big play that got us hyped,” Pettigrew said.

“I think it helped us get that swagger and intensity back.”

The J.V. Raiders kept the pedal on the metal in the second, outscoring the Rams 21-9 in the quarter to take a 46-22 lead into halftime.

Shydamien Ellerbe scored 14 of his game-high 25 points in the first half.

“I did it for Jammal and I just wanted to come out and play aggressive,” Ellerbe said.

Richmond outscored Swett 27-10 in the third to take a 73-46 cushion into the final quarter.

Before the game, there were a moment of silence in honor of Kegler.

J.V. Raiders assistant coach Mike Patterson held up Kegler’s home No. 4 white in front of the crowd.

According to Pettigrew, the jersey will be laying on the bench during the teams remaining games.

The J.V. Raiders also wore T-shirts in Kegler’s honor with his trademark “Too Easy” saying on the back.

The game was another easy victory for the team as Richmond will continue to play with heavy hearts in its quest for an unblemished season.

Richmond returns to action at Hoke Thursday with tipoff slated for 6:30 p.m.

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