The old adage in sports is that it’s hard to defeat a team three times in one season, but the Richmond Senior men’s basketball team accomplished that goal Tuesday night.

After defeating Scotland in their regular-season finale Monday, the third-seeded Raiders came out and blitz sixth-seed Purnell Swett in the first quarter by taking a 27-9 lead in en route to a 79-36 victory over the Rams in the opening round of the Southeastern Conference tournament at Raider Gymnasium.

Richmond (16-6) will play at the second-seeded Scots (13-10) in Laurinburg in the semifinal round of the league tourney tonight at 7 p.m. The teams split during the regular season, with Scotland winning 56-54 on Jan. 26. Richmond came from behind to prevail, 57-54 Monday on Senior Night.

The winner of the rubber match will advance to the tournament championship game on Friday.

“It should be another tight contest, and I expect a good crowd and a good atmosphere,” Raiders coach David Laton said. “As always, the key for us is defending and rebounding well. “We also know that we’re going to have to be aware of their top two players: (Mo) Covington and (Dominique) Clark.”

Every Raider scored in the 43-point win over the Rams. Brian Love led four Richmond players in double figures with 17 points, while Tedarrius Wiley scored 13 points. Anthony Keane netted 11 points and Will Freeman added 10 points.

“I didn’t have to say much before the game because the guys knew this was a tournament game, and what was at stake,” Laton said. “It was good to get that type of balanced scoring, which I hope we can carry over to our next game.”

The Raiders also pounded the glass and controlled the boards as Richmond out-rebounded the Rams 41-17.

“I thought we did a good job of defensive rebounding, and holding them to one shot on many occasions,” Laton said.

After both teams traded 3-point shots to begin the game, Richmond used an 11-0 run to take a 14-3 lead with 5:05 left in the first capped by back-to-back 3-pointers from Keane and Freeman. Both Keane and Freeman scored nine points apiece in the opening period.

The Raiders also nailed five of their 11 3-pointers in the first and entered the second with an 18-point advantage.

According to Laton, the first quarter was the best quarter the Raiders have played thus far this season.

Swett coach James Williams admitted his team failed to come out with the same sort of energy as its opponent.

“They came out with a lot of intensity, and we just didn’t match it,” Williams said. “They shot the ball very well from the perimeter, and they’re (Richmond) just a well-coached team. I feel like they’re going to be a tough out the rest of the way in the conference and state tournament.”

The Rams (2-18) finished the season winless during conference play. Swett had no player score in double figures as Zack Locklear led the way with nine points.

Williams said Swett must improve its fundamentals.

“All we can do is go back to work and try to get better,” Williams said. “We’ve got to learn how to do the little things better.”

Laton said Richmond played sloppy in the second quarter as the Raiders turned the ball over seven times. But Richmond stayed comfortably ahead as Quinton Quick’s drive and layup gave the Raiders their biggest first half lead of 25 points at 36-11 with 5:04 remaining in the second.

Richmond entered the locker room with a 36-18 advantage. In the second half, the closest Swett would get was 40-26 on a trey from Locklear with 5:50 left in the third. But the Raiders outscored the Rams 14-6 to close out the quarter and entered the fourth with a 54-32 cushion.

In the last period, Laton got a good look at the future when he substituted Jesse Simpson, Shydamien Ellerbe and Trey Little. All three players — fresh off the 20-2 J.V. team — received some minutes, with Little scoring six points, Simpson five and Ellerbe two points to go with four rebounds.

Richmond finished the game outscoring the Rams 25-4 in the final stanza.

“I thought our J.V. guys came in there and really brought a lot of energy,” Laton said.

“I thought that fourth quarter was the most fun we had all year. Hopefully, we will give a good effort against Scotland and we will see how things unfold.”

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