LAURINBURG — The Richmond boys basketball team bounced back from a rough loss to Seventy-First earlier in the week by grabbing a 59-52 win at rival Scotland in the final game of the regular season Friday night.
Xavier Pettigrew exploded for 23 points to lead the way for the Raiders, who will be the No. 3 seed in next week’s Sandhills Athletic Conference Tournament. Rod Newton knocked down three 3-pointers on his way to a second-best 11 points.
Things got a bit rocky for Richmond (14-10, 9-5 SAC) midway through the fourth quarter when the Fighting Scots (8-16, 5-9 SAC) took a brief two-point lead, but a layup from Alex Quick and four straight points from Quamir Sivells — a floater down the middle of the lane and a pair of free throws — put the Raiders back in front for good.
Pettigrew sealed the deal moments later with an offensive rebound and a putback through contact.
He would make good on the free throw.
The Raiders got nine points from Nygie Stroman for the second game in a row. Sivells scored all seven of his points in the fourth frame while Caleb Hood finished with five points. Alex Quick and Jarvis Tillman added two a piece.
Despite his team’s loss, Garrett McRae netted 26 points to lead all scorers. He knocked down a dozen free throws and was responsible for the 3-pointer that put the home team ahead in the fourth quarter.
C.J. Settles posted 12 points — all 3-pointers — for the Scots, Trevion Graham finished with eight, Khalib Simmons made two of his field-goal attempts to finish with four points, and Bryant Williams added two.
Richmond will host Jack Britt in the first round of the conference tournament on Tuesday.
Richmond’s Xavier Pettigrew (30) goes up for a layup while being fouled by Scotland’s Kristopher McLean during the fourth quarter of Friday’s game at Scotland. Pettigrew scored 23 points in a 59-52 win.