ROCKINGHAM — Thanks to a flawless effort from the foul line down the stretch, the Richmond boys basketball team avoided being upset by Jack Britt in the first round of the Sandhills Athletic Conference Tournament on Monday.
P.J. McLaughlin hit a pair free throws with 41.8 seconds left to put Richmond ahead by five points, Nygie Stroman did the same with 20.2 seconds to go following a bucket from the visiting team, and then McLaughlin drained two more with less than 10 seconds on the clock to put a stamp on what ended up being a physical battle between the conference foes.
Jack Britt’s T.J. Ellis raced down the court to lay the ball in before the final buzzer sounded but the damage was already done, and the No. 3 Raiders (15-10) advanced to the second round with a 55-50 win over the No. 6 Buccaneers (11-14).
Those last two free throws by Stroman capped an 18-point night, the game high, for the sophomore forward. McLaughlin’s four late makes from the charity stripe gave him nine points, which tied Xavier Pettigrew for second best on the team.
Richmond trailed by three points to start the fourth quarter — after ending both the first and second periods with a slim advantage — but a floater from Rod Newton to open the stanza, a layup through contact from Stroman, and the first and only bucket for Quamir Sivells on the night helped turn the first-round matchup in favor of the home team.
The visiting Bucs tied the game at 43-all on a free throw from Calvin Washington, but a quick 6-0 run by Richmond put them behind on the scoreboard for good. They were able to remain within a possession, however, as Jordian Fox hit a 3-pointer and Antonio Counts floated one in with under a minute left — both baskets cutting their deficit three points.
Jack Britt had three players called for traveling in the final two minutes of play, which hurt its chances to either tie the game or take the lead as things began to heat up. Fox scored 16 points to lead the visiting team. Washington added 11.
Although they came out with the win, the Raiders struggled in the early parts of both the first and second halves.
They had trouble getting on the scoreboard in the opening stanza, as Jack Britt moved around well in its zone and cut off almost every driving and passing lane. They scored their first points of the game on an Alex Quick triple at the 4:22 mark.
Richmond finally settled in after Quick’s 3-pointer and would go into the break holding a 24-21 advantage, but the Bucs came out swinging in the third quarter and grabbed their first lead since starting the game on a 5-0 run.
Fox and Washington combined for 14 of the Jack Britt’s 19 points in the third to help the visitors take a 40-37 lead.
But thanks to the early spurt in the final period, a couple of putbacks from Pettigrew, and the perfect 6-for-6 shooting from the line in the last 60 seconds, the Raiders were able to defend home court for what might’ve been the last time this season.
Richmond will play at No. 2 Pinecrest in the second round on Wednesday. The winner will move on to face off against either No. 1 Seventy-First or No. 4 Lumberton in Friday’s tournament championship game.
BOX SCORE
Richmond — Stroman 18, McLaughlin 9, Pettigrew 9, Newton 7, Quick 6, Hood 2, Sivells 2, Tillman 2
Jack Britt — Fox 16, Washington 11, O’Neal 5, Davis 4, Ellis 4, Hayden 3, Vera 3, Counts 2, Patterson 2
