ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond Senior boys basketball team resumed play on Tuesday after a week-long layoff and showed signs of rust to start their non-conference matchup with visiting Southern Lee.
Richmond coach Donald Pettigrew witnessed his group go scoreless through the first six minutes of action and says though he expected some adjustment period following the extended break, he didn’t anticipate the lackluster effort.
“We were sluggish. We didn’t play with energy…and we were just unfocused in the first half,” said Pettigrew after the Raiders gritty 56-50 win.
After scraping back in the late stages of the first to take a small lead, Pettigrew felt that rushed shots and turnovers plagued his group and resulted in a 29-22 halftime deficit.
After the break, junior point guard P.J. McLaughlin provided a boost for the home team and scored seven of his 14 points in the third period.
“P.J. plays so unselfishly sometimes…in the second half, he came back being aggressive and that’s what we need out of him,” said Pettigrew of the player he refers to as the team’s motor.
Richmond center Jarvis Tillman offset McLaughlin’s offensive spark with his defensive dominance. The 6-foot-6 post player was key on both sides, finishing with a near triple-double, 10 points, 10 rebounds and a game-high eight blocks.
His swat halfway through the third led to a bucket by teammate Nygie Stroman (team-high 15 points) that closed the gap, 35-33.
“He makes it easy for us, man,” Pettigrew said of Tillman. “We just funnel it (the ball) inside towards Jarvis and he does the rest.”
Pettigrew added that the “human eraser” has a knack for the ball. The Raiders took a 40-39 lead into the fourth quarter.
In the final period, McLaughin proved big again, banking in a tough contested layup that gave the Raiders a 48-42 lead with 2:08 to go and forced a time out from the visitors.
A late Cavs three-pointer got them within one possession, 48-45, but McLaughin immediately answered with an assist to Stroman to extend the lead. Then he paced the victory with two free throws that made it 52-47 with 24.9 seconds left.
Richmond (3-0) returns home on Thursday to start conference play against Purnell Swett.
“We got to come ready to play from tip,” said Pettigrew of the upcoming challenge. “We can’t expect people to lay down for us.”
Covington, Lady Raiders blow out Southern Lee
ROCKINGHAM — For Richmond Senior girls basketball coach Teddy Moseley, Tuesday’s 41-26 home win over Southern Lee marked a third straight double-digit victory to open the season, but he feels there was room for improvement.
The Lady Raiders crawled in the opening frame, but eventually gained an 8-0 lead over the Lady Cavaliers.
Richmond (3-0) forward Jakerra Covington finished with a season-high 18 points and dominated the paint with short layups and rebounding.
“Her motor was going tonight and she finished well around the basket,” said Moseley.
In the second quarter with the Lady Raiders already holding a 13-6 lead, Covington knocked in six straight buckets to take a 21-6 advantage with just 2:40 left in the half.
Lady Raiders forward Keionna Love (eight points) put in a driving layup to give the team a 25-6 advantage at halftime.
Covington put in a short bank shot to take a 29-6 lead in the third quarter. The Lady Raiders took a 33-14 advantage into the fourth and cruised to the finish.
Moseley wasn’t happy with the group’s free throw shooting and off-ball defense, and says they will have to clean that up ahead of Thursday’s confernce-opener against Purnell Swett.
“We’re going to start playing more competitive teams, that means we have to continue to get better,” he said.
“The main part is we’re 3-0. I think we’ll score the basketball better.”
Lady Raiders guard Jayla McDougald added nine points in the win.
