FAYETTEVILLE — Just hours ahead of the team’s return to Sandhills Athletic Conference play, Richmond Senior boys basketball coach Donald Pettigrew watched forward Nygie Stroman and a couple of other starters warm up for Friday’s road matchup with Jack Britt.
For Stroman, the extra shots paid off in a big way as he netted a season-high 29 points to help Richmond put away Jack Britt, 58-43, and remain unbeaten in league play.
“It’s big for him and it’s big for us, too,” Pettigrew said of Stroman after the win. “Getting him going makes us play better. If we play like that, we’re going to be tough to beat.”
Pettigrew was especially pleased with the 6-foot-6 forward’s play in the post as Stroman found success against the Buccaneers’ 2-3 zone in the early going. He used a spinning layup with just under a minute left in the first quarter to push the Raiders ahead 14-10, then on the next possession, his short bankshot gave the team a 16-10 advantage heading into the second.
Stroman gave the group its first double-digit lead, connecting on two free throws to make the score 22-12 with just 2:30 remaining in the half. He finished with 16 points in the first two periods as the Raiders owned a 27-12 advantage at halftime.
Meanwhile, junior wing Dylan Lewis got the starting nod because of an injury to Richmond guard Quamir Sivels and provided 10 points, six of which came on a pair of 3-pointers in the opening period.
Lewis’ second triple saw the Raiders retake the lead, 8-6, midway through the frame.
“With him, it’s all about confidence, man,” Pettigrew said of Lewis. “I told him, ‘I want you to shoot at least 12 times a game.’”
He added that Lewis’ aggressiveness on offense helped open things up for the rest of the starters including Stroman and junior wing Caleb Hood.
Hood added nine points for the Raiders and used his strong frame to get position down low to dominate from short range in the second half. He helped the team stretch the margin to its largest of the game, 40-23, heading into the fourth quarter.
The home team opened the final frame with a 10-0 flurry, powered by Bucs’ wing Langston Davis. Davis ended with a team-high 16 points and went on a personal 7-0 run to close the gap, 40-33, with just 6:30 remaining.
Bucs guard Chris Crosby knocked down a 3-pointer from the wing on the team’s next possession that ignited the bench and forced a timeout from Pettigrew.
With the lead cut below double figures for the first time in the second half, Stroman settled the storm, coming up with an offensive rebound and connecting on a putback, plus the foul to extend the margin to 43-33 with just over three minutes left.
A few minutes later, Stroman was on the receiving end of a well-timed bounce pass from Hood in the open court and he converted a two-hand slam to put the Raiders up 52-43.
Then Hood stamped the team’s 12-0 spurt to close the contest, connecting on a two-hand throwdown of his own with just a few ticks left on the clock to make it 56-43.
Up next, Richmond (9-2, 3-0 SAC) goes back on the road to face conference opponent Hoke on Tuesday, while Jack Britt (3-9, 0-2 SAC) travels to Purnell Swett.
“We got another tough one on the road, so that’s what we’re worried about right now. We got to come ready to play,” said Pettigrew.
Lady Raiders drop third straight league game to open season
FAYETTEVILLE — It was a tough night offensively for the Richmond Senior girls basketball team as they fell behind early and couldn’t recover, falling to Jack Britt 64-40 on the road Friday.
With the loss, Richmond (8-4, 0-3 SAC) sees its three-game win streak come to a close and still searches for a win in league play.
Lady Raiders wing Keionna Love poured in a team-high 14 points, nine of which came in the first half.
After the Lady Buccaneers built a double-digit lead deep into the second quarter, Love capped a comeback effort with a 3-pointer that narrowed the gap, 34-23, with just under a minute left in the half.
But Love fouled out with 3:26 to go in the third quarter after accounting for six straight points. The home team’s balanced attacked took advantage and put the contest out of reach.
Three Lady Bucs starters finished in double figures, led by Kaya Goldsby who had a game-high 16 points. Ashara Hayes and Nyla Cooper both finished with 15 points in the win.
Hayes’ accounted for four points during an 8-2 run in the fourth quarter that stamped the victory.
Bree Wall added seven points for Richmond in the loss.
The Lady Raiders are back in action on Tuesday in a road matchup with Hoke.
