LUMBERTON — When Jordan McNeill hit a layup, was fouled and made the free throw with 3:19 remaining in Lumberton’s game against Richmond on Wednesday, Lumberton had the momentum after closing their deficit to four points, the gym was loud and the Pirates looked primed to finish off the comeback and earn the win.

But from that point, the Raiders outscored the Pirates by nine, making the plays down the stretch to earn a 67-54 semifinal win in the Sandhills Athletic Conference tournament.

Richmond’s Quamir Sivels led all scorers with 26 points, with 13 in each half. Caleb Hood had 21 points for the Raiders and Nygie Stroman added 14.

“We had a lot of live turnovers, so our turnovers led to their buckets,” Lumberton coach Bryant Edwards said. “They deserved to win; they made free throws. Point blank, they won the game. They out-rebounded us tonight, we had more turnovers and they got more 50-50 balls than we did. You lose those three, you don’t deserve to win; they outplayed us.”

After McNeill’s 3-point play made it a 52-48 game, P.J. McLaughlin and Hood scored on Richmond’s next two possessions for a 56-48 lead with 2:20 left.

Second-seeded Lumberton (21-5) twice got within six — both times on Dwayne Davis baskets — but Pirate turnovers led to either baskets or free throws by third-seeded Richmond (19-7) over the game’s final moments.

Stroman, who was held to five points over the first three quarters, hit two baskets and three free throws over the final 1:02 as Richmond stretched out its lead to the final 13-point margin.

The Raiders led 44-37 going to the fourth and the Pirates closed to within five at 44-39 with a McNeill basket. Richmond used a 6-0 run to stretch its lead to 11 at 50-39, and led 52-41 with 4:38 remaining before a 7-2 Lumberton spurt the culminated in McNeill’s 3-point play pulled the Pirates to their 52-48 deficit.

The result was a noteworthy turnaround from the two regular-season meetings, which were dominated by Lumberton. The Pirates won 68-38 in Rockingham on Jan. 10 and 75-46 in Lumberton on Jan. 12.

“They have a lot of weapons, and when they’re firing on all cylinders, they’re the most talented team in our league,” Edwards said. “When their off guards are scoring and shooting the ball well, they’re tough to beat.”

McNeill scored 18 points for the Pirates. Davis had 11 points, all in the second half, and Matt Locklear scored 10, with eight in the first half.

Richmond led as much as 11-5 in the game’s opening minutes and led 14-11 after the first period.

Lumberton took its first lead at 15-14 on a Michael Todd basket in the first minute of the second quarter; the Pirates led most of the rest of the second quarter, peaking at a 23-18 advantage, before Richmond took a 26-25 lead when Sivels hit two free throws at the 1:45 mark. The Pirates led 28-26 at the break after Charlie Miller hit a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left in the half.

Richmond took a 30-28 lead on a Hood basket early in the third and led the rest of the way, stretching the advantage to nine points twice in the third at 39-30 and 44-35 before their seven-point advantage going to the fourth.

Richmond will face top-seeded Pinecrest in the tournament final, which is scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m. in Southern Pines.

Chris Stiles | The Robesonian Lumberton’s JB Brockington, 15, goes up for a layup as he drives past Richmond’s Nygie Stroman, 10, and Caleb Hood, 23, during Wednesday’s Sandhills Athletic Conference semifinal in Lumberton.
https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/web1_IMG_7768.jpgChris Stiles | The Robesonian Lumberton’s JB Brockington, 15, goes up for a layup as he drives past Richmond’s Nygie Stroman, 10, and Caleb Hood, 23, during Wednesday’s Sandhills Athletic Conference semifinal in Lumberton.
Sivels’ career high gets Richmond past Pirates

Chris Stiles

The Robesonian