CHARLOTTE — Richmond Senior boys basketball overcame a double-digit halftime deficit on the road Thursday in its second-round state playoffs matchup against Independence but eventually fell short, 62-54 in overtime.
For the second straight round, No. 13 seed Richmond was led by junior forward Nygie Stroman who ended with a game-high 29 points.
Fourth-seeded Independence (21-7) had three scorers reach double digits, paced by Anthony Allen’s 16 points.
Down 33-21 at the break, the Raiders quickly closed the gap by turning up the defensive intensity, holding the Patriots to just four points in the third quarter while scoring 12 unanswered to tie it at 33.
They trailed by just four, 37-33, heading into the final period.
Stroman had 10 points in the fourth and knocked down two of his game-high five 3-pointers in the frame. The last triple came with just under 30 seconds left and knotted it at 51, which remained the score at the end of regulation.
With the two teams locked at 53 in the overtime session, Allen connected on a 3 to break the tie. The Patriots outscored the Raiders 6-1 during the final stretch to close out the second-round win.
Richmond closes the season 20-9 overall, the highest win total since 2016-17. Independence advances to the third round and hosts 12th-seeded Hough on Saturday.
Jalen Hinton chipped in with 11 points and Nygell Verdier ended with 10 points for the Patriots.
Raiders point guard P.J. McLaughlin was the only other double-figure scorer, finishing with 10 points including the team’s only field goal in the extra period.
Raiders senior Quamir Sivels added eight points in his final game.
