PEMBROKE — A game that looked as though it would turn into a blowout in the third quarter became anything but that late as the Richmond boys basketball team visited Purnell Swett on Tuesday.
The Rams built a 17-point lead in the third quarter, and a late charge by Richmond wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit as Purnell Swett claimed a 78-74 win to open Sandhills Athletic Conference play.
“We came out firing on all cylinders in the third quarter and got up big. It looked like we were going to run away with it,” Purnell Swett coach Jeremy Sampson said. “We did the same thing we always do and let doubt creep in and that played to their advantage, and they’re the most athletic team I’ve seen in a while.
“We maintained and hit our free throws down the stretch, and I’m proud of that.”
Purnell Swett (4-1, 1-0 SAC) caught fire in the second half, especially in the third period, as it stretched a three-point halftime lead out to 50-33 with three minutes to go in the frame. The run was sparked by three consecutive 3-pointers from Zack Carter, Rufus Harris and Zarique Harrington to take the lead out to 40-30.
Carter’s speed made the Raiders pay in the third quarter as he beat his opponents back for several run-out layups. The senior guard posted 15 points in the win, with 10 coming in the third quarter.
After three quarters, Richmond (1-3, 0-1 SAC) trailed 56-41, and then a switch was flipped. Xavier Pettigrew and Roderick Newton helped spark an 18-4 run that cut the lead to 60-59 with 4:45 left in the contest. Newton at one point in the fourth scored 11 straight points for the Raiders.
“We waited until the last 5:12 to play. We’ve got to play like that at the beginning of the game,” Richmond coach Donald Pettigrew said. “Turnovers have been killing us. We’ve got to be better with the ball.”
The Rams’ Xavier Jones had a game-high 23 points and 15 points, while Darriante Parker had 16 points.
For Jones, who lined up against a tall Richmond frontline that towered over him, it was effort that was the difference in his double-double performance.
“I just go hard everyday. Coach told me to try hard and I did it,” Jones said. “We worked together (in the second half). We talked and played ball and just played like coach wants us to do.”
Jones scored 15 in the first half with a trio of treys as the Rams built a 27-24 lead.
“That’s 6-foot-2 going up against 6-foot-6. He’s a man among boys,” Sampson said. “He got hot there from deep, and I told him, ‘We need you to stay inside.’ He said, ‘Coach, they’re taller in there.’ But he’s tough in the paint.”
Purnell Swett led Richmond by five at the end of the first quarter, after Carter, Parker and Jones all did the scoring for the Rams in the first period. The Raiders opened the second quarter on a 5-0 run to knot the score at 17-all, and then rallied again to tie the game at 22 on a Jarvis Tillman bucket with 3:30 left in the half. The Rams closed the period on a 5-2 run behind baskets from Jones and Parker to take a three-point halftime lead.
Alex Quick scored nine of the Raiders’ 12 points in the first half, and had 11 points at halftime. Newton finished with a team-high 21 points, with Xavier Pettigrew adding 20 points.
The Rams posted two conference wins last season, and the victory on Tuesday already has them halfway to last year’s mark, a positive in the eyes of Sampson.
“Any win in this conference is good because wins are hard to come by,” he said.
Lady Raiders rebound to top Purnell Swett
After the Richmond girls basketball team fell behind by six after the first period as their starters were benched by coach Teddy Mosely due to their lack of effort in the previous game, they responded with a 49-45 win over the Lady Rams on Tuesday.
Richmond (3-2, 1-0 SAC) used the scoring of Allexis and Alliyah Swiney over the final three periods to close out the win. Allexis had 15 points, while Aaliyah had seven.
After falling into a 10-4 hole following one quarter, the Lady Raiders fought back to trim the halftime deficit to 22-20.
Jadari Tillman gave Richmond a 28-27 lead with less than three minutes to go in the third quarter before Purnell Swett responded with a 6-0 run to push the lead back out to 33-28. Richmond added a late scoring rally, capped off with an Aaliyah Swiney layup to beat the buzzer to take a 35-33 lead into the fourth.
Richmond opened up a 40-37 lead early in the final quarter before the Lady Rams fought back behind a spark from Jada Coward. Coward scored seven in the fourth quarter, with a free throw at the 4:28-mark tying the game at 42-all.
Alexis Swiney closed the game out with a bucket and two free throws late to seal the win.
Purnell Swett (2-3, 0-1 SAC) was led by Coward with 15 points.
Richmond hosts Forest Hills on Thursday, while Purnell Swett travels to Scotland.
