SOUTHERN PINES — The Richmond boys basketball team secured its spot in the Sandhills Athletic Conference Tournament championship game with a 54-48 victory at Pinecrest on Wednesday.

It was another close, hard-fought battle for the No. 3 Raiders (16-10), who used a string of late free throws for the second time in as many games to keep its conference title hopes alive. All nine of their points in the game’s final minute — after the No. 3 Patriots (20-6) tied the game at 45-all — came from the charity stripe.

Rod Newton was responsible for five of them. He gave Richmond a four-point lead with 34.4 seconds left, hit the front end of a one-and-one to put it ahead by two with 10.4 seconds on the clock, and then made a pair to cap the road win.

Nygie Stroman broke the 45-45 tie with his two free throws just inside the one-minute mark. Alex Quick grabbed the rebound after Pinecrest failed to tie the game in the final seconds and then put Richmond ahead by four.

Just as he led the final stretch from the foul line, Newton carried Richmond all night long from the field. The senior guard hit five 3-pointers on his way to a game-high 22 points. He hit shot after shot when the team needed it most.

Quick, senior forward, added seven for the Raiders while Stroman, sophomore forward, chipped in six. Sophomore guard Caleb Hood muscled his way to 14 points. Junior center Jarvis Tillman scored finished with five points.

Pinecrest got a team-best 11 points from Bradlee Haskell, who made plays for himself and teammates all night long.

Hasked would score two of his points and find Zion Bailey and Jasper Ardinger for a couple of big threes as the intensity began to increase in the fourth quarter. His layup attempt with about five seconds to go would’ve tied the game at 50-50 had it gone in, but it was a little too strong. And teammate Clayton Coe couldn’t get a good handle on the putback.

Coe finished with nine points for the Patriots. Bailey ended the night with eight points.

The first quarter was a bit slow for both teams, but Richmond wound up with the lead, 10-9, heading into the second stanza after Newton scored eight straight — highlighted by back-to-back threes late in the frame.

Pinecrest was able to take over in the second, however, with its constant movement on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor. The Raiders had trouble guarding the Patriots’ backdoor cuts and getting their shots to fall.

Richmond didn’t score until Stroman’s laid the ball in with 3:36 left in the half. Pinecrest led 19-16 at the break.

The back and forth continued in the third quarter, but the Raiders began to separate themselves after Tillman recorded a chasedown block to perserve their 34-32 advantage. They would end the third frame with an eight-point lead.

Richmond will now look to win its first conference tournament title since 2016, as its set to visit No. 1 Seventy-First (23-3) for all the marbles on Friday. The Falcons earned a 78-63 win over No. 4 Lumberton in the second round on Wednesday.

BOX SCORE

Richmond — Newton 22, Hood 14, Quick 7, Stroman 6, Tillman 5

Pinecrest — Haskell 11, Coe 9, Bailey 8, Ardinger 6, Drennan 6, Lyons 4, Garges 2, Stoltz 2

Leon Hargrove Jr. | Daily Journal file photo Richmond’s Rod Newton (3) scored a game-high 22 points in the No. 3 Raiders’ 54-48 win at No. 2 Pinecrest in the second round of the Sandhills Athletic Conference Tournament on Wednesday. Newton hit five 3-pointers — two in the first quarter, three in the third — in the victory.
https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_newton-3.jpgLeon Hargrove Jr. | Daily Journal file photo Richmond’s Rod Newton (3) scored a game-high 22 points in the No. 3 Raiders’ 54-48 win at No. 2 Pinecrest in the second round of the Sandhills Athletic Conference Tournament on Wednesday. Newton hit five 3-pointers — two in the first quarter, three in the third — in the victory.
Newton, Quick, Stroman hit late FTs to help Richmond escape Pinecrest

By Leon Hargrove Jr.

Sports Editor

Reach sports editor Leon Hargrove Jr. by phone at 910-817-2673 or by email at [email protected]. For stories, scores and updates, follow the Daily Journal’s sports section on Twitter @RCDailySports.