RICHMOND — The Richmond Bobcats survived a late push from Oak Hill to come away with its first win of the season in boys high school basketball, 53-43, on Wednesday.
Richmond, in its second season playing a Mountain Valley Conference schedule, knocked off a Class B MVC opponent also looking to get in the win column in the Raiders.
For the Bobcats, second-chance points and a definitive height advantage were the keys to opening up a lead on the Raiders. Both teams came into the season with young rosters.
“(Raiders Coach Tom Smith’s) group Oak hill is just like us really, both teams are very inexperienced.,” said Richmond coach Phil Houdlette. “You have to just take the good with the bad. I don’t think there’s any easy wins.”
“Most of these guys have not played varsity basketball and I have no seniors,” said Smith. “But, they’re all starting to play, starting to figure it out.”
After Oak Hill opened the scoring with a 3-pointer from Liam Rodrique, the Bobcats started to work the ball inside to Dan Stewart, who cleaned up his own miss to draw a foul, making one shot. Stewart followed it up by creating his own offense with a nice post move for an easy two.
“We pride ourselves as a team in hitting the glass, our defense and just working hard in the post,” said Stewart.
Richmond’s Kenny Bing, left, and Dan Stewart block Oak Hill’s D’Andre Daniels during a Mountain Valley Conference game Wednesday in Richmond. (Andy Malloy / Kennebec Journal)
With the Raider offense struggling to find a rhythm early on, the Bobcats found success running their offense. Nick Adams found Mason Blake cutting to the basket for an easy layup to give the Bobcats a 10-5 lead early.
With the Bobcats up 12-7, Oak Hill scored a quick bucket on the fast break, with Ausborne Boston laying it in to beat the buzzer and cut the deficit to three.
The Bobcats went back inside to Stewart in the second quarter. After sinking the opening field goal to start the frame, Stewart grabbed a board off a Calob Densmore miss, adding two more points at the foul line. A pair of treys from Adams and Ben Gardner sparked an 8-2 Richmond run.
Justin Aldridge settled things down for the Raiders, sinking a floater in the lane. Caden Thompson followed that with a drive and score, but the Bobcats had extended the lead to 28-19 at the half.
“I think Danny Stewart’s work on the inside on both ends of the floor was probably the difference,” said Houdlette. “He controlled the backboards on both ends of the floor.”
“We’re just more of a finesse team and against these big teams we have a harder time,” said Smith.
Aldridge hit a 3-pointer to open the scoring for Oak Hill in the second half, but Densmore quickly responded with a trey of his own for the Bobcats. After the exchange, the Raiders settled into their offense in the third quarter. Oak Hill’s ball movement led to chances inside for Gabe Samson and D’Andre Daniels, as both players drew fouls and were perfect at the line.
“They’re great kids. They play with pride and play with heart.” said Smith. They did that in the second half. It takes them a while to get used to the situation.”
With the score 37-24, Richmond again dominated the game inside. Densmore scored on a second-chance opportunity, collecting his own rebound. Stewart added another two with a drive and right-handed layup. The Bobcats took a 43-29 lead into the final quarter.
The Raiders played their best basketball behind the hot hand of Aldridge in the fourth quarter. Oak Hill went on a 10-4 run with back-to-back treys from Aldridge.
Richmond took a timeout with 2:47 remaining and a 49-42 lead. Stewart grabbed another board and sunk a pair of free throws out of the timeout as it was as close as Oak Hill was able to get. The Raiders ran out of time to complete a comeback as Richmond worked the ball around in the game’s closing minutes, cementing the 53-43 win.
“It’s definitely nice to get that first one,” said Stewart. “I feel like we have the tools to do a lot. I think we can be an underdog.”
Richmond improved to 1-2 on the season. The Bobcats will look to even their record on the road Friday at Spruce Mountain, another Class B MVC opponent. Oak Hill fell to 0-3.
Stewart led the way for the Bobcats with 18 points, while Densmore chipped in 13. Aldridge led Oak Hill with 13 points.
“I think the kids need a win,” said Houdlette. “When you play teams that are two or three times your size, it’s nice when you can get one.”
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