North Cross Holds Off Richmond Christian 61-50 In VIS D-III 1st Round

North Cross ball handler Tyler Slash (R) attacks against  Richmond ChristianTuesday night as the Raiders ran out to a 35-17 halftime lead before holding off the Warriors 61-50.
North Cross ball handler Tyler Slash (R) attacks against Richmond ChristianTuesday night as the Raiders ran out to a 35-17 halftime lead before holding off the Warriors 61-50.

Richmond Christian’s long bus ride to North Cross on Tuesday afternoon took its toll on the Warriors game preparation.

Good thing for North Cross they didn’t arrive any earlier.
Taking advantage of Richmond’s sluggishness through three quarters, North Cross held off a furious Warrior rally in the final 8 minutes to pull out the 61-50 VIS Division-III first round win.
North Cross advanced to a Wednesday matchup on the road at Christ Chapel where the winner moves on to the state semifinals at Virginia State University in Petersburg on Friday.
Richmond Christian came out of the gate flat as a pancake Tuesday night and North Cross jumped on the opportunity.
Using a pair of early 3-pointers by Jordan Lowery and another from behind-the-arc by sophomore Nariq Bailey, along with the lack of rebounding by the Warriors, North Cross raced out to an 11-2 lead and was up 21-6 after one quarter.
After senior Peyton Bailey hit from long range to start the second frame, North Cross headed to the halftime break comfortably ahead 35-17.
The Raiders went up by 21 points, 40-19, to start the third quarter and appeared to be on cruise control when they were up 45-26 heading to the final 8 minutes.
Richmond Christian wouldn’t go away quietly.
At the midway point of the fourth quarter, the Warriors had chipped away to get their deficit to single digits, 47-38. Richmond closed to within 4 points twice in the final 3 minutes, the last time at 54-50 with just over a minute left in the game.
But, North Cross collected itself down the stretch by hitting 7-of-8 free throws, along with providing some stingy defense that kept the Warrior shots off the mark in the final 60 seconds.
Richmond Christian head coach Fred Gray said the long road trip took its toll.
“It’s hard for high school kids to travel three hours, get out and stretch, then be at their best,” Gray said at mid court after the handshakes. “The legs are just not there. Our shots were flat and we got out rebounded bad. College teams like to arrive three hours before a road game. Now, I understand why.”
“We finally got comfortable and started draining our shots in the fourth quarter,” Gray added. “I applaud my team because they never gave up. North Cross is a very good team and they hit big 3s at the beginning. That put us in a big hole.”
“Getting off to the big jump was the key,” North Cross head coach Ed Green said in the Raider locker room. “We dominated that last minute and that’s what counts. We’ve won 10 of the last 11 games, so we’re playing like we need to.”
Green pointed to two of his players as keys to the win.
“James Nworah was great on rebounding tonight. He’s a quick jumper with long arms. And, Chase Overton did a great job on Richmond’s big player, Austin Gray, the coach’s son. Now, we have a big challenge against Christ Chapel on the road. They’re one of the best in the state.”
Lowery had a team high 17 points for North Cross, while Peyton Bailey added 13. Nworah and Nariq Bailey chipped in 12 apiece.
Senior Deylen Woodson had a game-high 20 points for Richmond Christian, with Gray netting 14 points for the Warriors.
Bill Turner
(photo to follow separately)

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