Raiders, Cavs were head of the class in SAC hoops
Apr. 30—There wasn't much doubt when it came to the top awards in Sandhills Athletic Conference men's basketball this season.
After changing his mind about a transfer to a prep school and choosing to play his senior season for the Richmond Raiders, Paul McNeil Jr. had a dominant campaign highlighted by a state-record 71 points in a single game. Averaging 31.7 points, 9.5 rebounds and 4.9 assists per outing, McNeil led Richmond to a 25-6 record, the conference title and a spot in the NCHSAA 3A East Regional final, where they lost by a single basket to New Hanover.
There was no question that the 6'6" NC State recruit was the league's top player this season, and he was voted as the SAC Player of the Year.
Neither was there much debate about the Coach of the Year. The coaches could have given the award to the Raiders' Donald Pettigrew for another outstanding season, but he wasn't the only coach to achieve big things during the season. The winner of the 3A half of the SAC was Southern Lee's Gaston Collins, who engineered a turnaround from two losing campaigns and racked up a 23-5 season during the winter, one of the most successful years at a school where success on the hardwood has long been expected.
Collins' teams had won five straight conference titles between 2017 and 2021 before having back-to-back down seasons, winning just three games in 2022 and 10 in 2023. However, the Cavaliers buckled down in the offseason and picked up reinforcements from a talented JV team, and threw down the gauntlet to the rest of the area with a 7-0 start in which only one team came closer than 17 points.
The Raiders were too much for Southern in conference play, although they kept the outcome in doubt at Cavalier Court until well into the fourth quarter. They won the 3A half of the league and made a trip to the second round of the state playoffs.
McNeil headed a contingent of four Richmond players on the All-Conference team, joining teammates JV Drake, Jamarion Wall, and Ahaiver McDonald. The Cavaliers put three players on the team, Isaiah Upchurch, Nysheed Williams and TJ Carnegie.
For Lee County, Kamaree Butler was named All-Conference, with teammates Jayden Hill and Nic Farrow named honorable mention. Union Pines' Trent Hilburn was named All-Conference and Jaylen Kyle as honorable mention for the Vikings. Scotland's Jaquez Caldwell was named All-Conference and Dylan Lampley as honorable mention.
The rest of the All-SAC selections were from the other two 4A schools. Both Hoke County and Pinecrest had successful seasons and were rewarded with three All-Conference picks each. The Bucks placed Jaylen Sturdivant, Salah Sutton, and Brandon Graham on the team; with Elijah Melton, Javion Saunders, and Azir Gillespie representing the Patriots.
