AUGUSTA — Sometimes effort can only carry you so far.

After getting shut out 16-0 in the first quarter, the Richmond boys basketball team managed to draw within three points early in the fourth, but the Bobcats could not get any closer in a 49-39 loss to Seacoast Christian in the Western D quarterfinals at the Augusta Civic Center on Saturday.

“Coming into the game we were definitely a little surprised how it was like to play up here and it really translated into a poor first half. We got out to a really slow start,” Richmond senior captain Cameron Emmons said. “In the second half we finally woke up and I’m proud of my guys for putting up a big fight and making a comeback.”

The Bobcats trailed by as many as 19 points in the first half, but managed to cut the deficit to 34-31 following a conventional 3-point play from freshman Zach Small with 6 minutes, 15 seconds remaining in the contest.

That would be as close as they would get though, as a combination of Richmond turnovers and strong post play from Seacoast’s Tim Yeaton sealed the Bobcats’ fate. Yeaton scored six unanswered and all eight in an 8-2 Guardians’ run that spanned 3:15 following Small’s basket.

Small finished with a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds to pace the Bobcats, while Emmons poured in 10 points. Bailey Johansen had just one basket but did finish with a game-high 12 rebounds. Yeaton finished with a game-high 16 points for the Guardians, while Caleb and Isaac Lacroix had 14 and 13 points, respectively.

“We lost our composure a little bit towards the end,” Richmond coach Jonathan Spear said. “It doesn’t help to put yourself in a hole like that but we certainly fought back and I thought we put ourselves in a position to be in that game. We just let things get away at the end.”

While the Bobcats ultimately could not complete the comeback, they certainly deserve credit for mounting one in the first place — particularly given how dreadful of a start it was.

Richmond struggled to solve Seacoast’s 2-3 zone defense throughout the first half and paid for it dearly. The Bobcats were 0-for-8 from the floor and turned the ball over seven times in the opening quarter.

“We just weren’t making shots, we weren’t running anything and I think we were a little jammed up,” Johansen said. “We were just nervous.

“It was just one of those games where you just can’t shoot. It’s tough to shoot in here, you have to adjust to it quick.”

The Bobcats did not get on the scoreboard until Johansen’s bucket in the paint with 5:40 remaining in the second quarter, which cut the Guardians’ lead to 18-2. Richmond continued to struggle to score for the remainder of the half though and trailed 25-7 at the break.

“Credit to Seacoast Christian, their zone was a pretty active zone so it was getting in our face and not allowing us to get a lot of open shots,” Spear said. “The few shots that we did get open we weren’t making, so the nerves were a big thing.”

That nervousness subsided at halftime though, and the Bobcats made two key adjustments that proved to turn the direction of the contest. Defensively Richmond switched into a man-to-man and at the offensive end it began running its offense through Johansen at the high post.

The switch paid immediate dividends, as Johansen found Small on the block for a layup on a high-low pass and Cody Tribbet for a 3-pointer from the right wing on Richmond’s next possession to cut the deficit to 25-12 just 1:20 into the third quarter.

“That high post was huge for us,” Spear said. “It made them come out of that zone for a little bit and go man, which is what we wanted to start.”

Richmond drew within 10 heading into the fourth and proceeded to open the quarter on a 10-3 run capped off by Small’s 3-point play, but ultimately it could not maintain its momentum and finish off the comeback.

“I’m super, super proud of them,” Spear said. “When you only score seven points in the first half it’s not a good start to get off to, but I told these guys I believe in them incredibly and that they needed to believe in themselves and come out because I knew that we could come back in the game.”

Evan Crawley — 621-5640

ecrawley@mainetoday.com

Twitter: @Evan_Crawley

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