Jeff Moeller, sports correspondent 

Richmond Hill head boys’ basketball coach Bill Henderson has been pleased with how his team has dealt with bouts of adversity throughout the season.

And Friday night’s battle with Tift County was yet another example of his team’s grit that keeps developing late in the season.

The Wildcats stormed out to an early first-quarter lead, and they then battled through the rest of the way to upend Tift, 79-64, in a key regional matchup. 

“I’m proud of how we responded,” said Henderson of his team, who won their third straight and raised their record to 13-11 overall. “We talk all year about earning your response, when things get tough.

In the game of basketball and life, you’re always going to get adversity. We had the big lead and everything was going our way then we had adversity.”

Richmond Hill sliced its way through TIft’s zone and staked itself to a 21-2 advantage in the game’s first five minutes with Drew Nudo accounting for nine of his game-high 23 points during the stretch.

However, Tift, who won an earlier matchup by a 53-45 score, responded with a 15-5 run to close to within 26-17 at the end of the first quarter. The visiting Blue Devils had a balanced attack throughout the game, as they had all 11 players score.

Nudo’s layup late in the second quarter boosted the Wildcat’s advantage to 42-26, and they held a 44-32 halftime advantage.

Tift (8-12, 3-6 region) quickly cut the margin to 46-38 in the opening moments of the second half, but Richmond Hill received big boost from Alonzo Miller and Marki Boone.

The junior post duo combined for 18 of the Wildcats’ 35 points in the final two quarters. Miller finished with 15, eight rebounds, and three assists, and Boone added 13, six rebounds, and two assists.

“Marki and Alonzo brought a lot of energy and they picked us up,”emphasized Henderson. “Marki brings incredible energy, and we bring him off the bench. He brought us a good spark

“Alonzo did a great job down low for us, and he battled all night. He also passes the ball well.”

Richmond Hill also took advantage of Tift being in the bonus with fouls in both the third and fourth quarters. The Wildcats converted 18 of 21 foul shots after halftime and 26 of 33 for the game.  Boone had seven of his second-half nine points, and Miller had three of his nine from the charity stripe.

Henderson was satisfied with his team’s foul-line efficiency and their overall resilience. 

“I'm proud of the toughness that we showed,” said Henderson. “We shot well from the free-throw line and we attacked the paint

 That's been our message to the guys. We need to attack the paint. They did, and they  executed well.” 

Richmond Hill has a key showdown ahead at Lowndes (17-6) Tuesday in a game that will likely shape their region standings.

The Wildcats dropped a tight 63-60 overtime decision to Lowndes the first time they met Jan. 13, and Henderson wants his club to keep everything in its proper perspective against a team that has won five straight games. Henderson’s team is currently fifth in the region with a 3-6 mark.  

“Tuesday is going to be a big one,” stressed Henderson. “That will be about the region tournament. 

“We just have to make sure that we don’t get caught up in the big moment. We just have to focus on doing what we do and play the way we know we are capable of playing. We were right there with them the last time. We have to control what we can control. It is an important one because we’re trying to work our way back up to the fourth seed.” 

Nudo, a senior guard who is averaging roughly 12 points a game, saw the game as another testament to his team’s determination. He also believes his team is headed in the right direction.

“The game was another great example of our character and grit,” said Nudo. “I feel we are peaking at the right time to make a big push in the playoffs.”