The Randolph-Henry High School varsity boys basketball team split games against James River District opponents last week, keeping both contests close.

Against visiting Amelia County High School on Friday evening, the Statesmen suffered their third loss of the 2016-17 season, falling 59-53 to the Raiders.

“They jumped out 8-0 right at the beginning,” Randolph-Henry Head Coach James Graves said of the Raiders.

Amelia led 15-9 after the first quarter and the game was tied 21-21 at halftime.

“We kind of messed up at the end of the third quarter,” Graves said.

The Statesmen had the lead by one point with a minute remaining in the period. The Raiders were running a zone defense, so Graves said he told his players to just hold onto the ball.

“We would just take the last shot,” he said. “And we made an errant pass with about 18 seconds left that didn’t need to be made. They pick it off, run down and score, (we) inbounds, they steal it again and score again.”

One of the baskets was a three-pointer, giving Amelia a 38-34 lead.

“Instead of being up by one at the end at the minimum, we’re down by four,” Graves said.

He was pleased with how his team recovered in the fourth quarter, though, adding that Randolph-Henry held a 49-48 and 51-50 lead in the final period. But it was not able to hold on for the victory.

“Just poor decisions at the wrong time, and then shots not going in — you always get some of that,” Graves said.

The Statesmen had only five scorers in the game. Junior guard Nasheim Pettus led the way for Randolph-Henry with 17 points. Junior forward/center Billy Brantley Jr. registered 11 points and six rebounds, senior forward Jesse Redd had nine points, junior guard/forward Tremaine Pugh had eight points and 10 rebounds and senior guard Sherrek Boyd added eight points.

On Dec. 6, Randolph-Henry visited Goochland High School and left with a 60-55 victory.

“We were behind by six at halftime and came back and got up as much as 11 in the fourth quarter, so it was a good performance,” Graves said, adding that the key to the win was good execution at both ends of the court.

The Statesmen trailed 16-11 after the first quarter and 28-22 at halftime, but Pugh was keeping his team in the game.

In the first period, “Pugh had 10 of those 11 (points),” Graves said. “He had 18 of our 22 in the first half.”

Randolph-Henry charged into the lead after the break and held a 42-37 advantage going into the final quarter.

Pugh finished the game with 33 points. Pettus added 11 points and nine assists and Redd contributed a team-high nine rebounds to go with four points.

The Statesmen (2-3) host Chatham High School on Wednesday, Dec. 21, at 7 p.m. They hosted Cumberland High School on Tuesday evening.