12 Jan Richmond High Boys Varsity Basketball Long Losing Streak Continues

Oilers defenders were scrambling all evening to try limiting the damage of a Hercules High onslaught in Richmond on Friday.

Story and photos by Joe Porrello

The Oilers boys’ varsity basketball team remains winless this season after being walloped 74-15 on their home court by Hercules High on Wednesday.

With their last victory coming in January of 2023, Richmond High has now lost eighteen games in a row, dating back to their previous season.

“We’re really not competing,” said Oilers first-year head coach David Osorio.

 

In head-to-head matchups with the Titans, the Oilers are 6-26 over the prior two decades and their only triumph over Hercules High in 10 years came last season.

The Titans are now in fourth place of the Tri-County-Stone League standings at 3-3 and 6-9 overall, where Richmond High sits in last with a record of 0-6 and 0-13, respectively.

 

The Oilers did not have much of a home court advantage to work with, as parents and fans were not allowed into the game because of tight security following a shooting near the school Monday that left none injured. 

Osorio said he was in a coaches’ meeting on campus when the shots were fired.

“They locked us down in the theater; I had my grandson with me,” he said.

In an eerily quiet gym, Hercules High used an early barrage of three-pointers and timely offensive rebounding to jump out to a quick 20-point lead in the second quarter. Adding in tight defense and a game-high 31 points in the second quarter, the Titans were able to take a 48-11 lead into halftime.

 

With the game nearly decided at the midway point, game clock operators let time continuously run to keep things from getting too out of hand on the scoreboard. 

Scoring four points the entire second half, Richmond High failed to tally anything in the final frame. The Oilers’ lone pair of makes came on two consecutive third quarter shots.

Osorio highlighted his appreciation for the team keeping their morale high despite a tough game and season.

“When a guy makes a three-pointer, even when we’re losing by 50, they jump in the air and celebrate,” he said.

 

It was nearly the most lopsided loss of the season for Richmond High, second only to its 84-point thrashing at the hands of the Bethel Jaguars.

The game took less than an hour to finish, largely due to only six free throw attempts.

All three players scoring in double figures were Titans, including two 11-point totals for senior Owen Dimalanta and six-foot freshman Zyiere Carter-Moore.

 

Hercules High entered the game with a nearly identical amount of points scored (741) and allowed (751) this season, compared to the Oilers who have been outscored 1,048 to 296.

Scoring more than 40 and conceding less than 70 just twice each, Richmond High is currently losing by an average of 58 points.

 

Osorio said his team does not live and die by wins and losses but more values their camaraderie as teammates.

“I’ve never coached a group of kids that care more about each other,” he said, pausing to hold back tears before continuing, referring to their lives off the court: “It’s not the end of the world for them, you know; they’re in tough situations.”

The Oilers are in jeopardy of having their only winless season in the last 20 years, other than when they went 0-4 in the 2020 pandemic-shortened season. Richmond High had seven wins last season and 11 the year before — their only overall winning record since 2006. 

Richmond High Athletics Down But Not Out

As the sixth head coach in as many years, Osorio knows his team could benefit from stability at the helm. 

“I’m looking forward to getting into the offseason and creating a program here,” said Osorio.

Both the Oilers and Titans will take on John Swett High School in their next matchups.