Richmond’s Paul McNeil Jr. breaks 74-year old North Carolina record with 71-point effort

The North Carolina State commitment notched the incredible effort on Tuesday night

A high school boys basketball record that has stood for 74 years in North Carolina is no longer. 

On Tuesday night, Richmond guard Paul McNeil Jr. broke the all-time single game record for points by scoring 71 in the Raiders’ 118-52 victory over Lee County. 

The North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) made an announcement Tuesday acknowledging the new record set by McNeil Jr. 

NCHSAA history was made on the basketball court last night!🏀@HoopsRichmond Senior, Paul McNeil @PaulMcneilJr, just broke a 74-year old NCHSAA basketball single-game scoring record with 71 Points. pic.twitter.com/WEDguGBxSR

— NCHSAA (@NCHSAA) January 17, 2024

The previous record was held by Bob Poole of Clayton High School at 67 points, set back in 1950. Now, McNeil’s name will go into North Carolina high school basketball lore as one of the greatest regular season performances of all time. 

The future Wolfpack signee accomplished the feat despite only visiting the charity stripe six times, hitting on five free throws. 

McNeil’s final stat line would go like this: 28-of-49 from the field; 10-of-26 from 3-point land; 5-of-6 on free throws; Also added 14 rebounds, five steals, five assists and one block. 

For the season, the senior is averaging 32.8 points per game for Richmond and the Raiders are currently 11-5 through 16 games. 

-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivenc