Things didn’t look good for Port Richmond on Friday night.

Trailing by 10 points just five minutes into their PSAL AAA contest at Tottenville, the Raiders were behind for the entire game — up until the time it counted.

With 4:56 remaining in the fourth quarter, Port Richmond took its first lead since the opening seconds of the game, but as is their wont during this improbable season, the Raiders decided to take the hard road to victory.

Tottenville went on a 9-2 run to take a 52-46 advantage with only 2:24 left. That’s nothing, collectively boasted the Raiders, who blanked the Pirates the rest of the way and closed it out by scoring the evening’s final eight points — highlighted by Xavier Cardona’s go-ahead drive with 6.0 seconds remaining in a wild 54-52 triumph in Huguenot on Dec. 15.

“Xavier’s been our go-to guy, but he got off to a slow start,” said PR head coach Jeremy Smalls. “The biggest fear I had tonight was that [Tottenville] was going to outwork us. Our goal was to keep them off the boards, but they were getting three or four chances almost every trip down. Fortunately, the guys I put in off the bench really stepped up and contributed. And Cardona came through when we needed him to, even though they had extra bodies on him … a lot of double and triple teams.

“But this team’s been through this before. The kids work hard. We were down 17 against [CSI/McCown] and came back and won. They never give up. We have a lot of athletes, and they don’t stop.”

The win created a three-way tie atop the revamped Staten Island division with the Raiders, Pirates and Petrides all at 5-1. And with perennial powers Curtis and Susan Wagner now competing with the city’s elite in the AAAA, the campaign could be a nip-and-tuck race until the final week.

“Whoever is the healthiest at the end of the season and whoever is playing best in February will probably determine it,” said Smalls. “These battles that we have night in and night out will only make all of us stronger.”

What’s made Smalls stronger at his profession is having learned from two of the greatest basketball minds in the history of boys’ basketball on Staten Island. He played on some stacked Curtis teams in the 1990s that were coached by Tim Gannon, who would go on to hire Smalls for the PR job in July of 2016. And for three seasons, he served as New Dorp varsity assistant to the legendary Tony Rafaniello.

“The biggest thing I learned from Coach Raf was being consistent. The kids respect consistency,” said Smalls, who went from varsity assistant to JV head man with the Central Cougars, a position he held for seven years before leaving for the Raiders. “And with Coach Gannon, it was being disciplined. You have to hold players accountable.

“Those things are part of my philosophy. It’s not just about the game of basketball; it’s about life. I try and teach these kids life skills,” said the Westerleigh resident, who is only a seven-minute car ride from PRHS. “I’m trying to pay it forward, just like [Gannon and Rafaniello] did with me. I want to help the kids in the neighborhood.”

His players are certainly grateful.

“Coach Smalls is one of our best friends,” said junior Quentin Wright, who tied senior Joel Nunez with a team-high 16 points. “He noticed I was getting frustrated early, so he called me aside and told me to maintain my composure. He’s more than a coach.”

“He’s all business,” added Cardona, a senior who scored seven of his nine points in the fourth quarter. “He pushes us.”

The key to Port Richmond’s success so far this season: “It’s all about bonding,” said Wright. “We trust each other, and we trust our coach.”

Port Richmond hasn’t had much of a storied hoops history for the past few decades, but that low profile didn’t scare Smalls away when he accepted the position seven-plus years ago. In fact, he welcomed it.

“It presented the same challenges as coaching anywhere else would,” said Smalls, who finished his collegiate playing career at the College of Staten Island, suiting up for Tony Petosa. “You have to get the players to buy in and shrink their egos. I don’t see that as challenging.”

NOTES: Nicholas Lam (18 points) and Thomas Bekhit (12) scored in double figures for the Pirates, who stayed afloat in the fourth thanks to Erjon Rexhaj netting all nine of his points in the period. … Next up: Tottenville plays at Petrides, while PR travels to McKee/S.I. Tech, both on Tuesday.