By Thomas Grant Jr.
Northeast schools will have a heavy presence at the Florence Civic Center this Saturday.
The Ridge View boys and both Blythewood boys and girls teams won their third-round playoff games. All advanced to the Class 5A Division I Lower and Upper State finals, respectively.
Ridge View could also potentially have two teams in Florence. After defeating the Lady Blazers 63-60 in four overtimes on Monday, it was reported the Ashley Ridge girls had dressed an ineligible player.
Among the possible ramifications is Ridge View replacing the Lady Swamp Foxes in the Lower State final against Summerville. The final decision is in the hands of the S.C. High School League.
Photos by Thomas Grant Jr. – Ridge View forward Yale Davis
Ridge View boys
This past Saturday, the Blazers held off Summerville 62-50 to reach the Lower State finals. It was their 15th consecutive victory this season and 21st straight against Palmetto State teams dating back to last season.
Despite limited minutes from All-State and Region 5-5A Player of the Year Korie Corbett due to foul trouble, Ridge View built a 19-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Green Wave rallied back in the second quarter with a 12-0 run. Reed Robinson connected on two of his four 3-pointers to bring Summerville to within 25-21.
Ridge View closed out the half with a putback and jumper by Talon Staley to go up 29-21. Summerville got within two points in the third quarter only for the Blazers to push their lead to 45-38 after a 3-pointer by Yale Davis.
A 3-pointer by Staley pushed Ridge View’s lead to 52-43 with 4:11 left in the game. After Robinson answered with a 3-pointer, freshman R.J. Davis scored six of his team-high 12 points in the final minutes to push the Blazers’ lead to double digits.
Ridge View head coach Josh Staley praised Davis’ effort in his first playoff run.
“I got on him pretty hard about some defensive assignments,” he said. “The coaches did a good job of coaching him up on the bench and they got him to play well down the stretch.”
Malachi Cooper had 11 points for Ridge View and Corbett scored eight of his 10 points in the second half. He had 14 points in the 72-50 second round win over Carolina Forest.
Awaiting Ridge View in the Lower State final is James Island, a 60-51 winner over Cane Bay. Gametime is at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Florence.
Blythewood
The Blythewood boys also held its third-round Upper State matchup with Clover. The Blue Eagles looked to upend a second straight Midlands high seed having defeated Dutch Fork days earlier 73-67 in overtime.
Before the game, All-State forward T.J. Lewis was honored for becoming the third player in school history to reach 1,000 career points. He proceeded to add to his total with 32 points in the 81-50 rout.
“He took a lot of criticism last year, but he wasn’t healthy,” Blythewood head coach Zeke Washington said. “So he came into this season, he was healthy, got into the weight room, all that stuff, and he’s been the heart and soul of our program. He’s a good teammate. He’s a good leader and I know some of the other boys will be mad, I know a couple of them were here tonight, but he’s probably the best shooter I’ve coached.”
Lewis scored the first seven points for Blythewood. Clover responded behind Devin Agard, who scored nine of his 16 points in the first quarter to help it take a 20-15 lead.
Blythewood closed out the quarter with four straight points and added six more to take a 25-20 lead in the second quarter.
The Bengals took control of the game, closing out the first half on a 14-3 run to go up 41-26.
The third quarter saw Lewis ignite from outside with three 3-pointers. Despite losing forward Kemuel Little in the first quarter with a possible concussion, the Bengals dominating the offensive boards to stretch their lead to 61-38 going into the fourth quarter.
As the minutes ticked away, frustrations mounted with Clover. Owen Galeota fouled out and was whistled for the first of three technical fouls called on the Blue Eagles.
After Jayden Parks was assessed the team’s third technical, the officials ejected an irate Blythewood fan from the gymnasium. As the fan made her way out the gymnasium, she tripped and fell to the floor near the exit door.
This only increased the festive mood of the Blythewood fans. With a trip to the semifinals for the first time since 2017 set, the focus turned to a familiar opponent in the Upper State final.
Dorman defeated River Bluff 74-56 on Saturday to set up a playoff rematch at 5:30 p.m. Saturday with the Bengals. The Cavaliers came back to defeat the Bengals on their home floor 63-58 in last year’s second round matchup.
“We have to be more disciplined,” Lewis said. “Last year, obviously we had the lead but we dropped it in the second half. But we’ve got to be more disciplined. Stay with our principles, just listen to Coach Washington and then we’ll win.”
On Monday, the Lady Bengals made it an all-Blythewood affair in the Upper State. They defeated top-ranked Rock Hill 60-47 to make their second state semifinal appearance in school history.
All-State senior and Region 5-5A Player of the Year Chase Thomas had 32 points and career-high 15 rebounds.
“This is definitely a personal season for us,” she told the media afterwards. “It was like a get-back season. Last year, we went out in the first round and didn’t feel very good. But we came back with a better attitude, worked hard and it shows now.”
India Williams added 10 points and the Lady Bengals held Lady Bearcat All-State guard Aubrey Stevenson to 14 points, eight in the second half.
Blythewood (26-2) will face J.L. Mann, a 57-47 winner over Dutch Fork Monday, at 4 p.m.
The Lady Bengals opened the playoffs with a 63-49 win over J.F. Byrnes. Thomas scored 21 points, India Williams had 14 points and Sherron Waters and Daniella Bosmans each added 10 points in the win.
Westwood
The Redhawks advanced to the third round of the Class 5A Division II Lower State playoffs in dramatic fashion.
Demarcus Thomas hit two free throws with less than 30 seconds left to defeat host team and top seed Conway 46-45.
Down 45-42, Jayden Crews was fouled after getting a steal and made two free throws. Thomas followed with another steal and foul to set up the go-ahead free throws.
Crews finished with 12 points, A.J. Veal added 10 points and Thomas finished with nine.
Westwood traveled to Berkeley Wednesday for a berth in the Lower State finals on March 5.
A day earlier, the Lady Redhawks looked to also advance to the Lower State at North Myrtle Beach.
In the first minute of the first quarter, however, their hopes took a major blow. Seventh-grade guard Amari Alexander took a hard direct fall on her back while grabbing a rebound.
She managed to walk back to the bench, but did not return to the game until midway in the third quarter. The Lady Chiefs would build a lead as great as 25 points before ending the Lady Redhawks’ season with the 53-42 win.
Westwood was seeking its second straight road playoff win. A week earlier, it edged out White Knoll 71-69 in the second round.
It was a 24-24 game in the second quarter when Westwood closed the first half with 11 unanswered points. The Lady Redhawks stretched it to 13 points before the Lady Timberwolves closed the gap to 48-42 at the end of the third quarter.
Led by All-State guard Shaelyn Hayes, who had 20 points, and Westwood losing starter Aneya Britt to foul trouble, White Knoll got within three points. Alexander scored four of her 16 points in succession for the Lady Redhawks to 67-60.
White Knoll got within a point in the final minute. After a layup by freshman Lyric Rogers, the Lady Timberwolves missed three of four free throws and Westwood successfully inbounded the ball to run out the final two seconds.
“We struggled and haven’t been able to put together a complete game for most of the season,” head coach Gregory Bauldrick said. “I always felt we were a much better team than if someone would just look at our record. Late in region play, we started to put full games together and now it is playoff season and we are putting together complete games. We are pretty excited about the future of our young team.”
Freshman Lyric Rogers led the Lady Redhawks with 21 points, followed by Britt with 20 points.
Spring Valley
The Lady Vikings saw their season come to an end in a 60-50 loss at Summerville in the second round.
