By Thomas Grant Jr.
It’s going to be a mostly Northeast area affair Friday night on the hardwood at the Florence Civic Center.
The Ridge View boys and both Blythewood basketball teams will play for S.C. High School League Class 5A Division I titles. All three teams won their respective semifinals Saturday.
The Lady Bengals tip off at 6 p.m. against Summerville. The Lady Green Wave advanced to the final after Lower State opponent Ashley Ridge was disqualified from the postseason by the S.C. High School League for suiting an ineligible player.
The Lady Swamp foxes’ appeals were denied by both the Executive Committee and Appellate Panel.
At 8 p.m., Ridge View and Blythewood boys will meet in the boys final. It’s the third meeting this season between the two Region 5-5A rivals with the Blazers sweeping the regular season matchups.
While the Ridge View boys are competing for their sixth state title, Blythewood is seeking its first for both programs.
Ridge View 63, James Island 43
For the second straight year and sixth time in school history, Ridge View boys basketball will play for a state championship.
Once again, the Blazers defeated James Island to reach the final. A year after winning the Class 4A title, Ridge View will now vie for its sixth state title in the state’s highest classification.
Malachi Cooper led the Blazers with 21 points. He accounted for five points during a 9-0 run to open the game which included the first of his five 3-pointers.
The Blazers jumped out to a 9-0 lead over the Trojans. Malachi Cooper opened the game with a jumper and hit the first of his five 3-pointers.
Down 12-3, James Island went on a 11-4 run that stretched into the second quarter to get within 16-14. It was all Ridge View from there as a layup by Davis ignited the 25-0 run to give it a 41-14 halftime lead.
Davis scored six of his 15 points during the scoring run for the Blazers. He also dished out seven assists and had seven steals.
Despite Class 5A Player of the Year Korie Corbett being limited to just six points, Ridge View extended its lead to as many as 30 points. It was the second straight year the Blazers had defeated the Trojans in the state semifinals.
Blythewood 64, J.L. Mann 59 (Girls)
Just three years ago, the Lady Bengals finished the season with a 0-19 record.
On Saturday, they earned the program’s first Upper State Division I championship after holding off the Lady Patriots.
“Definitely a big day for the program,” Blythewood head coach Emily Schaeffer said. “Very proud of the girls and the way they fought. They made it close there at the end, made us a little nervous. But I’ll take it. Like I said, an ugly win is better than a pretty loss. So I’ll take it any week of the week.”
All-State senior Chase Thomas scored 22 points, going 10-11 from the free throw line and hitting three 3-pointers. India Williams added 15 points and Sherron Waters finished with 14 points, including four, 3-pointers.
Her last one from halfcourt as time expired in the third quarter put Blythewood back ahead 49-47. The Lady Bengals led as many as 12 points before the Lady Patriots rallied behind guard Jade Hailstock. She finished with a game-high 24 points.
“It’s a great feeling,” Thomas said. “We’ve been putting it work since June on this…we’re going to be here March 7 and look to make history.”
Blythewood 46, Dorman 45 (Boys)
It was another dramatic ending to a playoff matchup between the Bengals and Cavaliers.
Back in 2017, Dorman edged Blythewood in the final seconds to win the inaugural Class 5A title.
This time, the outcome went in favor of Blythewood. Down 44-32 with 5:03 left, the Bengals outscored the Cavaliers 14-1 to end the game.
All-State senior T.J. Lewis, who finished with 21 points, capped the comeback run with the go-ahead free throw with 2.4 seconds left.
“I wish I can take some credit, but it’s all on those guys,” said Blythewood head coach Zeke Washington, who looks to become the third head coach to lead three schools to state titles. “They just did not give up and they just made shots and it’s a testament to them.
“So, I wish I can take some credit. I can’t credit any credit on that one. I was just sitting there, going along for the ride. I still can’t believe that we’re in the state championship. But we are.”
Kemuel Little started the rally with a layup. The next score in the game came with 2:51 left on a 3-pointer by Lewis to make it 44-38. Following a timeout and Dorman turnover, Torrean Sims caught the inbound pass and banked in a layup.
With 1:34 left, was fouled and Javarius Wyche hit both free throws to bring Ridge View within 44-42. As Dorman looked to run out the clock, Jaden Johnson was fouled with 38 seconds left.
Johnson made 1-2 free throws to finish with 22 points. With a chance to tie the game, Lewis eluded Johnson behind the right portion of the 3-point arc and fired in the game-tying shot with 23 seconds left.
“This is what (Lewis) said,” Washington said. “He said ‘Coach, at the end, just give me the ball and I’m going to make it happen. I said ‘Hey folks, just give him the ball and he was going to make it happen.’”
“I knew I wanted the ball, “ Lewis said. “I trust my reps. I trust my confidence. I put in enough work for this situation, so I figured I would take the shot and my teammates had trust in me to get the ball and they did and God let it work out the right way for me.”
Dorman headed up court to reclaim the lead. Aaden Bruton-Smith’s miss was rebounded by Sims with nine seconds left.
Following the timeout, Lewis inbounded the ball, got it back from Terrion Mack and was fouled by Preon Breazeale with a second left dribbling across halfcourt.
After missing two free throws minutes earlier, Lewis made the first attempt this time. He missed the second, but it knocked out of bounds by Dorman’s Keenan Arcega-Whiteside with .07 seconds left.
Blythewood’s Elijah Major quickly bounced the inbound pass to Sims to run out the clock.
(Photo courtesy of Ridge View High School)
