By Thomas Grant Jr.
The Ridge View boys basketball team’s dreams of an undefeated season were ended last week by archrival Westwood.
The visiting Redhawks left the Blazers’ gymnasium with a 66-64 victory. It was the first loss of the season for the host team who were riding high not only as the number-one team in Class 4A by the S.C. Basketball Coaches Association but included in national polls by ESPN, USA Today and Maxpreps.com.
Following that win with a 50-39 home victory over the defending Class 4A champion Irmo assured Westwood (15-1, 4-0) of replacing Ridge View atop the SCBCA Class 4A rankings released Tuesday.
‘It’s not a new feeling to win here cause we’ve done it before,” said Westwood head coach Trent Henderson, who previously won at Ridge View as a member of both the RedHawks’ B-team and junior varsity. “This is my first year being a head coach, so I said, ‘Everything is new.’ So I said ‘Let’s make something else new. Let me win here as a head varsity coach.”
Senior guard T.J. Bell led Westwood with a team-high 20 points. The preseason Region 4-5A Player of the Year helped the RedHawks jump out to an early lead with a twisting reverse layup to open the game.
“It’s not five other seniors right now that’s better than (T.J.) Bell,” Henderson said. “For him to get preseason (Region 5-4A) Player of the Year and then not be a Top Five (Class) 4A player is outrageous. I’ve been holding my tongue on that, but he’s done a great job leading this group. A great, great job.
“It’s not five players and it’s definitely not two that we saw on the court tonight (Ridge View’s Joshua Smith and Jayden Pretty were selected to the S.C. Basketball Coaches Association’s preseason Class 4A Top Five Senior list) that’s better than (T.J.) Bell.”
The first half had four ties and eight lead changes. Westwood’s 19-13 lead at the end of the first quarter was the largest by either team.
As the two teams continued to trade leads in the second half, Westwood used a 9-2 run to take a 66-61 lead with 42 seconds left. Ridge View managed to score a layup and forced two turnovers to get an opportunity to further close the gap.
Struggles at the free-throw line would prove too difficult to overcome for the Blazers. Jayden Pretty, who had a game-high 21 points, split two free throws which could have brought his team within a point.
For the game, Ridge View was 15-28 from the free-throw line. The Blazers still had a chance to tie the game, but Joshua Smith missed a layup and Pretty lost the basketball as he was tied up by Westwood.
A final desperation shot from halfcourt ended the game and sparked a brief on-court celebration by the RedHawks. Afterward, Ridge View head coach Joshua Staley credited Westwood for their effort.
“They showed a little more want than us and they got it,” Staley said. “They came out with the victory. I felt like we didn’t shoot free throws well throughout the game. We missed some big boxouts throughout the course of the game from the beginning all the way to the end and they took advantage of it and that’s why you lose by one possession in games like that.”
Staley hoped to see his team respond quickly from the loss. Three nights later at Richland Northeast, the Blazers did in the 56-43 win at Richland Northeast.
Ridge View and Westwood will meet again on Feb. 2.
On the girl’s side, Ridge View finds themselves with a first-place showdown game on Wednesday against A.C. Flora. The Lady Blazers enter the contest 4-0 in Region 5-4A following wins last week over Westwood and Richland Northeast.
Against the Lady RedHawks, Lucia Bailey scored a game-high 20 points. Anasia Harvey added 13 points and Destiny Drakeford finished with 12.
“All of the games we’ve played, a tough schedule in the preseason, is for games like this, for moments like this,” Ridge View head coach Terrance Gibson said. “To keep our composure, even though I didn’t think we did a good job of that tonight. But the main thing is that’s what we want to do. We all say ‘real season.’ Our overall record doesn’t really mean anything. The real season starts in region.”
Simone Johnson was scoreless as she had foul trouble. Gibson still highlighted her, along with Bailey, Harvey, Drakeford and guard Siam Banks as catalysts to the team’s success.
S.C. BASKETBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION TOP 10 RANKINGS
(Boys)
Class 5A
1. Lexington
2. Summerville
3. St. James
4. Byrnes
5. TL Hanna
6. Dorman
7. Ft. Mill
8. Blythewood
9. Berkeley
10 West Ashley
Class 4A
1. Westwood
2. Ridge View
3. Greer
4. Catawba Ridge
5. Wilson
6. AC Flora
7. Riverside
8. North Augusta
9. Lancaster
10. Greenville
Class 2A
1. Gray Collegiate
2. Oceanside Collegiate
3. Andrew Jackson
4. Marion
5. Hampton County
6. Landrum
7. Strom Thurmond
8. Woodland
9. Mullins
10. Bishop England
(GIRLS)
Class 5A
1. Sumter
2. Mauldin
3. Rock Hill
4. Dutch Fork
5. J.L. Mann
6. Gaffney
7. J.F. Byrnes
8. Summerville
9. Ashley Ridge
10. Goose Creek
Class 2A
1. Andrew Jackson
2. Blacksburg
3. Silver Bluff
4. Gray Collegiate
5. Bishop England
6. Keenan
7. Lee Central
8. Landrum
9. Fairfield Central
10. Saluda
All Photos by Thomas Grant Jr.
