LowcoSports.com
Beaufort High boys basketball wrapped up the Region 7-4A title Friday at James Island, shaking off a slow start to rally for a 53-50 victory over the Trojans.
James Dennison scored 15 of his game-high 17 points in the second half and grabbed 13 rebounds, and Michael Dennison scored 10 of his 14 after the break and pulled down 11 boards to lead the Eagles to their first region title since 2016.
Beaufort was slow out of the gate, trailing 11-7 after a quarter and 22-13 at halftime, before senior guard Jake Alvarez sparked the offense. Alvarez scored all nine of his points in the third quarter and the Dennisons heated up as the Eagles outscored the Trojans 22- 11 in the period to surge to a two-point lead.
James Island kept coming, but senior forward Davis Willis — seeing more playing time with Zyrin Odom serving the last of a three-game suspension after being ejected in the Eagles’ lone region loss at Hilton Head High — hit a clutch 3-pointer, and the Dennisons combined for 14 points in the quarter to seal it.
“We shot 28 percent in the first half. I looked at the assistants at halftime before I addressed the team and said we are gonna win this game,” Beaufort coach Jeremy Huff said. “We just stressed staying relaxed and let our defense do the work. We stressed all night that we had control. I just have confidence in those guys.”
CJ Gibbs scored 15 points, and Cameron Smith added 12 to lead the Trojans.
Beaufort (14-5, 10-1) will host North Myrtle Beach in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs on Thursday.
