BOYS BASKETBALL
Eagles stay perfect in region play
Beaufort High boys basketball stayed perfect in Region 7-4A play with a 77-65 win at Colleton County on Friday, as all three members of “The Firm” posted double-doubles.
James Dennison poured in a career-high 35 points to go with 14 rebounds in a monster effort, his brother James Dennison nearly matched his incredible output with 27 points and 15 boards, and Zyrin Odom added 11 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Eagles past a scrappy Cougars team.
Point guard Anderson Jones also had an excellent night for Beaufort with seven assists, five rebounds, and three steals.
Three days earlier, the Eagles built a big second-half lead, then held on through a furious rally to beat visiting Lucy Beckham 71-65.
After the Bengals played them even in the first quarter, the Eagles locked down on defense and held Beckham to six points in the second to surge to a 33-23 halftime advantage. Beaufort opened the lead up to 20 in the third quarter before star wing Zyrin Odom fouled out, putting the Eagles’ depth to the test.
The Bengals closed the gap to 16 by the end of the quarter and kept coming, but Beaufort was able to hang on thanks to terrific efforts from Michael Dennison and James Dennison. Michael Dennison led the way for the second straight game with 24 points and 12 rebounds, while James Dennison added 24 points and 10 boards. Odom contributed nine points and eight rebounds before fouling out.
Bucs back on track with 3-0 week
Bridges Prep boys basketball picked up a region road win Friday, shaking off a sluggish first half for a 53-39 win at Allendale-Fairfax to finish 3-0 in a week that started with Damien Bee breaking the school’s scoring record.
The Bucs were slow out of the gate on the road, letting a three-point lead after the first quarter slide to a 23-19 deficit by halftime, but they picked up their defensive intensity after the break and used the stops to fuel their offense.
Bridges surged to a nine-point lead heading to the fourth quarter and eased away for its fourth consecutive win.
Damien Bee put up another stellar line with 16 points, eight assists, seven rebounds, and four steals to lead the way for the Bucs. Davion Washington posted a double-double with 12 points and 11 boards, Jeremiah Ponder added 10 points, and Tony Jones ripped down 10 rebounds to go with four points and three blocks.
On Wednesday, Bridges picked up a solid road win at John Paul II, holding off a second-half comeback from the Golden Warriors for a 60-54 victory in a non-region matchup.
The Golden Warriors stumbled out of the gate in the first quarter as the Bucs ran out to a 16-7 lead after one quarter, but JPII settled in and narrowed the gap to 32-24 at halftime. Bridges pushed the lead back to 15 by the end of the third quarter, but James Keefer and Jackson Ogden sparked a fourth-quarter comeback to get JPII back in it before falling short.
Bee put up another impressive stat line for Bridges with 16 points, eight rebounds, nine assists, and four steals, while Zaire Nelson scored 18 points and snagged four steals, and Ponder hit a trio of 3-pointers en route to 10 points. Washington racked up eight points and 11 boards, and Tony Jones recorded eight points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks to help the Bucs control the paint.
Jackson Ogden led JPII with 19 points and four assists, while Mark Knight had 13 points and 10 rebounds, and James Keefer had 12 points and four assists.
On Tuesday, Bee exploded for a school-record 35 points, and Bridges Prep rolled to a 54-14 victory at Royal Live Oaks.
Just one game after posting a triple-double, Bee delivered another monster outing with eight rebounds, six assists, seven steals, and three blocks to go along with a program-record 35 points.
Jeremiah Ponder made both of his 3-point attempts for six points on the night, Davion Washington excelled on defense with 10 rebounds, three steals and four blocks, and Tony Jones recorded 11 boards for the Bucs.
Warriors fall to two tough opponents
The No. 2 team in Class 2A was too much for Whale Branch boys basketball to handle for the second time in eight days, as Wade Hampton used a quick start and a career night from Brendon Brantley to cruise to a 58-43 road win Saturday in Seabrook.
Brantley rained in nine 3-pointers en route to 31 points to lead the way for the Red Devils, who ran out to 26-12 halftime lead and extended it to a 17-point advantage by the end of the third quarter.
Whale Branch found more success in the fourth, but the deficit was too large to overcome. AJ Singleton led the Warriors with 17 points, while Queshawn Fields added 12, and Jashaun Gillison had eight.
Isaac Gray scored nine points for Wade Hampton, and Jamian Risher added seven points, three assists, and three steals fresh off his MVP performance in the Blitz Border Bowl earlier in the day.
The week started well enough for the Warriors, who pulled out another tough road win Tuesday, rallying from a nine-point halftime deficit to win 57-54 at Military Magnet and remain unbeaten in region play.
Gillison poured in 28 points to lead the way, including 18 to fuel the second-half comeback.
The Eagles led by five after the first quarter and extended the margin to 35-26 at the break, but Gillison heated up for 12 in the third quarter and Singleton came up with a pair of big buckets as Whale Branch trimmed the margin to four with eight minutes left.
It was all Warriors in the fourth quarter, as Gillison put up six more points and Fields scored five of his seven in the final period, including a 3-point play to help seal it. Singleton added eight points and Xavier Chaplin contributed six in a balanced effort from the Warriors.
The magic ran out for Whale Branch on Friday, as the Warriors suffered their first Region 7-1A loss, falling 73-52 to visiting Baptist Hill.
Gillison put up 22 points and Singleton added 14 to lead the Warriors, but it wasn’t enough to keep up with a talented Bobcat squad that had five players in double figures.
Dolphins pick up first region win but fall to Bishops
Ethan White knocked down both ends at the free throw line with under 10 seconds to play, icing the game and sending the fans inside the Palace home happy Tuesday night as Battery Creek ended its home losing streak with a 53-47 overtime win over Hanahan.
Will White came up one rebound short of a double-double, posting a game-high 21 points and nine rebounds, and sophomore forward Donyae Brown posted his first double-double with 10 points and 11 boards to lead the Dolphins to the Region 8-3A win. Noah Northway added nine points, Quatrell Livingston had six and Ethan White contributed four.
After Abbott Schultz hit a triple to put the Hawks up six early in the fourth quarter, Livingston drove to the basket and drew the foul, sinking the basket and the free throw to make it a three-point game. Creek found itself in the double bonus early in the period and took advantage, driving to the basket consistently and getting to the line. With the score tied at 40, Livingston went 1-for-2 from the line to put the Dolphins up one, but the Hawks did the same and following the inbound, the clock read zeroes.
In overtime the Dolphins took the lead after making one of two from the charity stripe, but the Hawks knocked down both ends from the line to go up 43-42. Ethan White then found Brown down low for Creek to go up one and Northway picked up one of his eight offensive boards and put it back to go up three. Hanahan wouldn’t be denied though, sending a floater through the basket to make it a one-point game. Brown then stole the ball and made the shot while also drawing the foul to go back up three.
Northway found Will White on a breakaway for a layup to go up five with just 19 seconds to play, and Brown and Ethan White would knock down three of four from the free-throw line to ice the game, securing Battery Creek’s first home victory of the season.
On Friday, DaQuan Jacobs came off the bench and lit a fire to give Battery Creek boys basketball its chances, but the Dolphins were unable to overcome a strong Bishop England team, falling to the Bishops 63-50 at the Palace.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Barnwell breaks Warriors’ record with 37 in win
Kynew Barnwell poured in a school-record 37 points as Whale Branch girls basketball avenged last week’s loss to Wade Hampton with a 51-40 home win Saturday.
Barnwell scored 18 first-half points to get the Warriors into the locker room tied at 24, and she added 19 more after the break, including 15 in the fourth quarter to close out a hard-fought win. Heaven Grant added eight points, and Erin Rivers had six for Whale Branch.
Shia Kinard scored 16 points and J. Carter added 15 for the Red Devils.
The Warriors’ other two games earlier in the week were postponed due to COVID-19 protocol.
Dolphins split pair of region contests
After a convincing victory over Hanahan on Tuesday night, Battery Creek couldn’t find the same success against Bishop England on Friday, as the Dolphins suffered their first region loss 54-23 at the Palace.
Ashante Shaw led the Dolphins with eight points and 13 rebounds while Kiara Wilson added six points while Sophia Felix had five.
The Dolphins fared much better Tuesday against Hanahan, defeating the Hawks 37-25 at the Palace.
Wilson posted a game-high 18 points along with eight rebounds and eight steals, Shaw added six points and 14 boards, and Felix collected six points, seven rebounds, six steals, and five assists for the Dolphins.
After a scoreless opening 90 seconds, the Dolphins broke through with a 15-0 run over the next three-plus minutes, with 11 of the points coming off the hot hand of Wilson, who started 3-for-3 from three point land. BCHS held an 11-point lead after the first quarter.
Hanahan opened the second quarter with a 4-0 run, cutting Creek’s double-digit lead to five. The Dolphins went 0-for-3 from the field before Felix knocked down a triple and Wilson picked off a pass, setting up a nice 10-footer. After Camdyn Lawson converted a 3-pointer late in the frame for the Hawks, the Dolphins went into the break up four.
Both offenses struggled in the third period, combining for only seven points, and the Dolphins led by only one heading into the final quarter, but Creek’s defense picked it up in the final period, allowing the Hawks to score just one point as the Dolphins had five different players score in the last eight minutes to pull away.
