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<p><strong>Warriors can’t get past top-ranked Eagles</strong></p>
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<p>The third time did not prove to be the charm for the Whale Branch girls basketball team, which suffered its third loss of the season at the hands of top-ranked Military Magnet on Monday, ending the Warriors’ season with a 56-44 defeat in the third round of the SCHSL Class 1A playoffs.</p>
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<p>Whale Branch earned a third crack at the Eagles with a 67-46 road win over Estill on Friday as Kynew Barnwell poured in 30 points, Layla Love added 13, and Heaven Grant contributed 11 to send the Warriors in the third round.</p>
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<p>The Warriors were never really in it Monday, though, playing catchup from the start after managing only four points in the first quarter and trailing by nine after eight minutes.</p>
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<p>Barnwell heated up in the second quarter, scoring 12 of her game-high 28 points in the period, but the Warriors were only able to shave one point off the deficit and went to halftime trailing 33-25.</p>
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<p>The Warriors couldn’t make any headway in the second half, as freshman Dream Watson scored eight of her team-best 18 points in the third quarter to help push the advantage to 14, and the Eagles held the line in the fourth.</p>
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<p><strong>Pee Dee’s power in paint puts JPII out of playoffs</strong></p>
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<p>John Paul II boys basketball came up short in the opening round of the SCISA 2A playoffs on Saturday, falling to Pee Dee Academy 55-33 at the Sumter Civic Center.</p>
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<p>The Eagles swelled the lead up to 15 points by halftime and continued to stay in command the rest of the way. John Paul II had no answer for Eagle big man Hudson Spivey, who dominated in the paint and racked up an incredible 32 points.</p>
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<p>Mark Knight led the way in his Golden Warrior finale, scoring 10 points while adding three steals.</p>
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<p>John Paul II finishes the season with a record of 12-10.</p>
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