Sumter – Ridge View High School’s boys basketball team may be nationally ranked and is the No. 2 team in the High School Sports Report’s AAAA poll, but it isn’t even the No. 1 team in its region at the moment.
That’s because Westwood is in Region 5-AAAA with the Blazers. The Redhawks are 17-1 on the season and own a 66-64 road victory over 19-1 Ridge View. That leaves Westwood with a 6-0 region record and the No. 1 ranking in AAAA while the Blazers are 5-1.
The rematch is set for February 2 in Blythewood.
Ridge View, which is ranked 17th nationally by MaxPreps, has two Top 5 seniors in AAAA as selected by the South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association in Jayden Pretty and Joshua Smith.
Region 5 has another top 10 team in No. 10 A.C. Flora. The Falcons are 15-5 overall but are just 3-3 in region play. Westwood has knocked off the Falcons twice.
Also, Richland Northeast, which is 2-4 in the region but 12-6 overall, is ranked 15th.
Let’s take a look at how the races are shaping up in the six other regions.
REGION 1
Eleventh-ranked Greenville is in the driver’s seat as it is 5-0 at the midway point of its region schedule.
The Red Raiders are 16-3 overall and own a 74-53 triumph over Westside. That is the only loss in region play for the Rams, who are 5-1 and 12-9 overall.
Greenville had double-digit victories in four of its region games. The only one that wasn’t was a 62-56 triumph over Greenwood.
Greenwood is 14-5 overall and 2-2 in the region.
REGION 2
This region has three highly-ranked teams – Greer at No. 5, Eastside at No. 6 and Riverside at No. 7 Riverside – battling for the region title and second place and the home game in the first round of the state playoffs that goes with it.
Riverside and Greer are both 4-1 in the region with overall records of 18-4 and 19-4, respectively. Eastside is a game back at 3-2 with a 16-4 overall mark.
Riverside is led by Julen Iturbe, rated as one of the Elite players in the state regardless of class or classification by the SCBCA. The Warriors split two games with Eastside and beat Greer. They meet Greer again on the road in the regular-season finale on February 9.
Greer plays at Eastside, which is led by Top 5 senior Justin Ray, on February 2.
REGION 3
Third-ranked Catawba Ridge and eighth-ranked Lancaster have separated themselves from the rest of the teams for first and second. Catwaba Ridge si 19-2 overall and 6-0 in region play, while the Bruins are 16-6 and 5-1.
Catawba Ridge, led by Top 5 senior Zyan Hager, owns a 78-47 road victory over the Bruins, who are led by Elite selection Jordan Watford.
The teams meet again on February 2.
Indian Land is ranked 11th in the state and is third in the region at 3-2.
REGION 4
North Augusta and Aiken are heads and shoulders above everyone else in the region, at least when it comes to overall records. Ninth-ranked North Augusta is 16-7 and 5-0, while No. 14 Aiken is 12-9 and 4-1.
None of the other region teams have more than seven victories.
North Augusta, which handed AAA No. 1 Crestwood its only loss of the season, defeated Aiken 56-42 on the road on January 26. They will face off again on February 8, more than likely with the region title on the line.
REGION 6
This might be a shocker to some people – OK, I’m being facetious – but the Wilson Tigers are the top dogs in this region.
Wilson, ranked fourth in the state, all but sewed up the region championship with a 64-61 road win at South Florence on January 26. That made the Tigers 19-4 overall and 7-0 in the region.
Wilson has a pair of Elite players in Joshua Leonard and Tristan Thompson.
South Florence, which is led by Top 5 senior Jamari Brown and is ranked 13th, is tied for second with Myrtle Beach at 5-2. The Seahawks were scheduled to play host to South Florence on January 30.
REGION 7
This region championship is truly up for grabs between four teams. Colleton County, the only one ranked at No. 16, is 3-1 in region play, as is James Island. Lucy Beckham is 4-2 and May River is 3-2.
It’s a 6-team region so there is plenty of basketball left to be played to determine who finishes where.
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