By Neill Kirkpatrick Special to the HSSR Florence – Heading into Friday’s night 5A Division II lower state championship game you had one team that had been on this stage several times in Goose Creek and the other Westwood who was making their first appearance. The Gators of Goose Creek were the defending lower state champions and had designs on making their sixth trip to the state finals while Westwood was looking to make school history and reach their first state championship game. The Redhawks (24-3)made school history as they hung on for a 56-53 win over the Gators sending them to Colonial Life Arena where they will look to continue their historic run in the playoffs. They will take on defending 5A Division II state champion Greenville. The Red Raiders (23-6) defeated Riverside 55-48 to punch their ticket earning the chance to go back-to-back. “Once we settled down and got going and figure out the game we were fine. We feed off our defense and we were able to chip away and get the lead by halftime,” said Westwood head coach Trent Robinson. “ I’m so proud this group they have made history and we have reached new heights. Look over there they are so happy and I am going to let them celebrate. We are going to state.” The Gators ended the season at 26-3 but short of their goal of returning to the state championship game. “I’m disappointed for that group. I wanted the seniors to get another chance at a championship. I have had these guys for a lot of years and I feel like I raised all of them. I love those guys and I could not have asked for more from them. They gave me everything and I’m proud of them,” said Goose Creek head coach Blake Hall. “Unfortunately, this is the nature of the beast when you get this far.” The game started well for both teams as they relied on their strengths. The Gators hit five three-pointers with Ja'Quell Brown hitting all three of his attempts and scoring 11 points in the quarter. Brandon Grant chipped in 9 points. The Redhawks pounded the ball inside and were led by Ariel Huell with six points in the quarter. The quarter ended with the Gators on top 23-16. The second quarter saw the Gator’s increase their lead to 28-20 without Brown or Grant scoring before the Redhawks made a charge. Down by 8, Quentin McGill would start what would be a 12-2 run to end the quarter with a drive to the basket for two-points. Cylan Mcleod gave the Redhawks the lead at 30-28 when he hit their only three-pointer of the night. He would end the quarter by making two free throws and the Redhawks headed to the half up 32-30. Daytron Cockfield would score six points and Mcleod added five as Westwood increased their lead to 46-41 by outscoring the Gators 14-11. The fourth quarter saw the Redhawks stretch the lead to seven at 48-41 before the Gators began to chip at the lead and tied it at 50 when Brown hit his first three-pointer since the first quarter. McGil would give the Rehawks the lead for good as he hit an inside shot with under two-minutes to go for 52-50 lead. D'marcus Thomas would finish it at the line for Westwood as he scored an old fashioned three point play and hit a three free throws to keep the Gators at bay and send his team to the state finals. Westwood was led by Mcleod with 12 points and Cockfield with 10. Jayden Crews and Thomas chipped in with 9 and 8 points, respectively. Brown led the Gators and all scorers with 17 points while Brown finished with 10. Idreyiss Hoist and Reggie Dozier III added 8 and 9 points.

By Billy G. Baker Publisher Sumter —Having defeated Florence Christian 37-25 back in mid- December, the Orangeburg Prep (22-5) girls were favored to win the SCISA AAA girls’ basketball title when the same two teams met at the Sumter Civic Center on Feb., 28. with much more on the line.  Florence Christian led 19-14 at the half, while O-P rallied in the third period to cut the deficit to 28-26 starting the final period. However, the Eagles outscored the Indians 14-9 in the final period to win the state title 42-35. After the game, Florence Christian head coach Neil Minton was asked about his team’s improvement over the past two months. “It has all been the result of hard work, determination, and we just kept getting after it,” said Coach Minton. “I am so proud of my team, and I would like to go celebrate with them after you guys quit talking to me. “One of our key players today was Emerson Poston and she is the best and such a great kid, she’s a great person, and she is a great leader,” said Coach Minton. “She played very well on both sides of the ball today.” (Poston led the Eagles with 19 points in the title game after averaging 11.6 points during the season). What was the major difference in the team that could only muster 25 points in a loss to the Indians earlier, versus the team that put 42 points on the score sheet to win a state title? “We grew throughout the season,” said Coach Minton. “We had more bench players being able to play today and contributing positive minutes. “We had more people playing with confidence and they were stronger with the ball,” said Coach Minton. “All the little stuff we worked on helped us improve and we rely on our defense. I thought we played great half-court defense today.” Coch Minton gave a shout-out to his three senior starters who will be moving on. “ Leah Lambert is one of our unsung heroes and she is one of the better passing Post players around,” said Coach Minton. “She really knows the game, and she played really strong today. “Senior Anna Kate Huggins is one of our most important players defensively as Emerson is to us offensively,” said Coach Minton. “She sets the tone for us on defense. “ Demi Green is our third senior starter who is also a good leader and she plays well on both sides of the ball also,” said Coach Minton. Coach Minton said he talked about a key adjustment the team needed to make at the half when the Eagles had a 19-14 lead. “I felt like if we could make our lead a little bigger, it would eventually force them out of their triangle and two defense, and other zone defenses, and it would give us a little more room to work our offense. “However, it was important that Bailey Johnson , Charlotte Granger , and Demi Green also hit shots against that triangle and two defenses that we faced,” said Coach Minton. “We also did a better job of getting the ball in the middle of their press break.” Coach Minton, who is also the head football coach at Florence Christian now has four state titles in football and basketball over a 25-year coaching career. After a long post- game meeting with her hard-working team, veteran O-P head coach Jan Stoudenmire emerged with tears in her eyes. “We didn’t play very well today, and we have not been held to 35 points all year,” said Coach Stoudenmire. We just could not get the ball to go into the basket and that is what happened. “We made a few mental mistakes also, but you can’t take anything away from them,” said Coach Stoudenmire. “They have a great team, and a great coach, and they played hard and you could tell that they wanted to win a lot more than we did. “We got here and I am very proud of that and the hard work from our team all season,” said Coach Stoudenmire. “No one thought we would be back to the championship game this year, and our team is like a big family. They are going to come out of this bigger than life and they will be alright. “Most of the players on this team came to me as 5 th graders in our feeder programs and we have watched them grow, develop, and even make mistakes,” said Coach Stoudenmire. “We watch them do great things on and off the court also. I feel blessed and so fortunate to be able to coach them and I am proud of every player on this team. “We’ll keep working hard and trust me we will be back next season,” said Coach Stoudenmire. “We are not going anywhere.” Coach Stoudenmire said the focus on half-time adjustments was centered around the team shooting better in the second half. “We missed some shots we usually make so we talked about getting good looks on offense and getting the ball to go in the basket,” said Coach Stoudenmire. “Their match-up zone defense played well against our offense too.” Coach Stoudenmire cited the defensive play of senior leader Preston Schurlknight who will be joining her older sister in the Lander College softball program next season. “Preston was all over the court tonight, busting her behind on defense, and she is such an amazing kid. She does so many things on the court that never shows up in a stats box. “I’ll be coaching the softball team this Spring, and I can’t wait to see her on the softball field,” said Coach Stoudenmire. “With her leadership and talent, we are hoping to make a deep run in softball also. “We have a great group of seniors to go along with Preston,” said Coach Stoudenmire. “ Hannah Lambrecht has been on the team for a long time, and she has been one of our key leadership players the past two seasons. She is very good with the ball in her hands and runs the point very well. Our other two seniors are Jayme Culler and Kate Holstein , and they have all helped lay a good foundation for the program going forward.” Junior guard Mary Legare Delaney led the Indians with 15 points in the state championship game. “Mary has picked up where her older sister left off in our program, and she played well last year as a sophomore,” said Coach Stoudenmire. “We are very excited about having her back next season.” Beyond Delaney’s 15 points, Schurlknight had seven points for OP against the Eagles while Lambrecht and Culler contributed four points each. Holstein finished with three points also. Behind Poston’s 19 points for the Eagles were Johnson (8), Granger (5), Lambert (4), Huggins (3), and Green (3). The SCISA AAA girl’s all- tournament team included Schurknight and Delaney from O-P along with Johnson, Huggins, and Poston from Florence Christian. The other member was Kylee Finley from St. Johns Christian.

Generals pull off 3-peat despite losing four starters and eight seniors from last year's squad

By WORTHY EVANS CONTRIBUTING WRITER FLORENCE — The Keenan girls basketball team got off to a hot defensive start and didn’t let up on Oceanside Collegiate throughout their 3A upper state championship game Saturday afternoon at the Florence Center . Led by sophomore and 3A Player of the Year Taelor Lee-Sutton senior Aareonna Caughman , the Raiders jumped to a 16-8 lead by the end of the first quarter and carried on to a 62-43 victory over the Landsharks. Keenan (20-6) plays upper-state champion Walhalla for the 3A state championship at the Colonial Life Arena Friday at 2 p.m. The Razorbacks (25-2) beat St. Joseph’s Catholic 60-53 in the upper-state championship Saturday night. Friday’s matchup is the seventh appearance for the Raiders in the state final. Keenan’s last title came in 2022, the Raiders’ last state crown in the MiLaysia Fulwiley era in which Keenan won four state titles in five years. Head coach Reggie McClain said last year’s defeat was principal in motivating the team. “They had beaten us. We came up with a good defensive plan and they executed and jumped on them early.” McClain also said the outcome rested on his seniors desire for getting to the final game of the year. “This group hadn’t been there,” McClain said. “My seniors were freshman when we lost in the fourth round (to Gray Collegiate in 2023). We talked about that for the last two or three years. We ended up losing in the third round last year so this was our last chance for our seniors to go to state.” Saturday’s game was also a revenge game for the Raiders. Last year Oceanside (21-4) eliminated Keenan 55-41 in the third round. The difference this year was defense, Lee-Sutton said. “Last year we didn’t play good man (defense) but this year we did play good man,” she said. “they couldn’t handle the ball very well and we put pressure on them, got us some steals and scored baskets.” Lee-Sutton scored 18 points, with many opportunities coming in transition. Oceanside focused heavily on defending Lee-Sutton in the first half, and she had just one basket in the first quarter and four points in the second quarter. Keenan’s attack wasn’t stymied, as Caughman scored 11 of her 17 points in the first half. Caughman also had 12 rebounds. “I knew I was going to step up and perform very well,” Caughman said. “like she (Lee-Sutton) said, we lost in the third round last year so we really wanted this game.” The Raiders desire to earn their 10 th state championship appearance in school history was rewarded in the second half. With Keenan up 30-19 going into the third quarter, Lee-Sutton opened the scoring with three straight baskets, the last one a 3-pointer coming off a Caughman steal and assist, to go up 37-19. Back-to-back buckets from Zaria Mines and Caughman—both coming off Lee-Sutton steals—put the Raiders up 51-31 by third quarter’s end. Keenan led by as much as 25 points after Khloe Williams made a putback for a 62-37 lead with 1:51 left. Oceanside got seven straight points in the final stretch with a free throw and a basket from Henly Hanks , and baskets from Ella Hunter and Sadie Rice . Hanks led the Landsharks with 13 points. A big motivation for the team reaching the final was that the state championships series is back at the Colonial Life Arena after a long absence. “That’s been the motivation,” he said. “I told them it’s right in our backyard and I told them we got to get there. So they’ve been fighting and trying to get there since.”

BY WORTHY EVANS CONTRIBUTING WRITER FLORENCE — Saturday’s 3A lower state championship game at the Florence Center marked the fourth time Fox Creek and Keenan played each other this season. For the third time in the four meetings, the Predators got the best of the defending 3A champion Raiders in a 75-68 victory. Fox Creek (25-5) plays Christ Church for the 3A state championship at the Colonial Life Arena in Columbia Friday at 3:30 p.m. Christ Church beat Mountain View Prep 61-47 for the upper state championship Friday night. Five Fox Creek players scored in double figures, with junior Justin Vining leading the way with 18 points. Junior Randy Robinson had 13 points, junior Chuck Schwarz scored 12 points, and seniors Chanze Allen and Keori Atwell had 11 points apiece. “Randy Robinson had a great first quarter, a great first four minutes of the game,” second-year head coach Tim Butler said. “Justin Vining is an incredible point guard, I don’t think he can get enough credit. I wanted to go deeper on the bench but the guys got so hot I couldn’t really go into it. Our seniors and juniors and these guys put their egos aside and came into one. I just love this group.” Those starters felt the heat themselves from the red-hot shooting of Keenan sophomore Antoine Caughman , who had 22 points before fouling out with 5:25 left. Senior Broderick Anderson Jr. and junior Marcus Simpson Jr. had 13 points. While Fox Creek maintained a steady lead throughout the game, the opponents’ familiarity with one another kept the Raiders within striking distance. “It’s incredibly difficult,” Butler said about facing a rival for the fourth time. “Those guys came with a different look and we weren’t prepared for it for a little bit, and they also hit some good shots, some big shots. We thought that when No.4 fouled out, they were going to go away, but they never did. That’s a testament to their coaching staff and their focus. That’s a great team.” Even though the game’s top scorer was on the bench and Fox Creek led 57-46 at the time, the Raiders managed a 10-1 scoring run late in the game. That run brought Keenan from being behind 64-51 at the 2:02 mark to a 65-61 deficit with 1:02 left to play. Only a late technical foul called after a personal foul disrupted Keenan’s rally. Those errors brought Allen to the line for both sets of foul shots and he made all four to give the Predators a 69-61 lead. Keenan was still not finished. In the final 37 seconds the Raiders got a 3-pointer and two additional baskets from Anderson to make it 71-68 with 11 seconds left. By then the Raiders were forced to foul to stop the clock, and Vining and Kobe Sims were both 2-for-2 at the free-throw line to close out the win. “That’s a well-coached team,” Butler said. Coach Zach Norris does a great job and those kids are incredible talents and basketball players. They’re all probably going to play college basketball, and they just never quit.” Coach Norris was not on the court after being suspended from coaching for a rules violation last summer.  Assistant Alex Harper , who was the acting head coach this season, said he last talked to Norris before the game. He said Norris talked about will and desire to be the intangible factors of the game. “Will and desire. Just trying to get the kids on the same level,” Harper said. “Whatever team wants it most is going to win, and that’s pretty much what it came down to, will and desire. (Because of Norris’ suspension), I feel like everybody counted us out but we still made a push. We still had a chance to make it, we just didn’t get over that hump.” Harper added that his team’s fouls hurt the Raiders chances of victory. “We talked about it all season, we have to play without fouls,” Harper said. “I’m not going to say it’s the ref’s fault, but we just had to play without fouls and that’s not what we did today.” The Predators indeed capitalized on their many trips to the foul line. Fox Creek was 9-for-11 from the foul line in the first half, and a whopping 27-for-33 in the second half for a total of 34-of-44 for the game. Keenan by contrast was 6-for-9 from the free-throw line in the first half and 12-for-14 in the second half for an 18-for-23 total. Being doubled up on foul shots hurt the Raiders’ ability to overcome the Predators, who led 35-25 at the half. “It goes back to you’ve got to play without fouling,” Harper said. “They were able to build a 10-point lead on us in the first half just with us fouling.” The Predators join 4A lower-state champion North Augusta in the action this week at Colonial Life Arena. The Yellow Jackets (26-3) beat Bluffton 57-38 Saturday to play South Pointe in the 4A state final Saturday at 6. “North Augusta gets a lot of credit, they’re a great, well-coached team,” Butler said. “But now we’ve got two teams from North Augusta to get to play for a state championship, and it’s a great feeling.”

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Berkely's Alaina Carter led the Stags with a game high 18 points in their win to capture the lower state championship over Goose Creek.

Sumter - The SCISA state basketball championship games at the Sumter Civic Center some of the best games in recent memory. The final game with Greenwood Christian vs Spartanburg Christian went to triple OT to determine the champion. 

Hawks rally from an 11-point halftime deficit to win epic game in first trip to state finals

Rams scored first 15 points of the game on the way to a 59-21 victory

By: Gerald Doolittle Johnston, S.C. – The Wardlaw Academy Lady Patriots coached by Kristina Spurlock mounted one of the greatest come backs in school history to defeat the Richard Winn Academy Lady Eagles 43-39 for the SCISA Class A 2025-26 Championship . The Lady Eagles led by Senior Abby Lewis owned the first quarter to build a 16-4 lead fueled by 12 turnovers by Wardlaw. The Lady Eagles continued the brutal attack into the second quarter building the lead to 22-7 at the 4:12 mark of the quarter when Coach Spurlock called a timeout. “They were frustrated and I called a timeout to calm them,” said Spurlock. “ I told them the game of basketball is a game of runs. Now was the time to make our run.” Make their run they did. Behind Taylor Hill (sr) and Katherine Trotter (sr) the Lady Patriots finished the second quarter on a 10-2 run to close the first half trailing 17-24. The Lady Patriots continued the 23-3 run through the third quarter behind the fierce play of Hill and Trotter to carry a 30-27 Wardlaw lead into the fourth quarter where the two teams kept trading scores. The Lady Patriots won the quarter 13-12 to make the final score read 43-39 in favor of Wardlaw. The Lady Patriots brought home the first Title since 2009. For Coach Spurlock it was her third time being a part of a Wardlaw Championship. She was a part of two Titles during her playing days at Wardlaw. Trotter led the Lady Patriots with 17 points followed by Hill with 15. Hill got 11 of her points from the charity line while Trotter connected on 7 of 8. Brianna McNeil (sr) had 7 points followed by Lillie Stocum (so) and Mary Blanche Stark (8 th ) with two points each.  Hill, Trotter and McNeil were named to the All-Tournament team. I am sure Coach Spurlock is the SCISA Class A Coach-of-the Year as she led her army of eight to a 14-7 season record.

By Billy G. Baker Publisher Sumter - Injuries get in the way of a team’s goals like no other factor in team sports; so when top ranked Northwood Academy (28-2) lost 2,000 career point scorer Jada Bates to a knee injury in the second quarter, of a highly competitive game against rival First Baptist , it certainly factored in the Hurricanes going on to win the SCISA AAAA girl’s state title 64-60. The Hurricane won their first state title since 1980. First Baptist head coach Presley Singleton , who had won two state titles at Northwood Academy earlier in her career, earned her third career state title with the win. With a 33-29 lead at the half, Coach Singleton, told her team at the break, “I told my team that Northwood does not go away and that Northwood plays hard for 32 minutes,” she said. “Do not think that they are going to roll over because they are not. “Things went back and forth in this game,” said Coach Singleton. “Our biggest key was that we stayed out of foul trouble. Foul trouble has been what has hurt us this season, especially with our interior players. “It helped us a little bit that the officials let both teams play and that helped us stay out of of four trouble,” said Coach Singleton. “Also, they had a very good player get hurt and that was unfortunate. “We have seven players who either play travel ball, or live in the gym and that makes a difference also,” said Coach Singleton. “We were hungry coming into this game after we were upset last season. This team really wanted it.” First Baptist was led in scoring by soph Maddy Pojani who led all scorers with 22 points. “Pojani has a bright future ahead of her,” said Coach Singleton. “She is just a great player who is in the gym all the time.” Coach Singleton said she stressed to her team how difficult it was for any team to beat5 a team three times in one season. (First Baptist had lost to Northwood twice this season.) “It is hard to beat a team three times in one season and I told my kids this very thing,” said Coach Singleton. “It’s hard to beat a team three times in one season. We went with a completely different game plan, then in our two other games with them this season. “It helped us a little bit that the officials let both teams play wide open, and that helped us stay out of foul trouble,” said Coach Singleton. “Also, they had a very good player who got hurt and that was unbfortuante. “We have seven kids who either play travel ball, or live in the gym all the time, and it makes a difference in your program to have committed players,” said Coach Singleton. “We were into this game hungry. We got upset last year and we came this season very hungry and we wanted this game really bad.” Northwood Academy head coach Ginnell Curtis was obviously disappointed in the loss and the injuries to two of her better players. “When you lose a player like Jada Bates who was our second leading scorer, and second in steals, it changes your game plan for sure,” said Coach Curtis. “I just hate that she got hurt for her own well-being. “When she went down, we picked each other up,” said Coach Curtius. “We could have folded at the time we kept playing hard. We also had our number four ( Kylee Clarke ) who played with a braced up torn mimesis, and she had flu-like symptoms all day, and she played off her tail off too. “I feel like the refs were one-sided but that is a story for another day,” said Coach Curtis. “I am so proud of my girls for pushing through despite the adversity. Everybody in the gym knew who was the better team but we were just unlucky tonight.”  Northwood Academy, despite the set-back from the injuries, had ever opportunity to win the game, and the Chargers tied the score at 60 with 1:56 left in the game on a free throw by Alyvia Tocco . “We had our chances late in the game, but we just did not value our possessions that gave us a chance to win had we converted,” said Curtis. “We should have been more patient.” When Bates went down, she had already scored 13 points in the game. Junior guard Maliyah Birch , the leading scorer on the team at 20 points a game, stepped up her game, dribbling through double teams with the skill of a: globe trotter” while finishing with 20 points on several key shots in the second half. “Maliyah has been playing in state championship games since the 8 th grade,” said Coach Curtis. “She knew she had to step it up when Bates left with the injury. “I felt like we deserved to win the championship based on our body of work all season,” said Coach Curtis. “Life can deal you unexpected things and you just have to deal with it under the circumstances. I am so proud of our team putting it all on the line tonight when one of our top players left the game with an injury in the second period. “Our goal will always be to win the state championship,” said Coach Curtis. “We’ll be back next season.” Northwood Academy will lose Bates and Tocco to graduation so they return three starters that should put them in a position to make a run next year also. Prior to the championship their lone loss this season was to the highly regarded Bolles School from Jacksonville, Florida. During the season Northwood played one of the toughest schedules of any team in the state claiming wins over Berkeley , Wando , Keenan , Bishop England , Oceanside Collegiate , Ashley Ridge and Stratford . Some of these teams will be playing for state titles in the SCHSL next week. First Baptist began the game playing very loose as they built a 21-12 first quarter lead. Northwood came back and played stronger in the second period to trail 33-29 at the break. At the half, First Baptist was led in scoring by Pojani with 9 points and senior forward Ellie Blitch had 8 points followed by junior guard Gabby Moore and senior guard Paige Pouyat with five each. At the break Bates had 13 points for the Chargers followed by senior Isabella Heaton with 8 points and Birch had three points. Birch scored 17 second half points to help keep the Chargers in the game. The third quarter was fast paced and First Baptist went into the final period up by only one, 46-45. In the final period the lead changed hands several times and the game was last tied at 60 with 1:56 left in the contest. First Baptist scored the final four points of the game at the free throw line. Pojani’s 22 points for First Baptist was followed up by Blitch (12), senior Clemson signee 6-6 Dyarri Braddick (10), Moore (9) and Pouyat (8). Braddick had several blocks in the paint during the game also. Northwood was led by solid prospect Birch (20), Bates (13), Heaton (12), and Tocco (7). Clarke and Lauren Cosman each had four points. The SCISA girl’s AAAA all-tournament team consisted of Braddick, Moore, and Pojani of First Northwood was represented by Birch and Bates. The final member of the team was Lauren Majurkiewicz of John Paul II .

By Billy G. Baker Publisher Sumter —The land-mark coaching orbit of Pinewood Prep boys’ basketball head coach Pat Eidson keeps getting closer to 1,000 career wins, as the Panthers (27-6) capped off the 2025-26 season with a SCISA AAAA state championship over Heathwood Hall (61-49) at the Sumter Civic Center on February, 27. The Panthers only led 20-18 at the half against the Highlanders, and Coach Eidson, and his staff made some key adjustments at the half. “At halftime, we decided to speed the game up with a more up-tempo offense and to press a little more to try and force turnovers,” said Coach Eidson, who became the state’s all-time wins leader with over 944 career wins at the mid-point of last season. Coach Eidson will enter the 2026-27 season needing around 20 wins to hit the 1,000-career win mark. “We were successful with these adjustments and it ended up being the difference in the game,” said Coach Eidson. “They were basically the same team we saw early in the season. They did all the stuff we expected them to. “This state championship is really sweet,” said Coach Eidson. “As you get older, you learn to appreciate it a whole lot more. I know the amount of effort and work that went into this season so I can appreciate it. Returning all five starters this season, I knew we had a chance to be pretty good and we were. “I’m really happy for the kids, especially the seniors,” said Coach Eidson. “ Jayden Alexander and Jonathan Slawson are senior starters who have done a great job for us and Bralon Blackwell made contributions coming off the bench. “I said all season that this team had Potential to win a state title, and tonight we played up to that potential,” said Coach Eidson. “It was one of our better second halves all season.” Over-all, Coach Eidson has now won 12 state titles in his historic coaching career with 9 of these titles coming at Pinewood Prep. “It has been 15 years, or so since we won out last state title so it feels great to finally get another one for our players, fans and the school,” he said. “We are already looking forward to next season.” Heathwood Hall (21-8) head coach Brian Benator was proud of his team for all of their hard work also. “We had a stretch tonight where we struggled to make some shots and they had a stretch where they hit a couple three’s to go up on us 8 to 10 points,” said Coach Benator. “They also put more pressure defense on us in the second half and that helped them get several transition baskets. “The lid was on the rim tonight against us,” said Coach Benator. “We just had some problems making shots tonight. “We came into the game off a great week of practice and focus,” said Coach Benator. “I felt like we came in ready to play tonight. Our guys have been motivated all season and we had not lost a game since January, 3 rd . “I am proud of the effort of our team tonight and we’ll be back next season,” concluded the coach. Pinewood Prep was led on the scoring index by 6-3 junior forward Tre Green who had 24 points and 6-7 junior forward Kais Parris who had 18 points. Also, 6-8 junior center Tripp Eidson had 12 points and directed the defense from the top of the paint all game. Eidson had a monster dunk, off of a steal, with 3:2 left in the game that extended the Panthers lead to 51-39 at the time. Slawson contributed five points and Jayden Alexander closed out the scoring with two points. With the return of Green, Parris and Eidson to the team next season expect the Panthers to be favored to repeat next season. Heathwood Hall was led on offense by 8 th grader Jackson Dickerson with 10 points followed by senior guard Deuce Claxton and soph Hunter Colins with 9 points each. Senior forward Xander Pertile contributed 8 points and senior Ryan Pfister , soph Peyton Souter , and junior Keon McKinley each scored two points. Heathwood Hall led 14-11 after the first period. However, the Panthers rallied to lead 20-18 at the half. The pace picked up in the third period when the Panthers outscored Heathwood 18-14 to take a 38-32 lead into the final period. The SCISA AAAA boys all-tournament team was represented by Zy Dennis of Laurence Manning , along Chip Ravenell and Keon McKinley from Heathwood Hall. Pinewood Prep was represented by Green, Parris,

Bengals' Chase Thomas scores 29 in 60-54 win

Patriots were trailing by 16 points before coming back for 43-39 triumph over Richard Winn

Friday games were exciting games at the Sumter Civic Center with Wardlaw fighting back to win the Girls 1A state title, then First Baptist and Pinewood Prep toughing it out to claim the 4A Girls and Boys state titles. 

Game roundups, state championship schedule and scores and brackets available

Some highlights of the SCISA basketball tournament action going on at the Sumter Civic Center on Feb 26th.

Championship games set for Friday at Sumter County Civic Center

View Thursday's schedule, Tuesday quarterfinal roundup and updated brackets

The Road to the Championships Is Getting Shorter!

Some the action during the SCISA State Basketball tournament at the Sumter Civic Center for Feb 25th. 

Gators come away with a 59-34 triumph

Chargers face John Paul II in semifinal on Wednesday

Panthers face First Baptist in semifinals on Wednesday

Goose Creek Head Coach Blake Hall.

Some of action in the SCISA Basketball tournament so far!

Monday roundup, Tuesday, Wednesday schedules set, updated brackets for all four classifications

HSSR Basketball Rankings - SCHSL HSSR Div. I AAAAA Boys (As of 2-23-2026) 1. Ridge View 2. Dutch Fork 3. Cane Bay 4. Dorman 5. Byrnes 6.Sumter 7. West Ashley 8. Ashely Ridge 9. Clover 9.Spartanburg HSSR Div. II AAAAA Boys (As of 2-23-2026) 1. Goose Creek 2. Westwood 3. Riverside 4. St. James 5. Greenville 6. TL Hanna 7. Berkeley 8. Irmo 8. St. James 9. Nation Ford 10. Fort Mill HSSR Class AAAA Boys (As of 223=2026) 1. Gray Collegiate 2. North Augusta 3. Crestwood 4. Bluffton 5. Wilson 6. Westside 7. South Pointe 8. Camden 9. Daniel 10. Lancaster HSSR Class AAA Boys (As of 2-23-2026) 1. Christ Church 2. St Joseph’s Catholic 3. Loris 4. Fox Creek 5. Keenan 6.Chapman 7. Orangeburg-Wilkinson 8. Waccamaw 9. Mountain View Prep 10. Battery Creek HSSR Class AA Boys (As of 2-23-2026) 1. High Point Academy 2.Hampton County 3. Andrew Jackson 4. Central 5. Liberty 6. Philip Simmons 7. Mullins 8. Marion 9. American Leadership 10. Clinton HSSR Class A Boys (As of 2-23-2026) 1. Abbeville 2. Carvers Bay 3. Horse Creek Academy 4. Bethune-Bowman 5. Latta 6. HKT 7. Calhoun County 8. Green Sea Floyds 9. Lewisville 10. CA Johnson HSSR AAAAA Div. I Girls (As of 2-23-2026) 1. Dorman 2. Mauldin 3. Byrnes 4. Blythewood 5. Wando 6. Spartanburg 7. Sumter 8. Carolina Forest 9. Lexington 10. Dutch Fork HSSR Div. II Girls (As of 2-23-2026) 1. North Myrtle Beach 2. Goose Creek 3. Gaffney 4. Berkeley 5. Greenwood 6. Irmo 7. Eastside 8. Greenville 9. Fort Mill 10. Chapin HSSR Class AAAA Girls (As of 2-23-2026) 1. North Augusta 2. Westside 3. South Pointe 4. Camden 5. South Florence 6. Gray Collegiate 7. Wilson 8. Daniel 9. Blue Ridge 10. Beaufort HSSR Class AAA Girls (As of 2-23-2026) 1. Walhalla 2. Dillon 3. Oceanside Collegiate 4. Southside Christian 5. Aynor 6. St Joseph’s Catholic 7. West Oak 8. Keenan 9. Chapman 10. Fox Creek HSSR Class AA Girls (As of 2-23-2026) 1. Clinton 2. Atlantic Collegiate Academy 3. Ninety-Six 4. Atlantic Collegiate 5 Kingstree 6. Andrew Jackson 7. Landrum 8. Saluda 9. Timberland 10. Marion HSSR Class A Girls (As of 2-23-2026) 1. Military Magnet 2. Great Falls 3. Latta 4. North 5. HKT 6. Denmark-Olar 7. Lewisville 8. Bamberg-Ehrhardt 9. Abbeville 10. McCormick

By: Gerald Doolittle Batesburg-Leesville, S.C. – The W.W. King Academy Knights coached by Dennis Gibson completed their 2025-26 season with a very competitive season two seasons removed from a 23-6 season under then Coach Jonathan Davis . The 2025-26 season was a season of steady growth for the Knights. The 2024-25 season was the start of the rebuild after losing most of the 23-6 team to graduation and losing Coach Davis moving over to Greenwood Christian . Coach Gibson would come back into coaching the 2024-25 team and start the rebuild. His very young team consisting of mostly freshmen would finish a 0-16 season taking their hard defeats in stride while still developing their skills.  The Knights returned in 2025-26 with the same group, plus several players who moved up from the middle school team, and focused on developing the players already in the program. That approach led to noticeable progress throughout the season and culminated in a Region Tournament runner-up finish to Newberry Academy . During the regular season, the Knights split their two games with Cambridge Academy , which went on to claim the Regular Season Region Championship. When the teams met again in the Region Tournament semi-finals, W.W. King delivered one of its strongest performances of the season, defeating Cambridge Academy 65-29 to advance to the title game against Newberry. Coach Gibson said the season reflected the players’ willingness to stay together and put in the hard work. “This season shows what can happen when players stay committed and keep working,” said Gibson. “Our guys come from families that value determination and dedication, and we have been fortunate to have strong leadership from senior captain Spencer McCormick. Our starting five spent a lot of time with individual workouts last spring and summer, and it made a difference. I am grateful for this group and proud of the way the entire team has represented our school.” While the Knights did not finish with a championship, their progress from last season to this one was clear. The team became more competitive, more confident, and more consistent over the course of the year to finish 9-10. For Wyman King Academy, the 2025-26 season stands as an example of how patience, continuity, and effort can lead to meaningful improvement, on the scoreboard, within a program, and in life. The Knight roster included seniors Wyatt Burbank and Spencer McCormick. Landell Anderson was the only junior . The several sophomores were Bubba Buzhardt, Whitaker Graham, Joseph Morse, Colby Buzhardt, Joey Bradley, Tucker Mayyou and Joshua Oswald. The five freshmen were Tucker McGinty, Drayton Wannamaker, Brady Goff, Jackson Hutto and Jaydan Deese.

Heathwood Hall, senior this year, Henry Morris during the 2025 playoffs.

Gray Collegiate BBall Coach, Dion Betha eyeing a run for the state title.

Games will be played at Sumter County Civic Center, Wilson Hall, Cardinal Newman on both days

Updated girls scores and schedule and boys Saturday schedule available here

Full schedule for all four classifications available here

The 2026 SC Basketball Coaches All-State Team rosters are out. Congratulations to these outstanding student athletes for this great honor by the SCBCA. 

12 state championship games set for March 5-7 at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia

By Billy G. Baker Publisher Gilbert — May River’s second straight AAAA SCHSL wrestling championship, over Traveler’s Rest (31-29) at Gilbert High on February, 11 wasn’t nearly as dramatic as the Sharks rallying from a 35-11 deficit against Laurens in 2025 to win by one point; but the match had a turning point very early in the competition. After the state title win, May River head coach Ashley Powell shared his feelings with the HSSR, “Our senior Blake Butler came through for us with a pin at 157, and he has been coming through for us throughout his career and we knew we could count on him,” said Coach Powell. “His younger brother (Bryce Butler) was the big win for us at 113 when he defeated a returning state champion and his win helped set the tone for us tonight. “We feel like we are a very disciplined team and we train very hard,” said Coach Powell. “Our goal was to take them to the third period in every match, and we felt like if we could do this, we could break them. It feels great to come away with our second straight state championship. “Winning one in a row was special but to now have won two in a row this moment is really special,” said Coach Powell. “Most importantly this is a completing different team this season. We had a bunch of different leaders last year. We have 10 seniors on this year’s team, and I am so proud of them all for answering the bell tonight.” These same two teams had competed against each other on January 3 with the Sharks winning 37-33 earlier. Traveler’s Rest head coach Ted Henderson was just as proud of his team who were competing for their first wrestling title in school history. “This is the first time we have made it past the third round,” said Coach Henderson. “We overcame a lot of injuries throughout the season, and we battled back to get to the finals, and I am very proud of this team and how they competed tonight.  “You have to give credit to May River, and they are a well put together team,” said Coach Henderson. “We had a great season considering all the adversity we overcame to compete for a state championship. I am proud of our kids. We only graduate three seniors, so we expect to be very good next season also.” After May River’s Stephano Calderon’s pin at 106 gave the Sharks an early 6-0 lead in the first match of the event with 8 seconds left in the opening period, it was the 113 pound competition that appeared to favor Traveler’s Rest when state champion and number ranked Stiles Stevens squared off against Bryce Butler who is ranked third over-all by SCMat.com. The first period between Stevens and Butler finished 0-0. At the end of the second period Stevens held a 4-2 lead with Stevens breaking a 2-2 tie with an escape move with six seconds left. In the third period Butler gained the upper hand, nearly pinning Stevens with 1:23 left in the match. Butler went on to win the 113 class, 11-4 to put the Sharks up 9-0 after two matches. This win gave the Sharks momentum going forward. Travelers Rest won the 120-weight class, trimming the deficit to 9-3, when Isaiah Simmons defeated Parker Israeo . 15-9 in a highly competitive match. May River went up 12-3 after four matches when Marcus Foulk defeated Isaiah Simmons 7-3 in the 126-weight class. In the 132-weight class TR’s Jayce Batson gave his team their second win of the title match with a 6-3 win over Liam Engblom. The third period began with a neutral start with Batson holding a 3-2 advantage. His take down with 1:20 left in the final period, along with his escape with seven seconds left gave him and TR the win to cut the deficit to 12-6 at this point. May River sophomore Jacob Alfonso had a dominating 14-1 over John Stevens in the 138-weight class to extend the Shark’s lead to 16-6. Alfonso held his opponent in a pin position for the final 20 seconds of the first period when he built a 7-0 lead early. TR’s Jackson McLees pinned Oliver Wang in the 144-weight class, with 1:04 left in the third period of their match, to earn the Devildogs six points to cut the deficit to 16-12 at that point. In the 150-weight class competition Ayden Hicks of TR defeated Thomas Brough 13-11 in a three-period back-and-forth match, which trimmed the deficit to 16-15. In the 157-weight class, May River senior Blake Butler demonstrated why SCMat.com ranks him number one in AAAA, when he pinned his opponent 30 seconds into the match to put May River up 22-15. Travelers Rest then won the 165-weight class and the 175- pound weight class to take the lead 23-22 with three matches left. TR’s William Jenkins defeated Andre Cavalheiro 6-2 in the 165 match and then Riley Broderick gave the Devildogs a one-point lead when he defeated Leandro Larranaga 15-1. May Rivere rallied to win the 190 and the 215 weight classes to seal their second straight state title. At 190, the Shark’s Henry Santiz put his team back in front 28-23 when he pinned Bryce Muchow with 29 seconds left in the first period. Then at 215, the Shark’s Sean McNulty clinched the title with his 5-2 win over David Hernandez. With the match tied at 2, McNulty scored a take down with seven seconds left to earn a dramatic 5-2 win. At this point, May River led 31-23 and the Sharks forfeited the heavy weight class at 285 to conclude the matches with a 31-29 win.