Fox Creek’s Sims, Vining All-State picks

By Dennis Brunson

           hssr.com Associate Editor

           North Augusta – All in all, it was a pretty good season for the Fox Creek High School boys basketball team.

           The Predators, in their first season back in AAA due to reclassification after a 2-year hiatus, finished the year with a 19-11 overall record and a 6-2 mark in Region 3, good for second place and a home game in the first round of the state playoffs.

           To make things even better, Fox Creek advanced to the quarterfinals. It defeated Hanahan 88-54 in the opener before knocking off Orangeburg-Wilkinson 68-59 in the second round. The Predators lost to Loris 57-52 in the quarterfinals.

           And to put the cherry on top, Fox Creek had two players selected to the South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association AAA All-State team. They are both sophomores, Kobe Sims and Justin Vining.

           Sims led the Predators in scoring, averaging 17.6 points per game. He also led the team in steals at 2.2 to go along with 1.9 assists and 3.2 rebounds.

           Vining was the assists leader at 5.0 while scoring at a 13.2 clip and pulling down 5.0 rebounds. He also averaged 1.6 steals.

           Senior Brelan Baskett was the leading rebounder at 7.4 and was the third double-figure scorer with a 10.2 average. He also averaged 1.4 assists and 1.7 steals.

           Sophomore Gavin Baskett just missed out on being in double figures with a 9.4 average. Senior Montez Tillman averaged 4.4 rebounds and 2.5 points in 29 games.

           JENNINGS, KRYSTALOWYCH GIRLS BASKETBALL ALL-REGION PICKS

           Jada Jennings and Maya Krystalowych, a pair of sophomores, were selected to the All-Region 3 girls basketball team.

           Jennings averaged 10.2 points and 4.9 rebounds Krystalowych led the Predators in rebounding with a 10.9 average while scoring at a 7.3 clip. She also averaged a team high 3.2 blocked shots

           Freshman Mia Price led Fox Creek in scoring with a 10.6 average and in assists at 2.4. Freshman Mariah Price averaged 5.0 points and 2.3 assists.

           The Predators finished 9-14 overall and 4-4 in region play. They lost to Hanahan in the first round of the playoffs by a 45-39 count.

           Head coach Aaron Ray sees the season as a positive step forward for his young squad, which had no seniors and just one junior.

“We didn’t have a perfect season, but we grew, we fought and we laid the foundation,” Ray said. “Next season, we build on it --  stronger, smarter and hungrier.”