Lancaster wins first state championship with 69-55 win over North Augusta
By Neill Kirkpatrick
Special to the HSSR
Florence – The Lancaster Bruins used a dominating second half performance to win their first AAAA boys state basketball title defeating the North Augusta Yellow Jackets 69-55 Friday afternoon at the Florence Center.
“Words cannot describe the feeling that I have right now,” said Lancaster head coach Jerron Cauthen. “These kids have worked hard and earned everything they got, but I also love it for our community and our principal Ms. Rosalyn Mood. She’s going to retire sometime soon and now she’s got a championship under her belt.”
Coach continued, “For my kids, for their parents, they’ve been around basketball since these kids were very young. Just to see their hard work and what they’ve done outside of what we do, everybody plays a role. The kids play a role. Parents play a role. School plays a role, and as long as everybody stays in their lane, we’ll be fine, and that’s what we have all done.”
The Bruins (27-1) finished the year on a 23-game winning streak and did not lose to a team within the state borders. The state championship was their second as they won the class A title in 1950. They also finished runner up in 1946 and 2023.
The ending to the year was bittersweet for the Yellow Jackets (26-2), however, the loss can not take away from their season. They captured the region AAAA title, won their first lower state championship and made their first state final.
“It feels outstanding to have gotten this far. This team to be the first team in school history to get to the state championship game is a tremendous accomplishment. I have a lot of sophomores and juniors and I told them to remember this feeling that you want to be back here next year with the same opportunity,” said North Augusta head coach Tony Harrell.
Friday’s contest started out as a game of runs with the Yellow Jackets getting off to an 8-0 start as seniors Daron Dunbar and Jamison Mckenzie scored both on the inside and the outside.
The Bruins responded with an 8-0 run of their own to tie the game up. Senior Jacarey Ballard keyed the run scoring six points.
Keyed by Dunbar, the Yellow Jackets finished the quarter on a 9-4 run to take a 17-12 lead after one.
The second quarter went back and forth with the Yellow Jackets maintaining the lead throughout the quarter. Mckenzie led the Jackets with 8 points in the quarter.
The Bruins saw their three-point shooting wake up as juniors Columbus Parker and Malik Tinsley combined to hit three from behind the arc.
The teams went to the half with North Augusta still leading 32-29.
The third quarter belonged to Lancaster senior Jordan Watford. Coach Cauthen moved the move at halftime to put Watford at the point running the offense and he showed why he is one of the top players in the state as he drove to the basket picking up fouls and going to the line or kicking the ball out to his teammates. After scoring only four points in the first half, he scored nine in the third quarter alone.
“Jordan told me at halftime, to give him the ball and he would make it happen. He is the best player in the state and his teammates trusted him to get the job done,” Cauthen said.
Parker was also big in the quarter scoring seven points on a three-pointer, two foul shots and a driving layup. The Bruins outscored the Jackets by 10 to take a 45-38 lead. They held the Jackets to six points in the pivotal third quarter.
When asked what changed in the third quarter for his team, North Augusta coach Harrell said, “Number “O” (Watford) was a big reason that we had a hard time in the third.. He was able to get the free throw line and the basket while involving his teammates. We just did not have an answer for him in the third quarter.”
The fourth quarter saw the Bruins steadily pull away with Watford, Parker and Tinsley scoring from inside and outside. They were also deadly from the line going 8 for 10 in the quarter. They were 19-26 for the game from the charity strip.
Watford and Parker led the Bruins with 19 points each but it was their second half production that was the key to their win as Watford scored 15 and Parker scored 12 in the second half.
Also, scoring in double figures for the Bruins were Ballard and Tinsley with 15 and 12 points, respectively.
Mckenize led the Jackets with a game high 21 points with Dunbar adding 16 and junior Quh'mareon Webb scoring 10 points
