Midlands Teams Take 4 out of 5 Games in Colonial Life Arena

MIDLANDS FEATURE

Midlands basketball Top Ten (Final)

Boys

1.    Ridge View (27-3, 11-1 Region 5-5A)

2.    Westwood (25-3, 10-2 Region 5-5A)

3.    CA Johnson (24-7, 15-0 Region 2-1A)

4.    Keenan (23-8, 7-2 Region 4-3A)

5.    Gray Collegiate (24-3, 14-0 Region 4-4A)

6.    Irmo (20-8, 6-4 Region 4-5A)

7.    Dutch Fork (23-4, 9-1 Region 4-5A)

8.    Brookland-Cayce (18-9, 9-5 Region 4-4A)

9.    Heathwood Hall (21-8, 10-0 SCISA Region 1-4A)

10. Ben Lippen (22-10, 8-2 SCISA Region 1-4A)

Girls

1.    Blythewood (24-5, 11-1 Region 5-5A)

2.    Keenan (20-7, 7-0 Region 4-3A)

3.    Lexington (22-5, 8-2 Region 4-5A)

4.    Gray Collegiate (22-6, 12-2 Region 4-4A)

5.    Camden (23-4, 9-3 Region 3-4A)

6.    Dutch Fork (18-6, 9-1 Region 4-5A)

7.    Lower Richland (16-9, 7-5 Region 5-4A)

8.    A.C. Flora (16-9, 9-3 Region 3-4A)

9.    Ben Lippen (22-8, 10-0 SCISA Region 1-4A)

10. Irmo (16-11, 4-6 Region 4-5A)

Midlands Feature

Midlands teams take 4 out of 5 games in Colonial Life Arena

For the first time in five years the South Carolina High School League brought state basketball championship week to Colonial Life Arena in Columbia. After seeing boys and girls state championshps being won at USC-Aiken’s arena and the Florence Center in Florence for the past five years, teams bused into Soda City to take in state champion ballgames that played out from Thursday March 6 to Saturday March 8.

Five of the 12 title games had a local flair, as three Richland District Two teams—the Ridge View boys, Westwood boys, and the Blythewood girls—all won state championships. The area’s only 1A boys basketball team, C.A. Johnson, won its first state championship in 12 years. The 3A lower-state champion Keenan girls tried for a state title but fell short against Wallhalla.

Boys

5AD1 Ridge View breezes past Ashley Ridge for seventh state championship in nine years

No matter where the state championship games are played, Ridge View keeps on winning. This time around, the Blazers handled Ashley Ridge 65-44 to claim their second straight 5A Division I championship, third straight state title, and seventh state crown under two coaches in nine years.

“It’s definitely not easy,” said Ridge View coach Joshua Staley, who took over the program after Yerrick Stoneman led the team to four state titles before leaving in 2022. “It’s more humbling than it is anything because it takes a lot of things going your way. God really blessed us. We have a great administration, athletic director and a lot of people behind the scenes helping us get to this point.”

On the court, the Blazers (27-3) helped themselves. D.J. Wiley scored 14 points; R.J. Davis had 11 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks; Talan Staley had 10 points and four assists; and J.T. Vankallen had 10 points and two assists.

“I’m more happy for the kids, our school, our administration,” Staley said. “The guys put in a lot of work. It’s always humbling when you see your work coming to fruition. We’re not bragging. We’re just grateful, man.”

Ridge View and Ashley Ridge played tight in the first quarter, with the Blazers taking a 15-12 lead after the first quarter.

After that frame Ridge View controlled the second and third quarters. The Blazers outscored the Swamp Foxes 17-7 in the second period to take a 32-19 lead into intermission. They then walloped Ashley Ridge with a 28-point third quarter that put Ridge View up 60-32 going into the fourth quarter.

The final stretch was probably the easiest part of the playoffs for Staley and the Blazers. They played keep-away with the Swamp Foxes, which drained several minutes off the clock, then called it a night with a 65-44 finish.

“Our playoffs were tough. The upper state bracket was brutal, and to play against not just better teams but state championship coaches. Every coach in those last three rounds has played for or won a state championship. They knew what they were doing so we had to really prepare every night.”

Ridge View received a first-round bye in the state playoffs and beat Boiling Springs 87-64 Feb. 32, Dorman 74-65 Feb. 3, and James F. Byrnes 84-76 Feb. 24 to reach the state final.

Even before the playoffs, the Blazers were playing top competition, including 5A Division 2 state champion Westwood. The Redhawks rallied past Ridge View 64-61 Jan. 5, but the Blazers returned the favor with a 66-47 victory Jan. 27. That win all but clinched the region championship for Ridge View.

Perhaps the most intimidating part about the offseason for other teams who face the Blazers in 2025-2026 is that Ridge View loses just one senior—Coach Staley’s son Talan, who hasn’t yet signed but has offers from several schools. The rest of this year’s team is composed of juniors and sophomores.

5AD2 Westwood v. Greenville

Shortly after the tipoff, Westwood found itself on the short end of Greenville’s 18-4 scoring run. The Redhawks settled down soon after and pressed the Red Raiders hard for the next three quarters. Westwood players, coaches, and staff took to the court after a 67-55 victory for the school’s first boys state title since the school opened in 2012.

Third-year head coach Trent Robinson, said his team’s start was eerily typical, and noted first-quarter deficits in playoff games at Conway, St. James, and for the lower state championship against Goose Creek in Florence.

“I trust my guys. I knew once we started our pressure our shots would come,” Robinson said. “Honestly, we’ve never started off a game good this year. … Do I want to go through that again? Never, Never. But that’s a strong group, seven seniors, 14 solids. I’m so proud of them.”

Robinson added that being on the Colonial Life Arena floor with his state championship team was a unique experience.

“Right now it’s such a surreal moment,” Coach Robinson said. “Like when you don’t know how possible it is until you get closer and closer, and then like man, we have a chance to do it and we did it.” 

Coaches and players alike felt the win was payback for the team’s first loss of the season. Greenville beat Westwood 50-45 at the Magic City Holiday Invitational tournament at Wilson High School in Florence Dec. 20.

Senior D’Marcus Thomas finished with 26 points and Senior Jaden Crews had 23 points, including four 3-pointers, and nine rebounds to fire the Redhawks (25-3).

Thomas said he and Crews worked hard all season to become the scoring and defending tandem that helped bring Westwood its first state boys championship home.

“That’s really my brother, man,” he said. “I told him at the start of the season that we had to get us one, me and him, in the gym, day and night, every single day, we just lived in the gym.”

Crews added, “We were just playing our game. That’s our style. They say we’re the best backcourt in SC and we just proved that.”

Westwood stayed behind Greenville through the first half and trailed 32-28 at intermission. Not long after, the Redhawks broke the game wide open.

Thomas made a putback to put the Westwood up 38-37, its first lead in the game, with 5:08 left in the third. They never looked back.

Westwood outscored Greenville 39-22 in the second half, and 63-37 since Greenville’s opening run.

“Since preseason when we were in the gym all day, we always had that chip on our shoulder,” Crews said. “A lot of people doubted us, but we just stayed poised and we came out with the dub.”

C.A. Johnson tops Bethune-Bowman for 1A crown

It looked as if Bethune-Bowman was going to spoil C.A. Johnson’s moment Saturday afternoon at Colonial Life Arena.

After being up by 17 points late in the game, the Hornets halted the Mohawks’ 15-1 scoring run in the final stretch and stormed the floor after a 72-64 victory for their first state championship since 2014 and third in school history.

Senior Aaissacc Germany scored 24 points and pulled down 17 rebounds and made seven steals.

Senior and Blythewood transfer Javarius Wyche also scored 24 points and had four thefts. Junior Milton McCray, the Class 1A Player of the Year and son of head coach Robert McCray, had 14 points.

“We knew it wasn’t a big thing, it wasn’t us. We knew they couldn’t play with us,” Wyche said. “We just stayed with what we do, stayed together, and stayed disciplined.”

The Hornets were up 22-9 after the first quarter and held a 37-25 lead by the half. They were up 48-32 with a Germany layup at the 3:39 mark of the third, but Bethune-Bowman finished the quarter on a 9-0 run to go into the fourth down just 48-41.

The Hornets held a 64-47 lead with 3:55 left in the game, but Bethune-Bowman rallied hard to cut the lead to 65-62 with 1:39 left. 

Germany made a pair of free throws at the 1:22 mark. After the Mowhawks got two foul shots of their own, Germany made his final layup, Odom made one of two free throws and McCray went down the court and made a layup at the buzzer to close out the win.   
“That’s who we are, we’re bulletproof,” Coach McCray said. “They were shooting at us a couple of times, we got hit, we got up and continued to battle. …We execute and persevere and good things happen.”

Girls

Blythewood claims second straight 5A D1 title

Blythewood fell behind early against Wando Friday night, but the defending 5A Division I champions didn’t sweat it. The Bengals quickly overcame an 8-point deficit and used their pressure defense to finish with a solid 68-44 victory that clinched the team’s second straight state title. 

“This group deserves it,” third-year Blythewood coach Emily McElveen-Schaeffer said. “They’ve worked hard for four years, These girls and these coaches trusted the program, trusted the process and they deserve this moment more than anything else.” 

Chase Thomas led the way for the Bengals with 28 points and 11 rebounds. India Williams scored 20 points and pulled down 10 boards 

“Both of them are very good players. They’ve put their name in the history books of Blythewood High School. They both stepped up at the right moment, as they told me they would. They’ve been here before, and I trust them.”

Two other seniors were key in securing the victory. Hayley Hightower, the veteran point guard whom McElveen-Schaeffer said has sparked the defensive effort for years, had eight steals and five assists on top of five points. Madison Thomas, Chase’s sister, had two steals and two assists with four points. 

After last year’s state title win, the seniors on the team were dead set on winning another before they graduated.

“That was their goal, to go back-to-back,” McElveen-Schaeffer said. “ They decided themselves, we’re tired of losing, we don’t want to lose anymore.” 

“We weren’t really aggressive on defense,” McElveen-Schaeffer said. “We get motivation from defense, adrenaline, and it turns into capitalization on offense. We’re small. We don’t have any size, so we have to pressure their play so we can get a return on the offensive end.”

Trailing 17-9 after the first quarter, Blythewood eventually evened the score. Williams broke a 27-27 tie with a 3-pointer to give the Bengals a 30-27 lead at intermission. 

The Blythewood defensive pressure took a higher level the rest of the way. The Bengals outscored the Warriors 38-17 in the second half and held them to just 7-for-24 in shooting. 

Three years ago, McElveen-Schaeffer took over a program that went 0-19 in 2021-2022 and had little history of success. With the program that has back-to-back state championships, she said attracting talented players to come to Blythewood will be a stronger sell.

“Winning breeds winning,” she said. “When people see what we’ve done, they’re more eager to come here. They want to be a part of that, they want to see that.”

Keenan falls to Wallhalla in 3A final

Tried as they could, the Raiders couldn’t keep up with defending 3A champion Wallhalla Thursday. The Razorbacks scored 21 points in both the first and second quarters to take a 42-27 lead at the half, then finished with a 70-58 victory.

For the Raiders (20-7), Class 3A Player of the Year Taelor Lee-Sutton scored 20 points and made four steals and six rebounds, Kristin Brown had 14 points and five steals, and Aareonna Caughman added 13 points and eight rebounds and a block.

“We tried to claw back, but it took a lot of energy out of us,” Keenan head coach Reggie McClain said. “They’re a good team. Once they got in their game plan, we had to get out of what we normally do.”

The Raiders reached the state final for the seventh time in school history with a convincing 62-43 victory over Oceanside Collegiate in Florence Feb. 28.

“This group hadn’t been there (to state),” McClain said after the victory over the Landsharks. “My seniors were freshman when we lost in the fourth round. 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.”

After falling behind 21-15 in the first quarter the Raiders looked to rally in the second period. Instead, the Razorbacks went on an 11-0 run early in the second to take a 36-19 lead with three minutes left in the half.

Wallhalla outscored Keenan 20-17 in the third quarter to go up 62-45 going into the fourth.

Brown, Caughman, and two other seniors move on from the Raiders. Lee-Sutton, who averaged 22.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.4 steals per game, returns along with several other key players.