Oceanside Collegiate Is Team To Beat In Boy’s AAA Basketball
Oceanside Collegiate's 6-4 senior forward Drew Swyt
HSSR AAA Boys Basketball Rankings - (As of Feb. 5, 2025)
1. Oceanside Collegiate
2.Powdersville
3.Christ Church
4.Keenan
5.Orangeburg Wilkinson
6.Loris
7.Fox Creek
8.St. Josephs
9. North Charleston
10. Dillon
Oceanside Collegiate Is Team To Beat In Boy’s AAA Basketball
By Billy G. Baker
Publisher
Moncks Corner—The night-cap game of the first day of SCHSL basketball championship action on Thursday March, 6 will conclude at 8 p.m. in the Florence Civic Center when the boy’s AAA finals begin.
Here are for your AAA boy’s top 10 by the HSSR as of February, 25: 1. Oceanside Collegiate 2. Powdersville 3. Christ Church 4. Keenan 5. Orangeburg Wilkinson 6. Loris 7. Fox Creek 8.St. Josephs 9. North Charleston and Dillon.
Of these 10 AAA boy’s teams, Christ Church is a back-to-back Class A state champion. However, they have moved up to the Class AAA ranks with realignment.
The move up has hardly affected the third ranked (by the HSSR) Cavaliers currently sitting with a 16-5 and 7-2 record with one region game left before the playoffs. Their losses were to three higher class teams, and twice to region 2 AAA champion Powdersville which should help them in the playoffs.
“We always schedule tough games early in the season,” said veteran head coach John Butler. “It teaches our guys to play faster and stronger. And even when we lose and our record/rankings drop, the players understand that the competition will better prepare us for the region and the playoffs.”
Butler has three returning starters in junior guard Jonathan Perry, senior guard Adam Brown and junior forward Reid Hipp. Brown was named one of the top five seniors in AAA by the SCBCA. He is averaging 10.5 points per game and is one of two Cavaliers averaging 3.5 assists per game.
Perry leads the team in scoring at 12 points a night and is also averaging over three times a game. Hipp is the team’s top rebounder pulling down 7.2 boards a game while scoring 9.7 points per game.
Two juniors round out the starting lineup in guards Anthony Atkins and David Dixon. Atkins is the teams point guard and hands out 3.4 assists per game while averaging over nine points per game.
Dixon is the team’s top three-point shooter with 31. He also averages double figures at 10.5 points per game.
Off the bench for the Cavaliers are junior Jude Hall, sophomore Peter Bouharoun and freshmen Langdon Stout and Josh Butler. Hall, an All-State wide receiver, has been solid in the paint and on the boards as he is second on the team in rebounds.
Junior Evan Keable, sophomore Colt Anderson and freshman Nehemiah Lomax round out the Cavalier’s roster.
“This team has the potential to make a run in the playoffs. If we continue to play good defense and get a little better in half-court offense; this team will be a tough out in the playoffs,” said coach Butler.
The HSSR has tradition rich Oceanside Collegiate (19-1, 6-0) ranked number one. And the landsharks are fresh off two dominating wins having defeated Orangeburg-Wilkinson (56-42) and Hanahan (72-45).
They are a solid team led by 6-4 senior guard Carson Jones (8.8 pts), junior Jake Thomas (11.8 pts & 6 reb.) along with 6-4 senior forward Drew Swyt (5.1 pts) and 6-3 guard Abe Davinroy (7.7 points).
OC is head coached by Quinton Hollis.
The Fox Creek boys’ team has also had a very good season so far in 2024-25 and they are ranked 7th in the HSSR ranking as of February, 25th.
After moving up from AA to AAA with realignment Fox Creek is now 15-10 overall and 4-2 in Region 4 with two games left. They needed a win over either Swansea or Silver Bluff to clinch second place and gain the home game in the first round of the state playoffs that goes with it.
FCHS’ only region losses have been to perennial power Keenan.
Sophomore Kobe Sims led Fox Creek in scoring with a 16.9 per-game average. He’s also grabbing 3.1 rebounds and handing out 2.1 assists.
Another sophomore, Justin Vining, was averaging 12.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and a team high 4.3 assists. Senior Brelan Baskett was just missing being in double figures with a 9.2 average. He led in rebounding at 7.2.
Sophomore Chorsheak White was averaging 6.0 points and 2.3 assists, and senior Montez Tillman was averaging 3.0 points and 4.3 rebounds.
Sophomore Rayan Bahria was seeing significant time off the bench.
The athletic Dillon boy’s team rounds out the top 10.
In the nearly 40 years that Bryan Grice has been a head basketball coach, at various high schools, he says that his 2024-25 senior laden Dillon High boys’ varsity team reminds him of an experienced team he once coached at Robinson County that made a deep play-off win.
“When you have a veteran group of senior players, who know your system, and a group of experienced players who have been together for a long time, sometimes you just turn them loose and let them play the game on their own,” said Coach Grice, who has 13 seniors on his 16- man Wildcat roster. “This is how I feel about this group this season.”
With their 50-41 win over Marlboro County on February, 8 the Wildcats improved their over-all record to 11-8 and they are 4-3 in the region with two region games left against Georgetown and Waccamaw.
“If we win these two remaining games, we will clinch second place in the region and have at least one home play-off game in the play-offs and that is our goal,” said Coach Grice. “These kids want to win and they approach every game like a practice game. They like competition.”
The team got a player eligible in the second semester that has helped the team’s offensive production. Sinclair Taylor is a senior shooting guard averaging 8 points and four rebounds a game.
“He brings a lot of energy to the court and he gives 100 per cent effort,” said Coach Grice of Taylor. “He is a real good on-ball defender.”
The team is led in scoring by junior small forward Zay Robertson who is averaging 15 points and 3.5 rebounds a game. “Zay is our go-to player when we need points,” said Coach Grice. “He is a good shooter and he is very unselfish with the basketball.”
Coach Grice calls senior point guard Jamarion Fling the teams “facilitator” because he distributes the ball very well. “Over the past year he has learned to attack the rim much better also,” said Coach Grice. Fling is averaging 7.5 points and 2.8 rebounds a game.
The team’s starting power forward is senior Rahmad Hamilton who is currently averaging 5.2 points and 3.6 rebounds a game. “Rahmad is like having a coach on the floor,” said Coach Grice. “The other players listen to him and he expects good decisions with the ball in his hands.”
The 5th starter for the Wildcats is 6-3 center Jazier Walker averaging 5.4 points and a team leading 8.9 rebounds a game. “His job is to control the paint both offensively and defensively,” said Coach Grice.
“With recent flu on the team and the injury to guard Markis Morrison we are going with 10 players right now,” said Coach Grice. “Our goal is to win our last two regular season games and get focused on a play-off run.”
