Ragin Prep dominates NewberryAcademy in defending SCISA Class A boys basketball state title
Rams scored first 15 points of the game on the way to a 59-21 victory
Sumter – It didn’t take very long to see that Ragin Prep was going to defend its SCISA Class A boys basketball state championship on Saturday at Sumter County Civic Center.
The Rams scored the first 15 points of their game against Newberry Academy and were never really threatened on the way to a 59-21 triumph.
RP head ccoach Anthony Jackson is not surprised at the repeat, but he is proud of his team for having the wherewithal to pull it off.
“We knew from the beginning of the season with everything that we had coming back that we needed to work hard and stay humble,” Jackson said. “If we did that we knew we could be back in this position today. So hats off to those guys for doing that.”
“It feels great to be back-to-back champions,” said senior forward Kayshaun Rutherford. “I’ve always wanted to do this with my brothers.”
“I’ve been wanting to do this since I came here,” said the Rams’ other senior, Kden Shannon. “It feels great to go out with a win. I already knew there were going to be tears, but they’re tears of joy.”
Ragin Prep, which finished the year with an 18-12 record, did it in convincing fashion. They used their length and height advantages to be smothering on defense as well as being able to pound the offensive glass.
There weren’t many uncontested shots for the Eagles, who finished the year with a 13-8 record. Also, the Rams used a variety of presses to make it difficult for NA to set up its offense, forcing several 10-second calls.
“We like to use different presses in what (Marquette head coach) Shaka Smart calls ‘calculated chaos,’ “ Jackson said. “We told them to buy in on the defensive end and that’s what they did. We can’t control what you do defensively. That’s a want-to thing. You have to want to do it.”
Newberry head coach Scott Gardner knew his team faced a major challenge.
“It’s hard to replicate their size and speed and length, plus we only had one day to prepare,” Gardner said. “They play such a different style than what we’re accustomed to. We hadn’t seen anything like that all year long, and it showed tonight.
“My hat’s off to Ragin Prep and their kids. They do a good job with them and they were hungry tonight.”
RP had a 7-0 lead less than two minutes into the contest thanks to a layup and two free throws from junior Kavontay Rose and a 3-poinit basket from senior Rutherford. A layup by sophomore Robert Kelly and follow-ups by Shannon and Rutherford made it 13-0 and caused Gardner to use a timeout at the 3:10 mark of the first quarter.
Two more free throws from Rutherford following the timeout pushed the lead to 15-0. NA finally got on the scoreboard when senior Gavin Wilbanks converted a 3-point play with 1:50 left. Wilbanks added a 3-point basket before the end of the quarter to make the score 17-6 entering the second quarter.
Newberry actually gained some traction at this point. While scoring only four points in the first six minutes of the second stanza, the Eagles limited Ragin Prep to just six. A layup by sophomore Javon Conway pulled NA within 23-10 with 2:51 to go in the first half.
“In the second quarter, we finally got it together a little bit,” Gardner said. “We got some looks, hit some shots. We just couldn’t stand up to it.”
Layups from Rutherford and Rose and a trey from Shannon with 55 seconds remaining gave the Rams a 30-10 halftime lead. Jackson said that late push swung the momentum back in the Rams’ favor.
“That was extremely big because we can’t let those guys stick around because we’ll get timid, start shooting shots that are coming off the rim and next thing you know they’re right back in the game,” he said, “Scott’s the kind of coach if he gets any hint of the lead, he’ll suck the air out of the ball.
“Hats of to the guys for keeping their focus. Kayshaun Rutherford really stepped up big before the half making sure we put that half away the right way.”
RP continued to pour it on in the third quarter. It outscored Newberry 16-4 to push the advantage to 46-14 entering the final stanza. Rose and fellow junior Zymir Robinson-Hill led the way with six points apiece.
Ragin Prep had three players score in double figures led by Rutherford with 17. Robinson-Hill finished with 13, and Rose had 12.
Shannon added seven, while sophomore Nasil Frank and eighth-grader Oron Brogdon had three. Senior Deandre Richardson and Kelly had two apiece.
Wilbanks had 12 points in a valiant effort to lead NA. Conway added four, Thomas McLean had three and Gavin Rosemond had two.
Gardner was proud of his team staying the course through a season riddled with injuries and sickness.
“We didn’t know who was going to suit up for us from game to game for abou8t five weeks,” Gardner said. “We got everybody healthy and ended up winning the region tournament, Then we won three tournament games and made it to the championship. That was a little bit unexpected. That was great for our program and our school.”
Robinson-Hill, Rutherford and Shannon made the All-Tournament team for the Rams, while Wilbanks and Rosemond were the Eagles’ selections. Joining the quintet was Deron Ruff of Ridge Christian.
Rutherford said Ragin Prep’s success is a benefit of the work the players put in.
“We try hard and we come to work every day.” he said.
“I’ve been going through it with these boys for four years now.” Shannon said. “I already knew the chemistry was going to be tight,” Shannon said. “They said how do we share the ball with one hour of practice? It’s because we be around each other a lot.”
