SCISA basketball state championshhip matches set after Thursday semifinals
Game roundups, state championship schedule and scores and brackets available
Sumter – The matchups are set for the five state championship games scheduled for Saturday in the SCISA basketball state tournament after semifinal games were played on Thursday at two sites in Sumter.
Orangeburg Prep will meet Florence Christian School for the AAA girls title, while Spartanburg Christian Academy will do battle with Greenwood Christian School for the AAA boys crown. The AA girls title game will have Dorchester Academy sparring against defending state champion Cross Schools, while the AA boys will have Charleston Collegiate School taking on Cathedral Academy, which is going after its third straight state title.
Ragin Prep will be going after its second straight Class A boys title against Newberry Academy. That will be the first of the five games at Sumter County Civic Center, set for an 11 a.m. tip-off.
The AA girls game will begin at 1 p.m. followed by the boys game at 2:30. The AAA girls contest is set for 5 with the AAA boys beginning at 6:30.
Three title games will be played on Friday. Wardlaw Academy will face Richard Winn Academy for the Class A girls title at 4 p.m. followed by the AAAA girls championship game between Northwood Academy and First Baptist School at 6. The AAAA boys title tilt between Pinewood Prep and Heathwood Hall is scheduled to tip at 7:30.
AAA Girls
Orangeburg Prep 55
St. John’s Christian 42
Orangeburg Prep pushed out to a 14-point halftime lead and was never headed as it beat St. John’s Christian Academy 55-42 at the civic center.
The Indians, who will take a 22-4 record into the championship game, led 19-12 after one quarter and pushed the advantage to 36-22 at halftime. The Cavaliers managed to pull within 10 at 45-35 entering the fourth quarter but couldn’t make another push to pressure OP.
Mary Legare Delaney had a monster game for Orangeburg Prep with 24 points, 15 of them coming in the first half. Hannah Lambrecht also scored in double figures with 12.
Kate Holstein added eight, and Jayme Culler had six.
Lily McKnight led SJCA, which finished with a14-12 record, with 14 points. Kylie Finley added 13, while Reagan Ashby had nine, and Chandler Cumbie had four.
While it will be playing in its third title game in five years, OP will be seeking its first championship since 1991.
Florence Christian 49
Hilton Head Prep 27
Florence Christian will be playing in its first state title game ever after beating upstart Hilton Head Prep 49-27 at the civic center.
The final score isn’t a true indication of how dominant the Eagles were in the first half. FCS led 16-1 after one quarter and 32-6 at halftime.
Florence Christian, which improved to 23-2, connected on eight 3-point shots in the first two quarters. Five of those treys came from Demi Greene for all of her team high 15 points.
Anna Kate Huggins, who connected on two 3s, had 14 points. Bailey Johnson had six points, and Bethany Starr and Emerson Poston both had four.
Riley Wilbert, Erin Cleary and Kate Pagum each had eight points to lead HHP. The Dolphins, who finished the year with a 9-20 record, entered the tournament as the No. 6 seed in their portion of the 6-team bracket. However, they upset No. 3 seed Calhoun Academy 44-40 and No. 2 seed Greenwood Christian 39-37 to reach the semis.
AAA Boys
Greenwood Christian 53
Florence Christian 38
The Florence Christian boys couldn’t match the girls’ run to the finals as Greenwood Christian limited it to just 13 second-half points on the way to a 53-38 triumph at the civic center.
FCS led 25-18 at halftime but was outscored by GCS 17-2 in the third quarter to grab a 35-27 lead. The Hawks, who improved to 16-10, added 18 more points in the final stanza.
Ty Kennedy led the way for Greenwood Christian with 26 points, 22 of them coming in the second half. Isaiah Scott-Palacios added 11, Leland Reed had 10, and Bryson Dixon had four.
The Eagles finished with a 21-5 mark. Taylor Greene led the way with 13 points. Riley Minton added 10, Brayden Berry had seven, and Hayden Schwab had four.
Spartanburg Christian 63
Calhoun Academy 45
Spartanburg Christian jumped out to an early double-digit lead and never looked back as it defeated Calhoun Academy 63-45 at the civic center.
The Warriors, who improved to 21-8, led 16-9 after one quarter and pushed the lead to 34-17 at halftime. CA was unable to make a dent in the deficit in the second half, trailing 50-34 entering the final stanza.
Eli Campbell led SCA with 29 points, connecting on six 3-pointers. Lake Wagner added 14, 12 of those coming on treys.
Jayden Landrum added eight, J.D. Keel had seven, and Lucas Colburn finished with five.
The Cavaliers finished with a 23-6 mark. Nick Lindsey led the way with 20 points. Colt Layton had nine, while Crews Felder and Hatcher Thornburg both had eight.
Spartanburg Christian will be after its first title since winning consecutive 2A crowns in 2020 and 2021. The Warriors had that run ended with a loss in the ’22 title game.
AA Girls
Dorchester 58
Lee Academy 23
Dorchester Academy advanced to its first state championship appearance since 2020 with a dominating 60-23 win over Lee Academy at Wilson Hall’s Nash Student Center.
The Raiders picked up their 20th win in 25 games. They led 25-10 at intermission and then broke the game completely open by outscoring the Cavaliers 18-4 in the third quarter for a 43-14 advantage.
DA had three players in double figures led by Rylee Weathers with 18. Emery McClure added 16, and Alyssa Grooms added 10.
Palmer Kizer finished with eight, and Madison Downey finished with six.
LA concluded its season with a 13-8 record. Jamison Collins led Lee with nine points, while Karagan Melton finished with six, and Mazie Tomlnson had five.
Cross Schools 46
Laurens Academy 39
Cross Schools kept its hopes of a third straight state title alive with a 46-39 win over Laurens Academy at Nash Student Center.
The Stingrays, who won the 2024 Class A title before beating the same LA team for the AA crown last year, improved to 22-7. They led the Crusaders just 30-29 entering the final quarter before outscoring them 16-10.
Ryan Mayers led the way for Cross with 22 points. Sydney Hollings added eight, Lex Maldonado had seven, Savannah Hollings had five, and Rey Maldonado had four.
Sadie Bruyere led Laurens, which finished 24-3, with 17 points. Mackenzie Runyans had nine, Brooklyn Senn seven and Braylee Burke four.
AA Boys
Cathedral Academy 61
Laurens Academy 37
Cathedral kept alive its hopes of a third straight AA state title with a convincing 61-37 win over Laurens at Nash Student Center.
The Generals improved to 32-10 with the triumph. They will be facing Charleston Collegiate for the fourth time this year. Cathedral won the other three by the scores of 67-51, 39-37 and 65-39.
Laurens finished 17-12.
Charleston Collegiate 47
Bethesda Academy 44
Charleston Collegiate jumped out to a big lead and held on for dear life to beat Bethesda Academy 47-44 at Nash Student Center.
CCS, which improved to 15-8, led 16-6 after one quarter. It pushed the lead to 29-15 at halftime. The Blazers pulled within 37-28 after three quarters and made a run in the final stanza but couldn’t overcome the deficit.
BA finished 17-10.
Class A Boys
Ragin Prep 56
Marlboro Academy 49
Ragin Prep gave itself a chance at a second straight Class A boys state title with a 56-49 win over Marlboro Academy at Nash Student Center.
The Rams, who improved to 17-12, led 17-10 after one quarter and 33-20 at halftime. They took a 48-37 lead into the final stanza.
Kayshaun Rutherford and Zymir Robinson-Hill led Ragin with 18 points apiece. Kden Shannon added 10, and Kavontay Rose had four.
The Draagons finished with a 14-8 record and were led by Landon Edge with 16 points. Elijah Shepard had 10, Beckham Jacobs had nine, and Parker Moody had seven.
Newberry Academy 49
Ridge Christian 46
Newberry outscored Ridge Christian 12-9 in overtime to advance to the Class A boys title game for the irst time since 2021with a 49-46 win at Nash Student Center.
The Eagles, who improved to 12-8, came out of the gates slow. They trailed 13-7 after one quarter and 23-12 at halftime. However, NA outscored the Paladins 15-4 in the third quarter to tie the game at 27-27 after three quarters.
Caleb Wilbanks led Newberry with 23 points. Gavin Rosemond added 21 points. He had seven of the points in overtime.
Deron Ruff led Ridge, which finished 10-13, with 16 points. Nicholas Dunmeyer and Ben Shamblin both added 10.
SCISA CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
At Sumter County Civic Center
Friday
Class A Girls
4 p.m. – Richard Winn vs. Wardlaw
AAAA Girls
6 p.m. – Northwood Academy vs. First Baptist
AAAA Boys
7:30 p.m. – Pinewood Prep vs. Heathwood Hall
Saturday
Class A Boys
11 a.m. – Ragin Prep vs. Newberry Academy
AA Girls
1 p.m. – Dorchester Academy vs. Cross Schools
AA Boys
2:30 p.m. – Cathedral Academy vs. Charleston Collegiate
AAA Girls
5 p.m. – Orangeburg Prep vs. Florence Christian
AAA Boys
6:30 p.m. – Greenwood Christian vs. Spartanburg Christian
SCISA STATE TOURNAMENT BRACKETS
AAAA
Boys
State Championship
Friday, February 27
at Sumter County Civic Center
Game 11 – Heathwood Hall vs. Pinewood Prep, 7:30 p.m.
Girls
State Championship
Friday, February 27
at Sumter County Civic Center
Game 11 – Northwood Academy vs. First Baptist, 6 p.m.
AAA
Boys
Semifinals
Thursday, February 26
Game 9 – Spartanburg Christian 63, Calhoun Academy 45
Game 10 – Greenwood Christian 53, Florence Christian 38
State Championship
Saturday, February 28
at Sumter County Civic Center
Game 11 – Spartanburg Christian vs. Greenwood Christian, 6:30 p.m.
Girls
Semifinals
Thursday, February 26
Game 9 – Orangeburg Prep 55, St. John’s Christian 42
Game 10 – Florence Christian 49, Hilton Head Prep 27
State Championship
Saturday, February 28
at Sumter County Civic Center
Game 11 – Orangeburg Prep vs. Florence Christian, 5 p.m.
AA
Boys
Semifinals
Thursday, February 26
Game 10 – Cathedral Academy 61, Laurens Academy 37
Game 11 – Charleston Collegiate 47, Bethesda Academy 44
State Championship
Saturday, February 28
at Sumter County Civic Center
Game 12 – Cathedral Academy vs. Charleston Collegiate, 2:30 p.m.
Girls
Semifinals
Thursday, February 26
Game 9 – Dorchester Academy 60, Lee Academy 23
Game 10 – Cross Schools 46, Laurens Academy 39
State Championship
Saturday, February 28
at Sumter County Civic Center
Game 11 – Dorchester Academy vs. Cross Schools, 1 p.m.
Class A
Boys
Semifinals
Thursday, February 26
Game 8 – Ragin Prep 56. Marlboro Academy 49
Game 9 – Newberry Academy 49, Ridge Christian 46
State Championship
Saturday, February 28
at Sumter County Civic Center
Game 10 – Ragin Prep vs. Newberry Academy, 11 a.m.
Girls
State Championship
Friday, February 27
at Sumter County Civic Center
Game 5 – Richard Winn vs. Wardlaw Academy, 4 p.m.
