Rock Hill, Byrnes, Sumter and Lexington punch tickets to AAAAA finals
Class AAAAA Girls Upper State finals
Rock Hill 52, J.L. Mann 50
Rock Hill coach Keenan Orr has a few girls on his roster that he trusts to take the big shots. One of those, guard De’Ashaj Crawford, stepped up with the biggest shot of the Upper State AAAAA battle between the Bearcats and J.L. Mann.
Trailing with less than 30 seconds remaining in the game, Crawford stepped into a three-pointer that hit nothing but net and propelled Rock Hill to a 52-50 win over the Patriots.
Rock Hill improved to 27-3 with the win and will face the winner of the Lower State championship, either Sumter or Summerville.
Crawford finished the game with 20 points while sharp-shooter Chloe Hudson added 18 points, including five 3-pointers.
Rock Hill led for most of the game before the Patriots began to chip away at the lead at the end of the third quarter. Rock Hill’s lead was 38-35 heading into the final period and J.L. Mann grabbed the lead late.
“We felt we were in control for most of the game but some defensive lapses and some foul trouble,” Orr said. “They were able to hit some free throws and we kind of went into a little rut, rushing too much on offense. We just had to calm down and make sure we tightened up defensively.
“Crawford is an all-state guard and she has made a lot of big shots for us. I was certainly comfortable with her taking the big shot.”
Crawford never hesitated to take the big shot and felt confident in her ability to make it.
“I was open and I knew we needed a bucket to win so I was confident about taking the shot,” she said. “We knew what we had to do to win.”
Rock Hill won the state title two years ago and lost in the second round of the playoffs last season. Orr says many around the state may have saw a slippage coming but that has not been the case.
“We’re a program built for the long haul,” he said. “We have staying power. We’ve had seven 20-win seasons in the last eight years. We’ve been in the Upper State finals in three of the last four years. We respect every team but we are very confident in our team.”
Class AAAAA Upper State boys
Byrnes 65, Mauldin 55
For the third time this season, the Byrnes High boys basketball team beat the Mauldin Mavericks. The third win was the biggest of the season as a 65-55 win sent the Rebels to their first state championship game since 2016.
Senior Will Fowler poured in 27 points to lead the 26-4 Rebels. Freshman brother Colt Fowler added 11 points and guard Evan Enos scored 13 of his 15 points in the deciding second half.
Mauldin (17-12) was led by Braden Hershberger’s 15 points and Alvarez Smith’s 12 tallies.
“I think we’re talented but in addition to that, this team has great chemistry,” Byrnes coach Layne Fowler. “It is so satisfying to know we are going to the finals. These kids deserve everything they can get. So proud of them.
“I do think its’s difficult to beat a team three times but this team is different. We have a lot of experienced kids who have been through a lot of wars together.”
Early in the third quarter, the score was tied at 30 before the Rebels made their most significant run of the game, Byrnes opened a 42-34 lead midway through the third quarter.
Mauldin rallied to cut the Byrnes lead to 45-42 by the end of the third quarter. Byrnes again had an answer and claimed a 58-53 lead with under three minutes to play.
Class AAAAA girls Lower State final
Sumter, 35, Summerville 27
Guard Kiara Croskey scored 18 points and undefeated and top-ranked Sumter won an ugly game against Summerville, 35-27.
Four Summerville starters fouled out and the Green Wave were whistled for 22 total fouls. Sumter held the lead for most of the contest, leading 15-14, at the half.
Summerville was led by junior Molly Daugherty, who scored 12 points before fouling out with 2:37 remaining in the game.
“They are really good at slowing things down and I figured they would pack it in and dare us to shoot,” Sumter coach Jeff Schaffer said. “The shots weren’t falling in the first half. We told them at halftime that we might as well accept the fact that it’s going to be a low-scoring game so we needed to lock in defensively. Our tenacity on the defensive end was the difference.”
Sumter was playing in the Lower State finals for the third straight year, They lost to Summerville two years ago and lost to Stratford last season.
“It’s about time for some new faces in the finals. We’re very excited to be there,” Schaffer said.
Class AAAAA Lower State finals
Lexington 56, Summerville 48
Top-ranked Lexington built several big leads and held off Summerville comebacks each time to advance to the state finals with a 56-48 win.
The Wildcats had a second quarter lead of 19-4 before Summerville rallied to within two points late in the half. Early in the third, Lexington led 33-23 and held a 48-35 lead in the fourth quarter before the Green Wave cut the margin to 48-36.
Lexington, however, closed the game out with an 8-2 run, including a dunk by Jackson Prunty with under a minute to play. Prunty finished with 13 points, as did Kaleb Evans. Cam Scott added 10 points.
Summerville senior Yannick Smith led all scorers with 25 points.
“You gotta be able to guard the ball,” Lexington coach Elliott Pope said. “We got sloppy in some spots but that’s 17-18 year old young men. You have to be able to compete. I thought out guys in crucial moments, when we had to get a stop or grab a rebound, they were able to get it done.”
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