Midlands Feature

Midlands Feature

Midlands Top 10 Boys

1.     Ridge View (17-7, 10-0 Region 5-5A)

2.    River Bluff (18-5, 8-0 Region 4-5A)

3.    Blythewood (19-4, 9-2 Region 5-5A)

4.    Dutch Fork (17-6, 7-1 Region 4-5A)

5.    Gray Collegiate (15-7, 10-2 Region 4-4A)

6.    Brookland-Cayce (17-7, 10-2 Region 4-4A)

7.    Keenan (16-8, 7-0 Region 4-3A)

8.    Hammond (16-4, 7-1 SCISA Region 1-4A)

9.    Fairfield Central (12-6, 7-0 Region 3-2A)

10.   C.A. Johnson (12-10, 8-4 Region 2-1A)

Midlands Top 10 Girls

1.     Blythewood (23-1, 9-0 Region 5-5A)

2.    Lower Richland (21-1, 11-0 Region 5-4A)

3.    Ridge View (15-8, 8-1 Region 5-5A)

4.    Dutch Fork (19-2, 7-1 Region 4-5A)

5.    Lexington (14-4, 6-2 Region 4-5A)

6.    Heathwood Hall (14-3, 9-0 SCISA Region 1-4A)

7.    Northside Christian (21-2, 7-2 SCISA Region 1-4A)

8.    Keenan (16-6, 7-0 Region 4-3A)

9.    White Knoll (16-8, 6-2 Region 4-5A)

10.   Camden (14-5, 7-2 Region 3-3A)

Midlands basketball teams zero in on playoff seeding

By WORTHY EVANS

Contributing Writer

Columbia - Region play in the Midlands has flown by, with big games happening almost every day in the two regions in the 5A classification, as well as in the 4A, 3A, and 2A SCHSL regions, as well as in SCISA. This month we’ll take a look at the top Midlands boys and girls teams looking for high seeds in the postseason. The SCHSL brackets begin play Feb. 17-18, depending on the classification, whereas the SCISA teams begin the playoffs in all classifications Feb. 14.

Boys

After two delays, the top two boys basketball teams in Region 5-5A finally met Saturday afternoon. The game was originally scheduled for Jan. 21 but was postponed because of the weather. The makeup date, Feb. 5, was also scrubbed because the Blythewood wrestling team needed the gym for the 5A upper state championship match against Boiling Springs.

After two weeks of waiting, Ridge View (17-7, 10-0) released the tension from the tipoff. The Blazers, who won the 4A championship in 2024 before moving up to 5A, blasted the Bengals with a 24-7 run in the first quarter, took a 42-23 lead at the half, and finished with a 64-52 victory.

Freshman forward Korie Corbett scored 20 points and freshman point guard Yale Davis added 15 points to lead the way for the Blazers, who are one step closer to winning their first region title since 2022.

“We knew it would be tough, Blythewood is well-coached. (Bengals) Coach (Zeke) Washington has been doing this a long time,” third-year Blazers head coach Josh Staley said. “We’ve been in a lot of games like this to get sole possession of first place late in the season. We wanted to come out with some intensity, and we wanted to be able to defend T.J. Lewis. We know he scores at a very high clip and we respect that. We were trying our best to make every shot he got tough, and to defend him at a high level.”

Lewis, a senior forward, led the Bengals with 23 points. Tyler Stephens had 11.

Blythewood (19-4, 9-2) has another opportunity to take on the Blazers Friday, the regular-season finale for both teams.

In Region 4-5A, River Bluff (18-5, 8-0) and Dutch Fork (17-6, 7-1) both won Friday night, which wets up their matchup Tuesday with the region title on the line.

Senior guard Yasir Cromer leads the Gators in scoring with 18.6 points and 4.8 assists per game. Senior forward Blake Wilson is the team’s top rebounder with 7.6 boards per game.

Senior Bryson Taylor and junior Justus Bell have been the top scorers at Dutch Fork, with Taylor averaging 15.3 points and Bell averaging 13.5 points.

 After Friday’s action, Region 4-4A’s Gray Collegiate (15-7, 10-2) and Brookland-Cayce (17-7, 10-2) are tied for second place behind North Augusta (20-1, 11-1). The teams split their two games. The last time they played, Feb. 5, Gray’s Levi Ball scored 18 points in the first quarter and 28 points on the night in a 74-63 win over the Bearcats. Teammate Quan McDuffie scored 17 points.

Amarii King scored 20 points, Isaiah Oree added 14 points, and L.J. Britt put up 11 for Brookland-Cayce. 

The War Eagles played at Aiken Monday and against Gilbert Wednesday, while the Bearcats played host to North Augusta Monday and played at Airport Wednesday.

Keenan (16-8, 7-0) clinched the Region 4-3A championship Friday with a 56-43 win over second-place Fox Creek (15-10, 4-2). The Raiders closed out the season against Newberry Tuesday.

Senior guard/forward Brian Sumpter leads the team with an 18.2 scoring average and a 10.7 rebounding average. Freshman guard Antoine Caughman Jr. averages 11.6 points.

Hammond (16-4, 7-1 SCISA Region 1-4A) played tough against region leader Augusta Christian in a 73-70 overtime loss Jan. 31. Jaiden Haltiwanger led the team in scoring with a game-high 39 points. Mekhi Smith-Brown had 21 points.

Since that game Hammond has won four straight. The Skyhawks travelled to Augusta Christian Monday and closed out the regular season with Northside Christian Tuesday.

Fairfield Central (12-6, 7-0 Region 3-2A) bounced back from a 5-20 season the year before, and posted its first winning season since 2016. The Griffins played Mid-Carolina Monday, Chester Tuesday, and take on Clinton with the region championship likely in play Thursday. Fairfield Central beat the Red Devils 53-52 Jan. 28.

Great Falls (14-4, 13-1), McBee (18-4, 12-2), and Lewisville (11-4, 11-3) have been at the top of Region 2-1A all season. Fourth-Place C.A. Johnson (12-10, 8-4) has been fighting hard for its fourth-place spot, splitting its games with Great Falls and McBee. The Hornets beat 4A Lower Richland 89-73 Dec. 7, 2A Columbia 57-46 Dec. 12, and 5A Lexington 64-57 Dec. 27. C.A. Johnson finished the regular season against Governor’s School for Math and Science Tuesday and at Lee Central Wednesday.

Girls

As with the boys, Blythewood and Ridge View’s Saturday matchup provided plenty of Entertainment—two undefeated Region 5-5A teams clashing in a late-season matchup with region championship implications.

The Blazers (16-8, 9-1), which won the Region 5-4A title and played for the lower state championship last season, had no problem with region competition at the 5A classification. Senior forward Anasia Harvey leads the Blazers with a 15.6 points and 11.0 rebounds per game average.

The pathway for Blythewood (24-1, 11-0 Region 5-5A) has been a long and winding road. The Bengals last won 22 games in 2006-2007, never won a region title, and went winless in the 2017-2018 and 2021-2022 seasons.

Three juniors lead Blythewood’s attack—all of whom played on the last winless team as eighth graders. Forward and scoring guard Chase Thomas leads the way with a 23.5 scoring average and 11.0 rebounds per game. Scoring and point guard India Williams averages 17.7 points and 5.1 boards, and scoring and point guard Hayley Hightower averages 14.5 points and 5.5 steals per game.

On Saturday, Ridge View took a 16-11 lead at the end of the first quarter, but over the second and third quarters Blythewood outscored the Blazers 37-17 to take a 48-33 lead into the final quarter. The Bengals cruised to a 59-46 win.

“We switched up our defense in the second quarter, we went man-to-man and got out of that zone,” second-year head coach Emily Schaeffer said about overcoming the deficit. “That created intensity, which led to turnovers, and that’s how we play. We play the transition game, and that’s what changed the momentum in the second quarter.”

Williams scored her 1,000^th career point on a jump shot from the foul-line area at the 4:50 mark of the fourth quarter. She finished the afternoon with 16 points.

Thomas led all scorers with 29 points. Harvey scored 13 points to lead the Blazers.

Blythewood and Ridge View meet again Friday to close out the regular season.

Lower Richland (21-1, 11-0 Region 5-4A) had no problem adjusting from the 3A classification to 4A. The Diamond Hornets clinched their third straight region title and can wrap up a perfect region run for the third straight year with a win over South Florence Feb. 11.

LR also has three scorers who average double-digits, junior Jhnai Sumter (14.0 points), senior Chi’Nya Isaac (12.4 points), and sophomore Mikayla Foster (10.2 points). Sumter also averages 9.6 rebounds.

In Region 4-5A, three Midlands teams have risen, Dutch Fork (19-2, 6-1), Lexington (14-4, 6-2), and White Knoll (16-8, 6-2). The Silver Foxes knocked off the Wildcats 45-31 Friday night in a big step toward clinching a second straight region championship.

The Silver Foxes are led by senior scoring guard and forward Michaela Fairwell, who averages 18.4 points. Junior center/forward Claire Howard averages 10.0 points. Sophomore center/forward Trinity Crumlin averages 9.4 rebounds, with Howard not far behind at 8.7 boards.

Senior scoring guard Izzy Saville averages 13.9 points and junior center Sydni Anderson averages 13.1 points and 9.4 rebounds to lead Lexington.

Senior scoring guard Shaelyn Hayes leads White Knoll with 14.6 points, 10.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. Senior Emory Waters-Inman averages 12.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists.

Heathwood Hall (13-3, 8-0 SCISA Region 1-4A) clinched its third straight region championship after beating Northside Christian (20-2, 6-2) in back-to-back games Feb. 3 (63-46) and Feb. 4 (67-49). Senior point guard and Ole Miss signee Lauren Jacobs leads the way with 27.5 points per game. Senior guard and East Tennessee State signee SaBreya Monsanto averages 14.2 points and 10.s rebound per game. The Highlanders are set to go for their third straight SCISA 4A title.

The young Crusaders may have dropped two games to Heathwood Hall, but Northside Christian has built a solid foundation. Sophomore Evie Godfrey leads the way with 18.9 points, 5.2 steals, and 4.5 assists per game, while junior wing/forward Chaelyn Tifre averages 12.2 points and 10.9 rebounds. Eighth-grader Campbell Childers averages 10.3 points.

Keenan (16-6, 7-0) clinched the Region 4-3A championship with freshman point guard Taelor Lee-Sutton averaging 18.2 points per game. Junior Kristin Brown averages 13.8 points, and Areonna Caughman is the leading rebounder with 7.3 boards.

Camden (13-5, 6-2 Region 3-3A) is third in Region 3-3A but is coming off back-to-back 3A state championships. With Bulldogs star Joyce Edwards well established at the University of South Carolina, Camden relies on three top scorers, sophomore Braylin Mungo (16.2 points), senior guard Morgan Champion (14.7 points)and sophomore guard Harmony Jefferson (13.4 points. Sophomore power forward Shanaryah Wright averages 10.6 rebounds.



Eau Claire (13-6, 6-1) is second in Region 3-2A and is led by senior point guard Destinee Tiller (21.6 points) and Milaysha Chisholm (11.2 points and 7.0 rebounds).