Northside Christian takes quick lead, holds off Laurence Manning 68-54

          Sumter – The Northside Christian Academy boys basketball team scored nine of the first 11 points against Laurence Manning Academy in its first ever AAAA state tournament game on Saturday. The Crusaders made that fast start stand up as they went on to a 68-54 victory in the first-round win at Sumter County Civic Center.

         Though not surprised by his team’s performance, NCA head coach Peter Wilkerson was still very pleased with it.

         “I was very confident in our group,” Wilkerson said of his squad, which improved to 16-8 in its first season in AAAA after moving up from AAA due to reclassification. “I was very proud of their effort tonight. We were AAA last year and got moved up to AAAA. There was a lot of ‘How are you going to compete?’

“Our seniors have just led us all year long, so it was just really good to see them come out today, play with intensity and play with great pace from the beginning of the game.”

Northside has a senior-laden roster with eight filling the 14 slots. Three of them accounted for 54 points on Saturday.

Leading the way was Cade McNeill with 21 points while Dalton Gadson had 17. Jaylen Weaver finished with 16.

The trio accounted for the Crusaders’ first 14 ponts of the game. A 3-point basket by Gadson made it 9-2, and after an LMA basket by Scoop Dennis, McNeill knocked down a trey to make it 12-4 with 3:52 remaining in the first quarter.

While NCA never trailed in the game, it also had a hard time taking control of the game. Two free throws from Zy Dennis and two baskets by Charlie Duvall cut the lead to 12-10 with 1:51 left. A bucket by Weaver broke that run as Northside led 16-12 after one quarter.

It was still a 4-point deficit at 23-19 less than two minutes into the second quarter when the Crusaders reeled off seven straight points for a 30-19 advantage with 4:42 left in the first half. They pushed the lead to as many as 13 before settling for a 36-25 halftime cushion.

“We came out a little flat,” said Laurence Manning head coach Patrick Anderson. “I was a little bit worried about that. We made little runs but we just couldn’t put enough stops together. We’d turn the ball over, we’d get lazy on defense. We’ve just got to do better than that.”

NCA maintained a comfortable lead for the first five minutes of the third quarter. However, a 3 from Brentston Rembert, a layup by Peyton Price and two free throws from Scoop Dennis in just over a minute turned a 13-point deficit into a 6-point one at 48-42.

A basket by Duvall at the third-quarter buzzer made it 50-44 with the Swampcats possessing the ball at the start of the fourth quarter. They turned the ball over though and Weaver drove for a layup.

Laurence Manning cut it to six one final time before a jumper in the lane and a trifecta from McNeill followed by a Gadson bucket made it 59-46 with 3:30 left in the game to basically put it away.

“This is playoff basketball, everybody is laying everything on the line,” Wilkerson said. "LMA had no quit. They’re coached very well, they play very hard. We knew they were going to be a tough team to bury. We weathered their runs late. Our guys showed composure.”

Senior Jordan Martin added five for Northside while senior Hilton Dessausure, the team's leading scorer with an average over 16 points per game, had four.

Scoop Dennis led LMA with 15 points, while Duvall and Rembert both had 12. Zy Dennis had six and Price had four.

Despite finishing with a losing record at 13-15, Anderson thought his first year as head coach turned out OK.

“It was a pretty good first year,” he said. “We’re losing just two seniors (in Rembert and Price). I feel like this year was a good learning experience for us. I think it will pay off for us in the building of the program.”

As for Northside Christian, it has a matchup against defending AAAA state runner-up Augusta Christian School on Monday at Wilson Hall’s Nash Student Center. They are both members of Region 1 so this will be the third meeting. ACS won the other two, first by a score of 104-73 and then by an 86-79 count.

Wilson Hall 69

Cardinal Newman 32

Sumter – Wilson Hall brought an end to Cardinal Newman’s reign as AAAA state champion with a 69-32 first-round victory at Nash Student Center.

The Barons, who picked up their 20^th victory in 29 games, led 14-6 after one quarter before outscoring CN 27-5 in the second quarter for a 41-11 halftime advantage.

“Best defensive effort we’ve had all year,” said WH head coach Rip Ripley, whose squad led 65-19 after three quarters.

Ford Wilder led Wilson Hall in scoring with 20 points. Shawn Michael Matthews and Michael Lauzon both had 12 points, while Hugh Humphries and Caulder Williamson had six apiece.

Cardinal Newman, which finished 8-16, was led by Luis Echevarria with 23.

The Barons will take on 22-7 Pinewood Prep in a quarterfinal game on Monday at Sumter County Civic Center beginning at 8 p.m.

Calhoun Academy 71

Patrick Henry 68

St. Matthews – Calhoun Academy needed here overtimes to do it, but it knocked off Patrick Henry 71-68 in a AAA first-round game at the CA gymnasium..

Nick Lindsay was one of four in double figures for the Cavaliers, who improved to 23-5, leading the way with 22 points. Crews Felder had 17, Avery Fralick 13 and Hunter Thornburg 12. Chase Strickland added six.

PHA, which finished with an 8-16 record, was led by Mikell Tucker Mathis with 23 points. Rowen Croft had 20, Daivon Glover 11, Tray Adkins nine and Michael Mizzell five.

Calhoun takes on Pee Dee Academy in a quarterfinal game on Tuesday at Sumter County Civic Center beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Holly Hill 57

Anderson Christian 45

St. Matthews – Jody “Boogey” Gillam scored 2 points to lead Holly Hill Academy to a 57-45 victory over Anderson Christian in the first round of the Class A state tournament at the Calhoun Academy gymnasium.

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Ashton Soles added 13 for the Raiders, who improved to 9-14. Mason Connor and Ethan Siau both had seven points.

Sonny Hicks led 11-18 Anderson Christian with 14 points. Rhett Tolley added 12 while Jonathan Staiger had eight and Zach Young six.

Holly Hill will take on defending Class A state champion Curtis Baptist in a quarterfinal game on Tuesday at Cardinal Newman in Columbia.

Florence Christian 52

Spartanburg Christian 46

Sumter – Florence Christian School improved to 11-12 with a 52-46 victory over Spartanburg Christian Academy in a AAA first-round game at Nash Student Center.

Taylor Greene led the Eagles in scoring with 15 points. Brayden Berry added 12, Sullivan Hardy 11, Riley Minton eight and Hayden Schwab six.

Florence Christian will take on defending AAA state champion Hilton Head Prep in a quarterfinal game on Tuesday at 5 p.m. at Sumter County Civic Center.

SCA finishes 11-16.

Porter-Gaud 72

Hilton Head Christian 28

North Charleston – Hilton Head Christian Academy saw its season come to an end with a 72-28 loss to Porter-Gaud in a AAAA first-round game at the Cathedral Academy gymnasium.

Finn Ussery led the Eagles, who finished at 5-21, with 13 points. Sam Smith and Jake Wood both had four points.

The Cyclones, who improved to 19-5, will take on 17-9 Heathwood Hall in a quarterfinal game on Monday at 6:30 p.m. at Sumter County Civic Center.