Orangeburg Prep boys beat Greenwood Christian 73-68 in overtime

       Sumter -- The Oraneburg Prep boys basketball team finally got Greenwood Christian School in a position where it couldn’t come back.

       It was called overtime.

       After giving up leads of nine points or more on two different occaions, the Indians scored the first nine points of the 4-minute extra period in their SCISA AAA boys state tournament quarterfinal game at Sumter County Civic Center on Tuesday. This time OP was able to hold on, coming away with a 73-68 triumph.

       Orangeburg Prep, which improved to 18-4 on the season, will take on defending AAA state champion Hilton Head Prep in a semifinal game on Thursday at the civic center beginning at 8 p.m.

       The Indians’ first 9-point lead was 11-2, obviously early on in the contest. The Hawks, who finished with a 22-9 record, quickly made up that ground. They pulled into a 19-19 tie with 2:52 left in the second quarter. OP went into the locker room with a 28-25 advantage.

       Orangeburg Prep was leading 37-31 when it got two free throws rom Tilden “T’ Riley and consecutive 3-point baskets from Walt Mims to expand the lead to 45-31. The Indians were leading 47-36 after three quarters when Mims canned another trey to start the final stanza and make it 50-36 with 6:50 remaining in the game.

       OP was still leading 56-45 with 4:28 left when GCS nailed three consecutive 3-pointers. Isaiah Scott-Palacios drained the first 3 followed by one from Leland Reed and another from Ty Kennedy to make it 56-54. A steal and layup by Scott-Palacios tied the game at 56-56 with 2:13 to go. OP leading scorer and point guard Avery Ravenell picked up his fifth foul on the play to foul out of the game.

       A 3-point play by the 6-foot-5-inch Riley, who finished with 32 points and 22 rebounds, put Orangeburg Prep up 59-56 with 1:52 remaining. A jumper in the lane by Scott-Palacios and a layup by Kennedy put Greenwood Chritian up 60-59 with 1:09 remaining. Kennedy hit the second of two free throws to make it 61-59 with 15 seconds left. The Indians missed a tying shot, but Charlie McCutchen grabbed the rebound and hit the follow-up with four seconds to go to tie the game at 61-61 and force overtime.

       “To be able to come away with a win after losing your point guard is great,” said OP head coach Michael Delaney. “Walt Mims really stepped up and showed some senior leadership. It’s kind of been something we’ve dealt with all season. We’ve had a hard time closing the door. We’ve had teams right on the edge and not able to put them away. Fortunately, tonight we were able to overcome it.

       OP got off to another fast start in overtime as Mims sank a 3 in the first 15 seconds. He then drove in for a layup and Riley hit consecutive baskets to make it 70-61 with 2:12 remaining. The Hawks had the lead whittled down to 70-66 with 1:08 left and cut it to 71-68 on two free throws by Scott-Palacios with 38 seconds to go. McCutchen hit two free throws nine seconds later as GCS could get no closer.

       Mims finished with 20 points, including scoring the first ive in OT. He also had four assists and four steals. Ravenell had eight points and five assists, while McCutchen had eight points and seven rebounds, and Eli Panteleon had five points and three steals.

       Along wih his monster double-double, Riley had five blocked shots and four steals.

       “He’s a special player,” Delaney said of Riley, who has eight Football Bowl Subdivision offers as a wide receiver. “He might be the best athlete to come out of Orangeburg Prep.”

Kennedy led Greenwood Christian with 31 points. Scott-Palacios finished with 17, Reed had nine and Holden Poole had four.

While disappointed with the loss, Hawks head coach Jonathan Davis is excited about the future.

“We’ve unfortunately been in that situation a couple of times,” Davis said of the deficits. “Those are signs of immaturity. But we showed signs of maturity by getting back into the game. We had too many turnovers, dug ourselves a hole, but we still had a chance. The good news is we’ve got all of these guys on the floor back.”