SCISA AA state championship matchups set along with Class A boys

        Sumter – Andrew Jackson Academy will meet defending state champion Cathedral Academy for the SCISA AA boys state title, Cross Schools will take on Laurens Academy for the AA girls title, and defending state champion Curtis Baptist will face Ragin Prep for the Class A boys crown after semifinal games were played on Thursday at Wilson Hall’s Nash Student Center.

       AJA defeated Bethesda Academy 73-58 and Cathedral topped Thomas Heyward Academy 82-51 to set up the AA boys title game. In AA girls, Cross Schools topped Lee Academy 63-29 while Laurens Academy topped Dorchester Academy 44-43 in overtime. The Class A boys semis saw Curtis Baptist beat Richard Winn Academy 41-33 while Ragin Prep topped Marlboro Academy 54-34.

       The state championship games will be part of five played on Saturday at Sumter County Civic Center. Curtis Baptist and Ragin Prep will meet at 11 a.m., while Laurens and Cross Schools will do battle for the 2A girls crown beginning at 1 p.m. The 2A boys are scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. start.

       AA BOYS

       Andrew Jackson 73

       Bethesda Academy 58

       Andrew Jackson lost most of a big halftime lead in the third quarter but pulled away again in the fourth quarter for the 73-58 triumph.

       The Warriors, who improved to 23-8, led 16-11 after one quarter and 34-22 at halftime. Bethesda outscored AJA 26-17 in the third quarter to pull within 51-48 entering the final stanza. Andrew Jackon outscored the Blazers 22-10 in the fourth quarter.

       Hayden McClung led the Warriors in scoring with 23 points. Vashad Schofield had a double-double of 14 points and 17 rebounds. Gage Dicks and Ollie Barnes both had 13 points, while Hall Sease had eight points, 15 rebounds and four blocked shots.

       Bethesda finished with a 14-14 record.

       Cathedral 82

       Thomas Heyward 51

       Cathedral took control of thte game in the second quarter and pulled away to the 82-51 triumph.

       The Generals led 14-11 after one quarter before outsoring THA 20-8 in the second quarter to open a 34-19 advantage. They led 64-38 after three quarters.

       Ajani Gresham led the way for CA wth 20 points. Dominic Felix followed with 18, Bryce Ward had 12, Amare Jeter and Josh Simmons both had 10 and Jacob Moody and Drew Kouba had four apiece.

       The Rebels, who finished with an 18-6 record, were led in scoring by Kalan Fripp with 17 points. Kiran Boggess had 12., Tony O’Banner nine and Beau Pinckney four.

       AA GIRLS

       Laurens Academy 44

       Dorchester Academy 43

       Sadie Bruyere connected on one of two free thirows in the closing seconds of overtime to lift Laurens Academy into the championshi0 game with a 44-43 triumph.

       With the game tied at 43-43, the Crusaders grabbed a rebound and Bruyere was fouled advancing the ball up the court in the waning seconds. She hit the first one but missed the second as the Raiders rebounded the ball. They called a timeout with five seconds left but were unable to score.

       LA, which will take an 18-7 record into the title game, rallied from a double-digit deficit in the second half. It led 5-4 after one quarter but trailed 14-11 at halftime. Dorchester pushed the lead to 28-20 after three quarters.

Laurens was led in scoring by Bruyere with 14 points. Brooklyn Senn added 13, while Mackenzie Runyons and Braylee Burke both had six. Abby Howard added four.

       Palmer Kizer led Dorcheser, whch finished with a 14-8 record, with 12 points. Reagan Burns added 10 points, Kylee Weathers had nine, Emery McClure eight and Lyla Owens four.

       Cross Schools 63

       Lee Academy 39

       Cross Schools, the defending Class A state champion, advanced to the AA title game as it outscored Lee Academy 15-1 in the third quarter to brak the game open.

       The 18-10 Stingrays led 14-5 after one quarter, but LA kept it close in the second quarter, trailing just 27-17 at halftime. However Cross held a 42-19 advantage entering the final stanza.

Cross had three players score in double figures led by Ryan Myers with 16 points. Sydney Hollings added 15, while Genesis Wilson had 10, and Reyannah Maldonado had nine.

       Jameson Collins led the Lady Cavaliers, who finished with a 12-5 record, with 14 points. Mazie Tomlinson had eight, Karagan Melton seven and Zana Brazell four.

       CLASS A BOYS
        Curtis Baptist 41

       Richard Winn 33

       Curtis Baptist trailed Richard Winn 29-23 entering the fourth quarter but put up 18 points to rally for a 41-33 victory.

       The Crusaders, who improved to 15-9, trailed 7-3 after one quarter and 19-10 at halftime.

       Tre Wright led Curtis Baptist with 17 points, while Trez Mincey added 13. Brayden Husband finished with six.

       The Eagles, who finished with a 17-5 record, were led by Charlie Bonds with 14 points. Josh Tyndell added nine, and Colin Davis had eight.

Ragin Prep 54

Marlboro Academy 34

       Ragin Prep rallied from a 17-7 deficit after one quarter by limiting Marlboro Academy to just 17 points the rest of the way in a 54-34 triumph.

       The Rams, who improved to 13-14, put up 19 points in the second quarter while limiting MA to just five to take a 26-22 halftime lead. They pushed the lead to 41-29 after three quarters.

       Zymir Robinson-Hill led Ragin with 18 points. Aiden Zuell added 12, while Cordell Sims had eight and Keyshaun Rutherford seven. Both Kavontay Rose and Omari Myers had four.

       Ben Milligan led Marlboro, which finished 9-9, with 10 points. Ben Johnson added eight, Landon Edge seven and Lincoln Kinard five.

       Ragin Prep had reached the semifinals with a 52-37 quarterfinal win over Mead Hall on Tuesday. Robinson-Hill and K’Den Shannon both had 11 to lead the Rams. Rose finished with 10 followed by Myers with six, Sims and Zuell with five apiece and Rutherford with four.