Roland, Wildcats blast Blazers

A year ago, Lexington and Ridge View played in the Lower State final, with the Blazers advancing to their first state championship game.

The rematch in the opening round of the Class 4A boys basketball playoffs turned out much different. The Wildcats used a stellar effort by Shaq Roland and bounced Ridge View out of the postseason with a 77-52 victory Wednesday night.

Lexington (21-5) has won 10 in a row and is starting to look like the team that was voted preseason No. 1 in the coaches poll. Roland, a USC football commitment, missed several games in the early part of the schedule while participating in two postseason all-star football games.

All 10 wins have been by double-digits and the Wildcats’ last loss was to No. 1 Irmo on January 7.

“Since the early part of January, when we got everybody back from all-star football games and injuries, our goal was to try and get a little better each week,” Lexington coach Bailey Harris said.

“Hopefully, we are heading in that direction.”

It didn’t take long for Lexington to take control against the Blazers (16-10). The Wildcats opened the game on a 13-0 run with Roland scoring nine points.

He made a layup and two jumpers and made 3-of-4 from the free throw line in the opening 4:48 of the game. Roland made his first five shots overall and had 13 points at the end of the first quarter, when Lexington held a 19-8 lead.

“We had a pretty good start with great execution,” Harris said. “We open with the three straight buckets and get a bunch of turnovers to set the tone. We were ready to play and locked in. No complaints by me.”

Ridge View, on the other hand, had as about as bad a start as could be imagined.

The Blazers were playing without starting point guard Chris Maple because of an injury and were missing starting post player Forrest Fulmore, who was handed a two-game suspension by the S.C. High School League for picking up two technical fouls and getting ejected in the regular-season finale against Blythewood.

While the Wildcats were executing to near perfection, Ridge View missed its first four shots and turned it over seven times. Later in the half, Lexington ripped off a 14-0 run that extended the lead to 29-8. The Blazers missed seven shots and had four turnovers during that stretch. They finished with 13 turnovers and 7-for-22 from the field in the first half.

“We had great days of practice and I really thought we were prepared to play,” Ridge View coach John Combs said.

“Lexington got off to fantastic start and made shots and we turned the ball over and looked a little lost. They are a great team and its not going to surprise me in the least to see them play for a state championship.”

Roland finished with 26 points, six rebounds, five assists and four blocks. The Wildcats led by 20 at the half and the closest Ridge View got in the second half was 16 points. Roland ended that small run with a 3-pointer from the corner to seal the verdict.

“You hope they miss some outside shots early but Shaq was fantastic and the other guys made shots,” Combs said.

“They were unselfish, and we never got it going offensively to counteract what they were doing.”

Nygel Gates supported Roland’s outing with 13 points, 12 rebounds and five steals and Joby Glymph added 15 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

“We’ve been shooting it well,” Harris said. “It was a solid all-around effort.”

Seth Coleman led Ridge View with 20 points and Shaheed Robinsson added 11.

Lexington will host West Ashley in the second round on Saturday night.

The Wildcats eliminated West Ashley from the playoffs with a dramatic one-point win in the third round last year.

RV: Seth Coleman 20, Shaheed Robinson 11, Howard 9, Howell 4, Moore 4, Bradshaw 3, Holbert 1. L: Shaq Roland 26, Joby Glymph 15, Nygel Gates 13, McDermott 8, Cook 5, West 4, Brunson 4, Quiat 2.