Wade Hampton denies Irmo another trip to the Upper State basketball championship

Irmo basketball has “struggled” on offense this season.

Until Tuesday night’s 49-44 loss to Wade Hampton, however, the Yellow Jackets’ defense was so good they didn’t need to worry about it.

In the second quarter of the third-round playoff game, Wade Hampton held Irmo to 0 points from the field and two points — both free throws. Irmo’s shooting didn’t improve enought in the second half to overcome the Generals.

“We made a few early, but we struggled with shooting the whole night,” Irmo coach Tim Whipple said. “It’s a group of guys who have struggled with shooting all year. We go through moments where we don’t play very well. And of course when it’s a good team with a competent offense, you’re not going to get away with that.”

Irmo (24-4) shot 36.9 percent and finished the game 14-for-38.

Wade Hampton (25-5) shot 41.2 percent — 14-for-34 shooting — and moves on to play Dorman Saturday at Greenville’s Bons Secours Center for the upper state championship.

“That team (Wade Hampton) has won 24 basketball games,” Whipple said. “That’s a testament to their hard work and doing things the right way,”

The Cavaliers beat Spartanburg 67-51 Tuesday night.

Irmo rallies but Wade Hampton is too much

Irmo opened the game with a Devon Williams 3-pointer and a pair of foul shots from Xavier Forest to take a 7-3 lead.

Jack Edwards, who scored the first 3 of the game, added two more 3s to give the Generals a 9-7 lead after three minutes.

Irmo retook the lead but a Tyler Bowens basket closed out the first quarter with Wade Hampton leading 14-13.

The Generals needed only 12 points in the second quarter for a cushion on Irmo. They spent that period pushing Irmo out of the lane, while the Yellow Jackets came up short on two 3-point attempts and missed out on short-range jumpers.

Irmo rallied in the third quarter and outscored the Generals 12-7 over the first six minutes to bring the score to 32-28. Nick Brenagan’s 3 with a minute to go, stretched the lead, and after a basket from Julian Kiett, Bowens scored to close the third out with a 7-point lead.

Wade Hampton got a 3 from Tre Henderson to open the fourth quarter, and from there on the Generals kept Irmo at a distance. With both teams in bonus, Irmo and Wade Hampton went to the foul line 10 times in the final two minutes.

Irmo’s season ended earlier than Whipple or the players expected, but going deep into the 5A playoffs was not an easy task.

“People are expecting me to be a little upset, and we had our chances, so I’m upset about that,” Whipple said. “But I’m not going to allow this game to ruin what we’ve accomplished this season. The journey to get here was pretty special.”

W: Nick Brenegan 13, Burnside 9, Edwars 9, Bowens 9, Henderson 5, Coan 2, Cross 2. I: Juice Kiett 13, Forest 9, Readus 7, Williams 6, Felder 5, Bing 2, Avery 2.

This story was originally published February 25, 2020 at 10:42 PM.