Three-peat! Gray Collegiate outlasts Oceanside for 2A boys basketball title
Gray Collegiate finished its final season in Class 2A in a likely manner — by holding up the state championship.
The War Eagles rallied from a 13-point first-half deficit to defeat Oceanside Collegiate, 44-40, and earn the Class 2A boys basketball championship on Friday at the Florence Center.
It was Gray Collegiate’s third straight championship and sixth in the last seven years. This is Gray’s final season in Class 2A; it’s moving up to Class 4A in the 2024-26 S.C. High School League realignment.
“To win six state championships in 2A, there is nothing like leaving on top,” Gray Collegiate coach Dion Bethea said. “We had a great run and I’m looking forward to 4A.”
Bethea showed a lot of emotion as the final buzzer sounded, putting both fists in the air. During the celebration, he held up both of his hands signifying the six championships the War Eagles have won.
Gray’s final season in 2A was filled with many twists and turns.
The War Eagles didn’t play any region games because teams in Region 4-2A forfeited all games against them as a way of taking a stand on fair play and competitive balance concerns regarding charter and private schools that are S.C. High School League members.
Because of that, Gray’s boys were left out of region awards because coaches said they didn’t see them play. That resulted in some words in exchange after Gray’s win over Keenan in last week’s semifinal game. Keenan coach Zach Norris blew off Bethea in the post-game handshake line.
“Everything we had to deal with this year, we kept working and holding on to each other,” Bethea said.
“We had adversity almost every day of the year,” Gray guard Braylhan Thomas said. “... But we all bought in and fought.”
This was the second straight year the two charter schools faced each other in the Class 2A championship with Gray winning last year, 53-43, in Aiken. The War Eagles are 8-0 all-time against their sister school in boys basketball and 6-0 in championship games.
It looked like early that Oceanside might get that first win against the two-time defending state champions. The Landsharks jumped out to a 16-3 with 5:23 left in the second. Gray struggled with Oceanside’s 2-3 zone defense in the early going. The War Eagles were just 1-of-9 from the floor in the first quarter and shot just 26% in the game.
Gray Collegiate turned up its defensive pressure and also got a big boost from Thomas in the second quarter. The Georgia Southern signee had eight of his game-high 16 points in the second as Gray went on a 16-4 run over the final 5:20 of the quarter to cut the lead to 20-19 at halftime.
Gray took its first lead of the game 90 seconds into the second half and led 35-30 on Tyquan McDuffie’s 3-pointer to start the fourth quarter.
McDuffie had two big 3-pointers in the fourth, the second put the War Eagles up 38-33. The Landsharks cut the lead to 38-37 on Carson Jones’ 3-pointer with 5:28 left.
Gray’s lead was 42-40 with 14 seconds left and Thomas drained a pair of free throws to put the game away.
“Oceanside came out and they pushed us. But I am glad we got it done,” Bethea said.
Jones led Oceanside with 11 and Travis Stickney had 10.
Bethea, who initially said he was “looking forward” to the school’s move to 4A, was vague when asked directly about his own coaching future. He’s been mentioned for a few other jobs over the years and has made no secret he would like to coach basketball in college one day.
“No comment. You all stay tuned; you’re all going to see,” Bethea said. “I think there is a lot of opportunities out there. I’m going to get with my wife, my girls and my agent and my inner circle and see what’s next for Dion and what’s next for Gray as well.”
GC: McDuffie 6, McGraw 2, Maddox 4, Britt 6, Graham 2, Pauling 4, Carr 4, Braylhan Thomas 16. OC: Thomas 9, Davinroy 2, Dawson 4, Carson Jones 11, Swyt 2, Travis Stinckney 10, Moorman 2.
This story was originally published March 1, 2024 at 6:57 PM.
