River Bluff edges Dutch Fork as banked 3-pointer settles Class 5A basketball battle
Cooper Jones earned family bragging rights and helped the River Bluff High School boys basketball team into first place of the region standings Tuesday night.
Jones banked the go-ahead 3-pointer with 2.6 seconds left to give the ninth-ranked Gators a 49-48 win over No. 5 Dutch Fork. With the win, River Bluff (15-5, 5-0) leads the Silver Foxes by a game in the Class 5A-Region 4 standings with five games left.
Jones’ game-winning shot came against his uncle and Dutch Fork head coach Bret Jones.
“My son Houston said before the game, what if Cooper hits the game-winner? And darn it if he didn’t,” Bret Jones said. “I told him congratulations after the game. It is high school basketball. He will remember that forever. I’m sure he will rub it in on holidays or whenever he sees me.”
Jones’ wasn’t the main option on the final play. The Silver Foxes were set up to stop River Bluff’s Yasire Cromer, who gutted it out in the second half after dealing with cramps. The senior guard mainly played on offense as athletic trainers stretched him out when the Gators were on defense.
In the game’s final moments, Cromer brought the ball up the court and was met by a Dutch Fork defender. The senior then found Jones on the right side. He calmly buried the 3-pointer, his lone field goal of the game, while being fouled and sliding to the ground.
“I knew when (Cromer) passed the ball I was going to let it fly,” said Cooper Jones, who finished with five points. “... It was a fun game.”
Jones missed the free throw and the Silver Foxes took a timeout. Dutch Fork’s Caleb Garner got a good look at a 3-pointer but missed at the buzzer as River Bluff students stormed the court in celebration.
“I promise you, we didn’t draw up a bank shot three,” River Bluff coach Ben Lee said. “We were forced to use a lot of timeouts early, so we just had to play basketball at the end of the game.
“It is a confident group. It is a fun group. I’m glad good things are happening for them.”
Lee praised his team’s resolve, especially at the end of the game and the toughness Cromer showed.
Cromer led the Gators with 18 points and is just two shy of 1,000 points in his career. He hit three of the team’s nine 3-pointers.
The Gators’ outside shooting kept them in the game when it looked like Dutch Fork was going to pull away. River Bluff hit five 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. Cromer’s second of the quarter tied it at 39 with just under three minutes left.
Down 44-39, Dax Avery hit a 3-pointer, and then Blake Wilson hit one to tie it at 45-45 with 32 seconds left. Avery finished with 11 points.
Bryson Taylor led Dutch Fork with 18 points and put the Silver Foxes up 48-46 with 13.9 seconds left The Silver Foxes had a couple crucial turnovers late in the game on charge calls.
Garner chipped in with 15 for Dutch Fork (14-6, 4-1).
The two teams will play again on Feb. 11 at Dutch Fork with the region title likely up for grabs.
Dutch Fork 54, River Bluff 28 (Girls)
Jamia Gerald had 13 points and Claire Howard had 11 as the Silver Foxes (16-2, 4-1) pulled into a three-way tie in region standings with Lexington and White Knoll.
Meghan Tucker led RB with 11.
Boys Basketball Scores
Gray Collegiate 55, North Augusta 51
GC: Levi Ball 16, LJ Britt 11, Hunter McGraw 11, Quan McDuffie 13
Sumter 78, Lugoff-Elgin 76 (3 OT)
S: BJ Brown 40, Kenon Ward 10
Dreher 60, Camden 45
D: Austin Glasscho 19, Jamere Singleton 10. C: Jahmarie McLeod 15
Ridge View 53, Westwood 50
RV: Korie Corbett 21, Yale Davis 16, W: Jayden Crews 19 Larry Brown 13
Lancaster 72, Richland Northeast 41
Brookland-Cayce 61, Midland Valley 30
BC Carter Jackson 17, Oree 9, Daniels 9
Fairfield Central 53, Clinton 52
Hammond 67, Ben Lippen 45
H: Jaiden Haltiwanger 16, Mekhi Smith Brown 14; Daylin Haltiwanger 12; Jackson Ross 12. BL: Braysen Stockman 26
Mid-Carolina 51, Columbia 50
MC: KadenMyers 17, Jayden Gallman 13
Blythewood 77, Spring Valley 57
B: TJ Lewis 34. SV: Dewayne Patterson 25
Augusta Christian 54, Hammond 49
Girls Basketball Scores
Blythewood 80, Spring Valley 61
B: India Williams 23, Chase Thomas 20, Hayley Hightower 19. SV: Zie’l Ratchford 14, Amoura Williams 13, Lauren Crosland 12
Camden 75, Dreher 40
C: Morgan Champion 24, Shanaryah Wright 16, Laikahlanii Seegars 11. D: Kynadi Breland 14
Ben Lippen 34, Hammond 31
Ridge View 71, Westwood 64 (OT)
RV: Sian Banks 19, Anasia Harvey 15, Samaria Smith 14. W: Aneya Britt 25, Amari Alexander 16
AC Flora 62, York 29
Lower Richland 62, Crestwood 29
LR: Jhnai Sumter 13, Mikayla Foster 17, Taelor Hiller 18
Heathwood Hall 54, Augusta Christian 41
Northside Christian 65, Cardinal Newman 28
NC: Evie Godfrey 21, Campbell Childers 17, Chaelyn Tifre 14
North Augusta 42, Gray Collegiate 24
This story was originally published January 28, 2025 at 10:27 PM.
