Brookland-Cayce stopped in state semifinals by Dillon
A bad second half cost Brookland-Cayce’s bid to end its state title appearance drought.
The Bearcats managed 14 points over the final two quarters in the 54-41 loss to Dillon in the Class 3A Lower State championship Saturday at the Florence Civic Center.
The Wildcats move on to face Southside for the state title next Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Colonial Life Arena. It’s the Wildcats’ first championship appearance since 2006.
“They were tougher than us down the stretch in the third and fourth quarter,” B-C coach Robert Wells said. “We didn’t do a good job handling the pressure in the third and fourth quarters. Dillon went to full-court man (defense) and we didn’t do a good job of handling the ball and going to our offense. Dillon did a good job of getting a lot of steals and getting into transition.”
B-C was in its first state semifinal since 1962, and hasn’t won a state title since 1937. The Bearcats came into game on a 15-game winning streak and defeated Ridgeland-Hardeeville on Tuesday when Lloyd Hemming hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Hemming’s 3-pointer at the buzzer in the second quarter gave the Bearcats a 28-27 lead at halftime. But the Wildcats went on a 7-0 run to take a 36-29 lead with 2:06 to play in the third. B-C got within 39-37 in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t get closer.
The Wildcats turned up the defensive pressure and shut down the Bearcats’ big three of Hemming, Marquis McCoy and Dominique Perry over the final two quarters. The trio came into the game averaging a combined 44 points a contest, but managed just 33 against the Wildcats – only 10 in the second half.
“We just buckled down and wanted to dominate every possession. That was big,” first-year Dillon coach Lee Page said.
Hemming led the way with 16 points and McCoy added 10. B-C was hurt by 25 turnovers and was outrebounded by Dillon.
“That might be the first team all year that outrebounded us,” Wells said. “They had two or three chances on the offensive end. You just can’t win the game giving teams second-chance shots.”
Javier Brookins led Dillon with 14, and Tyquan Porter added 12 points and was one of the Wildcats’ keys on defense.
D: Norman 9, Javier Brookins 14, Fletcher 3, Tyquan Porter 12. Boatwright 9, McClam 6. BC: Perry 7, Marquis McCoy 10, Williams 6, Lloyd Hemming 16, Hook 2.
This story was originally published February 25, 2017 at 7:36 PM.