Back to the ’ship: Ridge View returns to 4A title game after holding off Wren
Facing one of its biggest deficits in the past three seasons, the Ridge View boys basketball team didn’t panic. Now the Blazers will get a shot at another state title.
Ridge View overcame a 19-point first-half deficit and then held on to defeat Wren 59-55 on Friday in the Class 4A Upper State championship game at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
Ridge View plays Myrtle Beach next Saturday at Colonial Life Arena for a state title at 7 p.m. The Blazers are going for their third straight championship.
“Coach always told us not to panic,” Ridge View guard Cincere Scott said. “So when we went down like that, we didn’t panic. We weren’t in panic mode.”
Scott and Tyler Rice led Ridge View with 13 points. Scott was big down the stretch for the Blazers. The senior hit the go-ahead shot with 1:09 left to put the Blazers up 56-55. With Ridge View leading 57-55, Scott stole the ball from Wren star Bryce McGowens and hit two free throws to seal the game.
While Scott, Ja’Von Benson and Rice have been the constants during Ridge View’s season, Jaden Kennedy’s play on the defensive end against McGowens, the state’s No. 2 prospect for Class of 2021 and a Florida State commit, was the difference in getting the Blazers back to Colonial Life Arena.
McGowens torched the Blazers in the first half, scoring 17 points as the Hurricanes jumped out to a 19-point lead. The second half was a different story. McGowens, who scored 65 points against Travelers Rest less than a week ago, was held to just four points Friday in the second half.
“Luckily, we had Jaden Kennedy tonight,” Ridge View coach Yerrick Stoneman said. “He came in and really defended McGowens well. We had no answers for him in that first quarter and half but I stuck Jaden in and he made a huge difference.”
It wasn’t the first time this season Kennedy guarded a high-profile prospect. He matched up against Prolific Prep’s Jalen Green, the No. 1 prospect in the country, during the Chick-fil-A Classic in December.
Kennedy said that matchup against Green prepared him for Friday night.
“Guarding Jalen Green gives me confidence to guard anybody. He is the No. 1 player in the country,” Kennedy said. “So I had confidence I could stop (McGowens).”
Stoneman singled Kennedy out in his locker room and the Ridge View players mobbed him before they started dancing around singing, ‘We going to the ‘ship! We going to the ’ship!”
It’s the second straight year Ridge View defeated Wren in the Upper State championship.
“Those who win truly know that if it wasn’t for the players that I got, we wouldn’t be here,” Stoneman said. “I got some great players that step up in really big games and make the plays.
“We are building a family and tradition at Ridge View and it is something special and I look forward to next week.”
Wren led 32-13 in the first half before Ridge View went on an 18-4 run capped off by Benson’s layup at the buzzer of the second quarter.
The Blazers took the lead in the third quarter, 39-37, on Patrick Jenkins’ layup. Ridge View led 54-45 on Kennedy’s basketball with 5:43 left before Wren made a final push.
RV: Tyler Rice 13, Cincere Scott 13, Gregory Jackson 5, Ja’Von Benson 7, Jaden Kennedy 10, Davion Everett 2, Jaylon Jeter 5, Patrick Jenkins 4. W: Bryce McGowens 21, Tez Frazier 11, Josh Owens 14, Eli Wilson 6, Dez Frazier 3
This story was originally published February 28, 2020 at 10:43 PM.
