Keenan boys march on, while other Midlands teams see playoff dreams come to end
After a slow start to the season, the Keenan boys basketball team is on to another state semifinal appearance.
The Raiders defeated Seneca, 37-32, on the road in the third round of the Class 3A Upper State playoffs Wednesday. Keenan will face Blue Ridge in the Upper State championship at 7:30 p.m. on Monday at Bob Jones University.
“They were in there celebrating, and I said, ‘We’ve got two more to win in order to win a state championship. Y’all just calm down. Enjoy yourselves, but don’t get too excited because it’s back to work tomorrow,’” Keenan coach Zach Norris told reporters after the game. “We found out we have to play Blue Ridge, and Justin Bailey’s one of the best I’ve seen this year, so we have to come up with a way to stop him and slow him down. We’re going to go to the drawing board and see what we can come up with.”
Keenan entered the playoffs unranked in the SC High School League Coaches poll. The Raiders started off 7-9 but have won 11 of their last 12 games.
Chrisean Oree led Keenan with 11 points. The Raiders held Seneca to a season-low point total. Seneca’s lowest was 42 points against Travelers Rest.
Keenan was the lone Midlands team to win on Wednesday night as Westwood, AC Flora and Gray Collegiate girls lost in the SCHSL playoffs.
In SCISA, the Midlands will be without a boys team in the semifinals for the first time in a while as Heathwood Hall, Hammond and Cardinal Newman lost in the quarterfinals at the Sumter Civic Center.
Westside 47, Westwood 44
Westwood gave the defending Class 4A champs all it wanted but its rally fell short in the Class 4A Upper State playoffs.
Westside will play Catawba Ridge in the 4A Upper State championship in Greenville on Tuesday.
“We knew it was going to be tough coming in. They weren’t 25-0, the defending state champions for no reason,” Westwood coach Gregory Bauldrick said. “Down the stretch, we knew we had a chance but just had some unfortunate situations at the end. But we will have to learn from it and move forward.”
Westwood trailed 41-35 midway through the fourth quarter but rallied and took the lead on Jessica Woods’ 3-pointe. The Rams answered with a layup on the next possession to make it 45-44 with 45 seconds left.
Destiny Middleton’s two free throws put Westside up 47-44. Westwood tried to get quick layup but missed two easy shots and couldn’t secure the rebound to try a game-tying 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded.
Woods led Westwood with 25 points. Ahri Scott and Olivia Randolph each had 12 to lead Westside.
Catawba Ridge 55, AC Flora 49
Terriana Gray had a career-high 35 points but the Falcons came up short against Catawba Ridge in the 4A Upper State playoffs.
The Copperheads move on to their first upper state championship on Tuesday against Westside.
AC Flora trailed 41-23 in the third before chipping away and getting it to 52-49 with 12 seconds left. But Makailah Davis hit two free throws and the Copperheads forced a turnover on the next possession to seal it.
Davis led CR with 20 points.
Christ Church 48, Gray Collegiate 42
The War Eagles’ bid for their first state semifinal appearance came up short in a matchup of top two ranked teams in Class 2A.
Adrian Frye led Gray with 17 and Kadence Walker-Lee had 13.
Wednesday’s Midlands schedule
Class 3A Boys
Keenan 37, Seneca 32
K: Oree 11, Echols 8, Williams 6, Gipson 4, Knox 4, Price 2, Robinson 2. S: McCalope 12, Evett 10, Burnette 3, Mitchell 3, O’Kelley 2, Webb 2
Class 4A Girls
Westside 47, Westwood 44
WES: Bell 8, Destiny Middleton 7, Pruitt 6, Gaines 2, Olivia Randolph 12, Ahri Scott 12. WOOD: Jessica Woods 25, Branch 3, Thompson 5, Davis 2, Johnson 3, Omeire 6.
Catawba Ridge 55, AC Flora 49
ACF: Terriana Gray 35, Frierson 4, McCray 4. Wright-Thompson 3, Mickens 2,Craft 2. CR: Ma. Davis 20, Windisch 6, Skyla Tuthill 12, Postel 13, Mor Davis 4.
Class 2A Girls
Christ Church 48, Gray Collegiate 42
CC: Yasmine Clark 20, Wilson-Reyner 5. Jorgenson 4. Duwe 6, McCall King 13. GC: Woodlock 6, Adrian Frye 17, Kadence Walker-Lee 13, Phelps 6.
SCISA 3A Boys
First Baptist 62, Heathwood Hall 43
FB: Coln 4, McKenzie 16, Fishburne 9, Marty Foor 13, Adonis Cole 12, Robertson 2, Frasier 16. HH: Barnes 7, JD Gardner 10, Morris 4, Frick 3, Reid Avery 12, Draffin 1, Porter 6.
Augusta Christian 78, Hammond 45
AC: Braylon Smith 16, J. Smith 3, DJ Shine 22, Khaleel Pratt 10, Elijah Crawford 16, Booker 4, Wilson 6. H: McCall 3, Roberts 2, Epps 5, Miller 2, Amari Evans 13, Davis 1, Jackson Osborne 17, Tyler 1.
Hilton Head Prep 69, Cardinal Newman 56
CN: Martin 3, Peeples 6, White 6, Jordan Frazer 20, Gerald Gray 18. HHP: Helms 5, Frey 4, JJ Hayes 14, Mikell 6, Sean Cusano 27, Kane Eaves 13.
Thursday’s Midlands schedule
Class 4A Boys
Travelers Rest at Irmo, 7 p.m.
AC Flora at South Pointe
Class 2A Boys
Abbeville at Gray Collegiate at Allen University
Class 3A Girls
Blue Ridge at Keenan, 6:30 p.m.
Lower Richland at Southside
Camden at Orangeburg-Wilkinson
SCISA Class A Girls
Newberry Academy vs Patrick Henry at Cardinal Newman, 3:30 p.m.
Friday’s Midlands schedule
SCISA Class 3A Girls
Cardinal Newman vs. Northwood Academy at Sumter Civic Center, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday’s Midlands schedule
Class 5A
Upper State Championship
At Bob Jones University
Ridge View vs. Mauldin, 7:30 p.m.
Lower State Championship
At Florence Center
Dutch Fork vs. Fort Dorchester, 730 p.m.
Monday’s Schedule
Class 3A
Upper State Championship
At Bob Jones University
Keenan vs. Blue Ridge, 7:30 p.m.
This story was originally published February 23, 2022 at 10:21 PM.
