Bryant boosts Lexington over South Aiken in overtime
Darius Bryant scored 10 of his 31 points in overtime to help Lexington to a 69-64 victory over visiting South Aiken Tuesday in a key Region 5-4A contest.
Bryant and coach Bailey Harris said they believed the Wildcats would have lost a game like this a month ago. But they’ve won four-of-five to move into a tie for second place in the region with the Thoroughbreds. Each team has one regular season game remaining – Lexington will host White Knoll while South Aiken plays North Augusta.
Harris said the Thoroughbreds would own the tiebreaker by virtue of a better non-region record. That would force Lexington to travel in the opening round of the Class 4A playoffs that begin next week. Regardless of how it plays out, Harris likes the way his team has played the past couple of weeks.
“If we beat White Knoll, that will give have us winning five out of our last six games after starting 1-3 in the region,” Harris said. “I don’t really care where they send us in the playoffs. I will take my chances. We’re playing good, we’re playing smarter.”
Bryant, who has scored 29 or more in four region games, has seen the team mature and come together after a rough stretch to begin region play.
“We faced a bunch of adversity and we didn’t quit,” the Wildcats junior guard said. “We’ve held each more accountable. A month ago, if that game would have gone like that, we would have lost.”
It was a game mostly of runs until a tense final fourth quarter and overtime gave Lexington (14-10, 5-4) the win. The Wildcats led by as many as 10 in the first quarter only to see South Aiken (15-5, 5-4) take the lead in the third quarter.
Things took a turn when Harris picked up a technical for questioning a foul call with 5:40 remaining. South Aiken made 3 of 4 free throws but missed on the ensuing possession for a 52-50 lead.
It was 54-51 when Bryant, who was questionable after rolling his ankle on Friday against Irmo, nailed a three-pointer to tie it with 3:10 remaining. Josh Drayton gave South Aiken a 56-54 lead off an offensive rebound with 2:38 left.
Spencer Bethea tied it again with a layup with 1:40 remaining. Lexington got a good look for the win on the last shot, but the game was tied at the end of regulation.
“Our guys didn’t panic,” Harris said. “Earlier in the year, we would have panicked and lost our composure. We kept out cool. I liked our shot to win at the end then in overtime.”
From there, Lexington put on a clinic. They went 3-for-3 from the field and 7-of-9 from the free throw line in the extra period. On one of the misses, Bryant got the rebound and hit a lay-up for a 4-point possession that gave Lexington the lead for good.
Chance Prandy scored 20 points to lead four Thoroughbred players in double figures before fouling out in overtime.
SA: Chance Prandy 20, Josh Drayton 13, Gemini Bell 10, Frank Pressley 10, McKie 9, Glover 2. L: Darius Bryant 31, Dontrell Shuler 12, Bethea 7, Rumph 7, Shackleford 6, Haney 6.
Girls Lexington 65, South Aiken 32
A dominating win keeps Lexington (17-6, 8-1) in a tie with North Augusta in the Region 5-4A race for the top spot. The Wildcats would be the No. 2 seed form the region if both teams finish in a tie for the top spot.
Olivia Thompson and Destinee Langford each scored 15 points while Taylor Foulks added 13 points for the Wildcats as 10 different players scored. Lexington led 16-1 after one quarter and 33-3 at halftime.
SA: Aysha Scott 13, Calry Dempsey 13, Parker 3, Hamic 2, Butler 1. L: Olivia Thompson 15, Destinee Langford 15, Taylor Foulks 13, McClary 4, Hart 4, A. Langford 4, Lesesne 3, Bunucci 3, St. Andrews 2, Corley 2.
This story was originally published February 9, 2016 at 11:04 PM with the headline "Bryant boosts Lexington over South Aiken in overtime."