Blythewood picks up the pace in playoff win over Gaffney
After playing at a slow pace in its playoff opener, Blythewood was back in its comfort zone Saturday against Gaffney.
The Bengals were able to get out and run, use their full-court pressure and took advantage of a big spurt in the third quarter to defeat the Indians 89-71 in the second of the Class 4A playoffs.
Blythewood, ranked No. 6, moves on to the third round for the second straight year and will travel to No. 3 Byrnes on Tuesday with the winner advancing to the 4A Upper State championship Saturday in Greenville.
“We play better when we run,” Blythewood coach Zeke Washington said. “This is what we try and build ourselves to do. We might not be as fast as Gaffney, but we so many people and offset that some.”
“This is way more our comfort zone. This how we play in the summer and how we practice,” Blythewood senior forward Eli Lake said. “Dorman threw us off when they played real slow. We like playing fast, it is a lot more fun to play. I’m sure the fans like it more too.”
Blythewood (20-6) managed just 42 points in its nine-point win over Dorman, which likes to play a slower pace. The Bengals had the total almost by halftime in a back-and-forth first half, which included nine lead changes in the second quarter.
In the second half, Washington went to a bigger lineup and the Bengals used their height to control the boards and get out in transition.
Blythewood went on an 18-2 to extend its four-point lead 58-38 with less than 3 minutes left in the third quarter. Lake had nine of his team-high 18 points during the spurting, including a pair of slam dunks.
“That run right there was great. We were playing good defense and it was awesome,” Lake said. “The bigger lineup, we are longer on defense and can get more rebounds. That is what we were struggling with. We got the rebounds, pushed it and got a lot of easy baskets.”
Khalil Shakir-Harris added 17 points as 13 different players scored for Blythewood.
The Bengals’ 89 points were their second highest point total of the season, one behind the 90 points scored against Lugoff-Elgin on Jan. 15.
“The kids focused, locked in and wanted to do whatever they could to win the game,” Washington said. “The seniors wanted to practice some more and now they get to do that.”
Dreele Jones led Gaffney (10-12) with 16 points.
G: Choice 3, Kobe Rodgers 14, Burris 7, Tay Kershaw 10, Morris 3, Dreele Jones 16, Love 4, Mystikal Tate, Foster 4. B: Johnson 7, Matthews 6, Jackson 3, Riley 4, Bowers 6, Hammond 9, Eli Lake 18, Khalil Shakir-Harris 17, Warmack 2, Bailey 3, Manuel 2, Churn 9, Patten 3.
This story was originally published February 20, 2016 at 10:09 PM with the headline "Blythewood picks up the pace in playoff win over Gaffney."