Spring Valley boys come up just short in Upper State championship
Spring Valley showed the ability to win close games in two of its playoff victories.
The Vikings couldn’t complete the trifecta as a pair of 3-point attempts came up short in their final possession in a 69-66 loss to Byrnes on Saturday in the Class 4A Upper State championship.
Byrnes advances to its first state title appearance since 1993 and will play Irmo on Friday at 8:30 p.m.
“We were hoping we could do it again,” Spring Valley coach Perry Dozier said. “The kids believed but some things just happened. I think we put pressure on them a little too late. But the guys fought hard and I am proud of them.”
The Vikings, who won their first four playoff games by a combined four points, trailed 66-58 with 52.2 seconds left before mounting their comeback. Tommy Bruner and DeAngelo Ward hit back-to-back 3-pointers to get Spring Valley within 67-64 with 33.9 seconds left.
After Byrnes’ Hayden Brown made 1-of-2 free throws, Jordan Bruner got the lead down to 68-66 on a jumper in the lane with 20 seconds left. The Vikings nearly stole the inbound pass, but ended up fouling Bouvier Howard, who hit 1-of-2 free throws and gave the Rebels a 69-66 lead with 12.4 seconds left.
Spring Valley pushed the ball upcourt, but Jordan Bruner missed a 3-pointer. Kendall Wall grabbed the rebound and dribbled out to the corner, but his 3-point attempt with Ray Miller on him came up short.
“This is probably one of the toughest teams I have had to not quit in the end,” said Dozier, who is in his 10th season. “I can’t say they are the most talented, but they play harder than any of my teams I have had around.
“But you can’t take anything from Byrnes. People underestimate them. They call them a football school, but they can play basketball as well.”
Miller finished with 19 points, including five 3-pointers, and had eight rebounds. His fifth 3-pointer of the game put Byrnes up 57-45 with 5:41 left. Howard added 15 and Brown scored 14.
“Our whole team is nothing but a bunch of guys who compete and bring their hard hat everyday,” Byrnes coach Layne Fowler said. “I love them. They are just so tough mentally and physically. People talk about stars on these other teams. But I’ve got a whole group of really good basketball players, and they are stars for us.”
Fowler was a player on the last Byrnes’ team to make it to the state championship game in 1993. The Rebels were 1-19 and won just two playoff games in the 10 years before he took over in 2010.
Jordan Bruner led Spring Valley with 17 points, nine rebounds and six blocks. Ward had 14 and Noah Harper 13.
SV: T. Bruner 6, Noah Harper 13, DeAngelo Ward 14, Wall 8, Jordan Bruner 17, Myers 4. B: Hayden Brown 14, Bouvier Howard 15, Jaylen Foster 10, Ray Miller 19, Glenn 7, Williams 4.
This story was originally published February 27, 2016 at 9:42 PM.