Day One of the State Basketball Finals is in the books with one listening area team capturing the big, gold trophy. The Landrum Girls won a thriller 45-43 over Atlantic Collegiate to take the 2A Girls State Title.Delaney Caldwell had a game high 19 to lead the Landrum program to their 1st ever State Title.
In 2A Boys, High Point fell short of Phillip Simmons 50-46. In 5A DII Girls, Berkeley bested Greenville High in a competitive 54-50. In the nightcap, the Greenville Boys fell to Westwood 67-55. The Red Raiders were outscored by 17 in the 2nd half to end their bid for a 2nd straight State Title.
On the schedule for Friday, It's the 3A and 5A Division I classes taking center stage.
At 2PM- The defending 3A Girls State Champs Walhalla will look to make it Back-To-Back State Titles, as they take on Kennan. Last year, marked Walhalla's 1st State Title ever for the girls program. They can become just the 2nd basketball program from Oconee County in over 45 years to win consecutive State Titles.
At 4PM- Christ Church will take on Fox Creek for the 3A Boys State Title.
At 6PM in 5A D1 Girls Blythewood meets Wando
In the nightcap, the defending Champs Ridge View takes on Ashley Ridge for the 5A DI Boys Title.
On Saturday, the lone listening area team on the slate is the Westside Girls in 4A. The Lady Rams will meet perennial powerhouse North Augusta at 4PM. Westside is led by 4 star Center prospect Khalia Hartwell. The 6ft 4 Junior has garnered offers from nearly ever major program in the country. North Augusta is looking for their 7th State Title in the last decade.
The rest of Saturday's slate is below.
1A Girls At Noon- Great Falls meets Military Magnet which has owned the 1A Girls division in recent years, winning 4 State Titles in the last 5 years.
1A Boys at 2PM CA Johnson vs Bethune-Bowman. Both fanbases have been doing a lot of talking online going into this one. Johnson is an athletic, guard led group. They put a lot of pressure on the ball defensively to speed up their opponents and create turnovers. On offense, they operate in attack mode with a lot of dribble-drive motion sets. Bethune Bowman does have Terrence McFadden in the post. The 6ft4 250 pound Center is a grown man in the paint, he may cause matchup problems for Johnson.
At 6PM, It's the 4A Boys Final with South Pointe taking on North Augusta. South Pointe is led by Senior Tre Raymon. The 6ft 7 Forward can shoot it from deep and put it on the floor and get to the rim. He's averaging about 16 points and 6 boards per game. Raymon has offers from Mississippi State, Coastal Carolina, Missouri State and others.
On Thursday, listening area teams went 1-3 on the day. Walhalla Girls, Christ Church Boys and Westside Girls look to help improve that mark on Friday and Saturday.