The state basketball playoffs are in full swing and the Dillon boys are the only local team still in contention. Here’s how the rest of the brackets are shaping out:
Class A
In the Class A boys bracket, Carvers Bay took down Military Magnet 58-35 in the second round of playoffs on Friday after defeating Latta in the first round. Johnsonville defeated Allendale-Fairfax 67-41 in round two to pit them against the Bears tonight at 7:00 p.m. in one half of the lower state semi-finals. Last season Johnsonville finished as the state-runner up in Class A.
In the other half, Whale Branch defeated Timmonsville 62-46 to advance and C.E. Murray took down Baptist Hill 67-52. The lower state final will be held at the Florence Civic Center on Saturday, February 23.
In the upper state bracket, C.A. Johnson defeated Ware Shoals 59-55 and Christ Church defeated Lamar 71-66 to advance to the quarter finals, while Lewisville defeated Greenville Tech and Fox Creek took down McCormick 65-63 to advance.
In the girls bracket, Carvers Bay continued their upset with a 67-65 overtime win over higher-ranked Denmark-Olar. The Lady Bears already knocked off Latta’s Lady Vikings, the top-ranked team in the state, 57-56 in the first round.
Timmonsville devastated Estill 53-25 but now the Lady Whirlwinds will square off against Carvers Bay on Monday. Timmonsville defeated Carvers Bay in their regular season matchups, but after two upsets, the 2012 state champs aren’t taking anything for granted. Coach Perry Stokes said they are anticipating a very tough game from the Bears, and hopes that home court advantage will give the Whirlwinds the edge.
The winner will face either Whale Branch or Hemingway for the lower state championship on Saturday at the Florence Civic Center. Whale Branch defeated C.E. Murray 74-59 on Thursday night and Hemingway blew out Cross 44-17 to advance. Last season, C.E. Murray finished as lower state runner-up to Timmonsville.
In the upper state, McCormick defeated C.A. Johnson 65-45 to advance and St. Joseph’s took out Lamar 56-34 to move on. McBee will host Brashier Middle after taking down Christ Church 66-53. Brashier eliminated Ridge Spring-Monetta to advance.
Class 2A
Much of round two of the boys tournament was postponed due to the weather on Saturday. Of the teams that did play, Silver Bluff defeated Calhoun County 64-57 to advance, and Wade Hampton eliminated Edisto. Silver Bluff will host Wade Hampton on Wednesday.
All other second round games were scheduled to be played on Monday night.
In the girls bracket, Lake City defeated Dillon 59-52 and Kingstree took out Mullins 57-54 to eliminate all region 8 teams from the girls playoffs. Burke defeated Ridgeland-Hardeeville 56-53 and 2012 champ Bishop England defeated Battery Creek 60-32 to advance.
In the upper state, Abbeville defeated Blacksburg 49-42 and Pendleton defeated Landrum 47-42. Keenan took down Columbia 41-31 and Cheraw eliminated Fairfield-Central 40-38 to set up the other upper state match. The Class 2A girls play again tonight to determine who advances to the lower and upper state championship games.
Class 3A
In Class 3A boys action, Myrtle Beach will host Darlington tonight while Hartsville will host Crestwood. Hartsville finished at the top of their region and are the defending champs, but Crestwood was fourth place, upsetting North Myrtle Beach 63-58 in round one and Crestwood 72-63 in round two. Myrtle Beach and Darlington were both second place in their regions.
In the upper state, Daniel will host A.C. Flora and Eastside will host Lower Richland. All teams were first in their region except A.C. Flora, which finished second.
In girls action, Orangeburg-Wilkinson was scheduled to host Socastee on Monday night and North Myrtle Beach was set to host Crestwood in the lower state semi-finals. Each team finished at the top of their region with the exception of Socastee, who finished third.
In the upper state, Wren was scheduled to host Dreher and Lower Richland was set to host Daniel. Wren and Lower Richland were both at the top of their regions, while Dreher and Daniel both finished second. Dreher is the defending state champion.
Class 4A
In Class 4A boys, Sumter will host North Augusta tonight while Ridge View will be at Goose Creek. Ridge View finished third in their region and defeated Lexington 74-72 in round one before upsetting Summerville 54-52 in round two.
In the upper state, Spring Valley and South Pointe both advanced to round three. The remaining round two games in the upstate were postponed until Monday night.
Defending champ Gaffney, state runner-up Lexington, lower state runner-up Aiken, and upper state runner-up Dorman have all been eliminated already this season, leaving plenty of room for a new champion to be crowned.
In girls action, Sumter was scheduled to host Dutch Fork on Monday and West Ashley was scheduled to host Aiken. In the upper state, Dorman will host Greenwood tonight while Wade Hampton was scheduled to be at Northwestern on Monday. Aiken and Wade Hampton were second place finishers in their region while the rest were top-seeded teams.
Last year’s state champ and upper state champ Dutch Fork has moved to the lower state bracket this year, while upper state runner-up Dorman is still in the tournament. Last year’s lower state champ Orangeburg-Wilkinson is in Class 3A this season while runner-up Goose Creek was eliminated by Dutch Fork in round two.
