Waccamaw’s #5 Jack Dwyer goes up for a shot and is fouled.
The Dillon Wildcats battled the Waccamaw Warriors twice this week to determine their region finish, picking up a 68-54 win on Wednesday and an 84-75 win on Saturday in double overtime.
Click here to see videos from Saturday’s game!
After falling to Waccamaw on January 27, the Wildcats were third in the region at 6-3, one game behind the Warriors. But on Wednesday night the Wildcats jumped out of the gate for a 19-7 lead in the first quarter. Dillon outscored Waccamaw 20-10 in the second to lead 39-17 at the half. The Warriors began to rally in the third quarter, holding Dillon to 16 points and adding 13 to leave Waccamaw trailing 55-30. Waccamaw gave a huge 24-13 effort in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough to close the gap as they fell 68-54.
Dillon’s #31 Lawrence Crouch lays one in for two points on Wednesday.
Waccamaw was led by Rob Ferraro with 15 points, six rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Justin Busby added 12 points; Jack Dwyer, 10; Je’mon Smalls, 7; Justin Hardee, 4; Karim Stanley, 3; and Kenley Vereen, 3. Stanley grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds in the effort.
Click here to view more photos from Wednesday’s game!
Friday’s game was suspended when the backboard broke on a dunk from Dillon’s JaQuan Knowlin.
The win left Dillon and Waccamaw tied at 7-3 each in the region, forcing a tiebreaker game on Friday night. The game got underway with Dillon taking a 16-8 lead in the first quarter. The Wildcats were up 26-23 when Dillon’s JaQuan Knowlin went for a dunk and broke the backboard.
The game resumed on Saturday at Marion, with Waccamaw scoring first. Knowlin added three points for the Wildcats with a basket and a free throw, and Avery McCall sank a three-pointer to leave the Wildcats ahead 32-27 at the half.
Dillon’s #43 JaQuan Knowlin controls the tip off on Friday.
Dillon’s Que Bethea scored two points and was fouled to start off the fourth period scoring, sinking the free throw for a 47-44 lead. Knowlin dunked two more baskets before a foul sent him to the line, where he missed the shot with the Wildcats ahead 51-44. Waccamaw’s Ferraro sank a basket and Dwyer scored on a free throw, but Crouch and Manning struck again for Dillon to maintain a 55-47 lead with four minutes remaining.
Waccamaw scored again with 2:44 on the clock but missed a free throw attempt. Knowlin sank another two pointer to keep the Wildcats ahead 57-49, but the next time the Warriors went to the line, they sank two free throws. Ferraro hit a basket to close the gap to 57-53, but Knowlin was fouled twice, with the Wildcat hitting one of his attempts to put Dillon up 58-53.
Dillon’s #22 Que Bethea sinks a three-pointer in Friday’s game against Waccamaw.
Fouls at the start of the period pushed the score to 61-61, but Bethea and Knowlin each scored to put Dillon up 65-61. Waccamaw sank a basket and a free throw, but Dillon’s Omar McCollum laid in a rebound to put the Wildcats up 67-64. Ferraro struck again for the Warriors, and a free throw by Dwyer tied the game again at 67-67 with 35 seconds remaining.
Knowlin scored on a layup and Aaron McCollum sank one on a foul shot for a 70-67 lead with just 6.7 seconds on the clock. But that was all Dwyer needed as he sank a three-pointer to tie the game at 70 and send it into double overtime.
Aaron McCollum was the first to score in the second OT, sinking a free throw and following up with a basket off a rebound to put Dillon ahead 73-70. Vereen responded with a basket, but free throws from Omar McCollum kept the Wildcats up 75-72, and a second foul helped him push the score to 78-72. Another foul sent RaKeem Fletcher to the line for Dillon for two more free throws, but Waccamaw’s Je’mon Smalls kept the Warriors in the game with a basket to trail 80-74. Omar McCollum was again sent to the line with 34.4 seconds remaining, sinking two more free throws, and as time ticked away, Dwyer also went to the free throw line for one point. In the final seconds, Crouch struck again for Dillon to secure the win for the Wildcats at 84-75.
Knowlin led the Wildcats with 20 points and Crouch added 15 in the win. McCollum added 14 points; Bethea, 11; McCollum, 8; Hayes, 6; Manning 5; McCall, 3; and Fletcher, 2.
Waccamaw was led by Dwyer and Vereen with 17 points each. Ferraro added 15; Busby, 14; Smalls, 10; and Doug Roe, 2. Dwyer made 10 rebounds, six steals, and two blocks in the effort. Ferraro and Busby each made grabbed nine rebounds for the Warriors.
Waccamaw’s #20 Justin Busby readies a shot with Dillon’s #34 RaKeem Fletcher ready to block.
With the wins, Dillon finished the regular season with a 14-9 overall record and an 8-3 record in Region 8-2A for second place. Waccamaw finished with a 13-9 record with a 7-4 in the region for third.
Click here to see more photos from the game on Friday and Saturday!
Dillon will host Andrews on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. in the first round of Class 2A basketball action, with the winner advancing to face either Ridgeland-Hardeeville or North Charleston in round two.
Waccamaw will travel to face Lee Central with the winner facing either Battery Creek or Wade Hampton.
Region 8-2A champ Mullins will host Kingstree, and the winner will face the winner of the Edisto/Whale Branch game, and Region 8’s fourth place team, Aynor, will be on the road to face Timberland on Wednesday.
