By Thomas Grant Jr.
Round three in the Class 4A basketball playoffs is the stage for a third meeting between Gray Collegiate and North Augusta.
Both the girls and boys teams made the trip down Interstate 20 on consecutive days for the second time this season. This time, it’s for a trip to Florence for the Upper State semifinals.
The Gray Collegiate boys got the first shot at North Augusta on Tuesday. It set up the rubber match with the Yellow Jackets following a 78-50 rout of May River.
Carolinas Classic and All-State selection L.J. Britt scored 17 points and Levi Ball and senior Quan McDuffie each had 15 points in the second round win.
As for the Lady War Eagles, head coach Brandon Wallace was hoping the third meeting Wednesday would be the charm against the Lady Yellow Jackets.
“Coach Young coached my brother in high school, so he was actually at my high school Silver Bluff way back in the early 1990s,” he said. “He’s always been family. Same church, great man. I respect him a lot, but he’s been whipping on me. So we’ve got to change that.”
This past Friday, the Lady War Eagles battled past Wilson 42-39 in the second round. It was a physical, low-scoring affair symbolized by the three thin bandages Lady War Eagle forward Raina Mayers dressed around her right eye.
Gray Collegiate Academy guard Alyssa Salaam dribbles past Wilson forward Leanissa Swinton.
The first-degree black belt in karate suffered the lacerations after hitting her head on the court chasing a loose ball. Aside from receiving treatment to stop the bleeding, Mayers stayed in the game and contributed 11 points.
“My other sport karate has helped me with physical stuff, more so getting hit and stuff,” she said. “So this was minor to me and I just knew my team needed me out there. So I couldn’t sit out there and let them lose.”
Along with providing offense in the post with Carolinas Classic selection and All-State forward Kadence Walker-Lee, who had a team-high 14 points, Mayers’ ball-handling proved critical. This was especially true when point guard Diamond Tatum left the game for a few minutes with leg cramps.
Gray Collegiate’s largest lead was six points as the Lady Tigers continually kept it close. The duo of Logan Murray and Leah Spears combined for 32 points as Wilson had an opportunity to tie the game with eight seconds left.
As Jordan Nelson caught the inbound pass and dribbled around the 3-point arc, Mayers forced the basketball out of her hands. It was recovered by Tatum who dribbled out the clock.
B-C season ends
The Bearcats looked to reach the third round of the Class 4A playoffs for the first time since 2017.
It rallied from an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter to force overtime with Crestwood. Hampered by having three starters foul out, Brookland-Cayce was outscored 10-3 in overtime of the 82-75 loss to the Knights.
The Bearcats finished the season with a 19-9 record.
(Feature Photo courtesy of Gray Collegiate Academy) – Gray Collegiate Academy guard Cam Arthur goes up for the layup against May River.
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