Photo by Thomas Grant Jr.
By Thomas Grant Jr.
Whether region or non-region, the Gray Collegiate Academy boys basketball team continue to roll against the opposition.
This past Saturday’s 80-64 win over W.J. Keenan at the MLK Bash at C.A. Johnson High School was its 10th straight win. It was also the War Eagles’ 14th win in their past 15 games.
The lone loss in that period took place to Davidson Day on Dec. 13. Prior to that, Gray Collegiate fell 75-51 to defending Class 5A Division I champion Ridge View in the season-opener.
Head coach Dion Bethea is quick to point to that defeat when asked about his team’s success.
“I told them that Ridge View really helped us out,” Gray Collegiate head coach Dion Bethea said. “It really humbled us. At the same time, we’ve played against a lot of great competition, traveled to great places and we’re starting to figure it out.”
An area of improvement for Gray Collegiate Academy is its 3-point shooting. It made nine against the Raiders, opening the game with back-to-back 3-pointers by Luis Echevarria and Levi Ball.
Echevarria had a game-high 20 points, followed by Ball with 19. The War Eagles led as many as 23 points over their former rival, who were still without suspended head coach Zach Norris.
“The best part for me was at the beginning of the game, me giving Coach Norris a hug,” Bethea said. “That meant a lot because all our great battles we had in the past. Not seeing him on the sideline, that was real weird and Alex is doing a great job filling in for him.”
The Gray Collegiate Academy girls also extended its winning streak during the holiday weekend. It defeated 2-time defending Class 2A champion Andrew Jackson 64-51 for a fifth straight win.
The Lady War Eagles remain in sole possession of second place behind North Augusta. The two teams meet again Jan. 27.
BROOKLAND-CAYCE
The Bearcats looked to stay in striking distance of Gray Collegiate in the Region 4-4A standings.
Instead, they fell at home 68-39 to North Augusta to drop to third place.
Brookland-Cayce then dropped a 44-41 non-region game with Harlem (Ga.) at the MLK Classic at Cross Creek High School. On Tuesday, it snapped the losing streak with a 64-33 win over archrival Airport.
S.C. BASKETBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION RANKINGS
(BOYS)
Class 4A
1. Gray Collegiate, 2. North Augusta, 3. Wilson, 4. Bluffton, 5. Darlington, 6. Crestwood, 7. May River, 8. Brookland-Cayce, 9. Westside, 10. Midland Valley
(GIRLS)
Class 4A
1. Westside, 2. North Augusta, 3. South Pointe, 4. Camden, 5. Daniel, 6. Gray Collegiate Academy, 7. Blue Ridge, 8. South Florence, 9. Lower Richland, 10. AC Flora
