1/13 Greenwood Area Weekly Roundup

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Chiefs and Blue Flashes also had the privilege this week of being a boys contest that had a tough act to follow after what was a scintillating matchup between their respective varsity girls squads.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fortunately, the fans at the limited capacity of Calhoun Falls Charter's gym near the South Carolina-Georgia state line were indeed treated to 32 minutes of intense basketball between the two 1A rivals.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After the Blue Flashes girls team earned a two-point win over the Chiefs, the boys made it a hard-fought, but clean, sweep with the final score being 66-64 to dispatch of their guests from McCormick.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>What Happened Last Time?</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The two teams split their respective matchups last season. Calhoun Falls Charter, on Dec. 14, earned a 62-50 victory over McCormick and the Chiefs got sweet revenge on Jan. 25 via a 37-25 win over the Blue Flashes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>How Things Progressed</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two teams could not seemingly be more evenly matched than what the Blue Flashes and Chiefs were on Friday evening. With one frame in the books, it was a 17-15 advantage in favor of Calhoun Falls Charter.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The competitive nature of Friday evening's game continued to show itself in the second quarter, but it was still advantage Blue Flashes by a slight margin. What was a two-point edge was a four-point edge at halftime with Calhoun Falls Charter ahead 35-31.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That gap was closed to a mere one at the conclusion of the third quarter. What was a back and forth contest from the opening tip would see the Blue Flashes ahead by a tally of 50-49 with one quarter remaining.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was all tied at 64 going into the final seconds, but Calhoun Falls Charter knocked down a pair of clutch free throws late to pull ahead by two. McCormick's ensuing bid to tie or win the game was unsuccessful and the Blue Flashes indeed made it a clean Friday night sweep of the Chiefs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Primetime Performers</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1746976,"width":366,"height":239,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/IMG_7804-crop-4001x2627-1673701519.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/IMG_7804-crop-4001x2627-1673701519.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-1746976" width="366" height="239" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>All game long, McCormick's defense had no answers for the heroics of junior star <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1074154' first='Daquean' last='Lewis']</strong>. He led the Blue Flashes' scoring charge with 37 points and included a number of 3-pointers and made free throws.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1746974,"width":377,"height":246,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/IMG_7802-crop-3774x2478-1673701385.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/IMG_7802-crop-3774x2478-1673701385.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-1746974" width="377" height="246" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1350729' first='Ty' last='Turman']</strong> also had himself a big game for Calhoun Falls Charter as he aided the team's cause with a 14-point showing. Turman made the two free throws late in the fourth quarter that would put the Blue Flashes up for good.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1746972,"width":384,"height":251,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/IMG_7778-crop-3003x1972-1673701157.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/IMG_7778-crop-3003x1972-1673701157.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-1746972" width="384" height="251" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1311518' first='Javon' last='Riley']</strong>, a senior guard, spearheaded McCormick's efforts with a 20-point showing. He finished the game with three of the eight made shots the Chiefs connected on from 3-point range.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1746964,"width":388,"height":254,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/IMG_7731-crop-1833x1204-1673700940.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/IMG_7731-crop-1833x1204-1673700940.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-1746964" width="388" height="254" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1350735' first='A'Chean' last='Durant']</strong> contributed 15 points to the Chiefs' cause. He proved to be another backcourt anchor for McCormick. Durant is a dual-sport athlete who also plays football in addition to his basketball accomplishments. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1746961,"width":395,"height":258,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/IMG_7720-crop-2856x1876-1673700796.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/IMG_7720-crop-2856x1876-1673700796.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-1746961" width="395" height="258" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Darius Houston</strong>, a sophomore guard, scored 12 points and came up big with key plays on both offense and defense. Unfortunately for McCormick, Houston injured his right ankle late in the third quarter and did not return.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Up Next...</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both teams resume region play on Tuesday. Calhoun Falls Charter will be on the road at Dixie and McCormick will return home to host Whitmire.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Other 1/13 Area Results</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Greenville def. Greenwood 66-31</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Emerald def. Chester 54-50</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Mid-Carolina def. Ninety Six 64-54</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Newberry Academy def. Cambridge Academy 61-43</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->