Skyhawk Holiday Classic – Day 1 Results

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With the 2022 Christmas holiday having come and gone and the countdown to the new year in full swing, it was time for some of the best and brightest in the South Carolina high school basketball scene to return to the court.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>They did so as they took part in the Skyhawk Holiday Classic. Put together by Coach Percy Wright and LBI, this year's rendition welcomed 12 teams – eight girls and four boys teams.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We at Prep Hoops had the chance to watch those six contests as they emanated from the Skyhawks' nest at Hammond School. Here is our recap of the two boys matchups that took place.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong><em>Lower Richland vs. Blythewood</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The two boys contests of the day were sandwiched in between the girls games that took the lion's share of the schedule on Tuesday.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first of those boys matchups featured a pair of Midlands teams as 3A Lower Richland matched up with 5A Blythewood.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With two Midlands teams playing at another Midlands school, travel was not as much of a factor as it would have been for teams coming from other parts of the state. When all was said and done in the first boys game of the day, the Bengals earned a 42-34 victory to dispatch of the Diamond Hornets.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Records</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Diamond Hornets had entered the day's play still in search of their first win. Lower Richland is currently 0-5 but has been fairly competitive. Blythewood entered the day's play with a 6-5 record that included a one-point win over Richland Northeast and a 12-point win over Marietta out of Georgia.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>What Happened Last Time?</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Bengals and Diamond Hornets met in the first couple of games of last season with both contests going the way of Blythewood. They earned a 42-41 win at Lower Richland on Nov. 30 and a 57-38 victory over the Diamond Hornets on Dec. 3.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>How Things Progressed</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>If the first quarter was any indication, it would hint at a defensive-minded contest between the two Midlands-area teams. After the conclusion of one quarter, the Bengals held a four-point, 10-6 edge over the Diamond Hornets.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Quarter number two belonged to Lower Richland as they turned what was a four-point deficit into a three-point advantage at the half. By outscoring Blythewood 10-3 in the second stanza, the Diamond Hornets had a 16-13 at the matchup's midway point.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The third quarter was a bit more up-tempo and high-octane than the first two periods with both Blythewood and Lower Richland beginning to put the ball through the hoop with a bit more efficiency. It would come down to who would win the final eight minutes as both Bengals and Diamond Hornets were all square at 28 with three complete.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The later the fourth quarter went, the breaks began to break in Blythewood's favor. At the expiration of the first boys game of this year's Skyhawk Holiday Classic, the Bengals proved victorious via a 42-34 win.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Primetime Performers</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1725717,"width":392,"height":257,"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/E5F9DFA3-4948-476C-8310-0A8138531919-crop-2454x1612-1672592777.jpeg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/E5F9DFA3-4948-476C-8310-0A8138531919-crop-2454x1612-1672592777.jpeg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-1725717" width="392" height="257" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1678544' first='Will' last='Olden']</strong> put 15 points on the board for the Bengals. He briefly exited the game in the third quarter due to injury, but returned midway through the fourth quarter. Seven of his 15 came via free throws. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1725719,"width":395,"height":259,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/0EC2D04C-7B04-4CCE-A24F-C6D59FEAC7C4-crop-2065x1356-1672592870.jpeg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/0EC2D04C-7B04-4CCE-A24F-C6D59FEAC7C4-crop-2065x1356-1672592870.jpeg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-1725719" width="395" height="259" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1725673' first='Shib' last='Brown']</strong> finished with 12 points for Lower Richland. He as well managed to get to the free throw line and also was effective as a rim attacker.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Up Next…</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Up next for Blythewood is a matchup with Wagener-Salley in one of the final games on Wednesday's schedule. Lower Richland will take on host school Hammond to close out the Wednesday slate of games.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong><em>Hammond vs. Wagener-Salley</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The other boys contest of the day would allow the host school as well as a CSRA team to take centerstage prior to the spotlight returning to the girls side of the ledger.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hammond's boys team would take on Wagener-Salley in a game that would feature one of the smaller SCHSL schools as well as one of the larger SCISA schools. The War Eagles recently participated in the Blackville-Hilda Hawk Invitational where they went 1-2 with its one win coming against Williston-Elko.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This one would conclude with the Skyhawks claiming victory over the War Eagles by a margin of 70-53.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Records</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The War Eagles had entered Tuesday's play with a 3-7 record in addition to a 1-1 mark against teams from their conference. The Skyhawks so far have earned victories over Providence Home School and Spartanburg Day this season.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>How Things Progressed</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Skyhawks boys squad looked like a team that had a bit of inspiration from what their girls team did in their first quarter against Irmo. As Hammond's girls ran up 14 in their first against the Yellowjackets, the boys team dropped 19 in its opening period against Wagener-Salley and held a 19-5 advantage on the War Eagles following one quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wagener-Salley's offensive fortunes began to improve in the second quarter – but they needed for those of homestanding Hammond to sour in tandem with the former to close their gap with the Skyhawks. With two quarters in the books, Hammond's lead actually increased to 18 as it was 41-23 at the midway point.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Plenty of fouls were called in the third quarter with seven personals whistled against the War Eagles as opposed to the four penalties that the Skyhawks had accrued. Where it counted most was on the scoreboard and the sight had to make many a Hammond fan, player and coach happy as it was 61-36 after three.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With Hammond's girls already winning, the task for its boys team was to ensure Skyhawks teams would go 2-0 for the first day of its event. The lopsided nature of the matchup enabled a good number of Hammond's starters to rest for much of the fourth quarter. The Skyhawks' final margin of victory was 70-53</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Primetime Performers</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1725683,"width":353,"height":265,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/509E2665-3D37-4400-9C63-2DBD9F9D580B.jpeg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/509E2665-3D37-4400-9C63-2DBD9F9D580B.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-1725683" width="353" height="265" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1340380' first='Amari' last='Evans']</strong>, a senior guard who stands at 6-foot-1 finished with 22 points to lead all Hammond scorers. He particularly displayed how effective he can be as a rim attacker and with getting out in transition. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1725698,"width":354,"height":265,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/20F54DD8-129D-433E-82A2-D25FCF328924.jpeg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/20F54DD8-129D-433E-82A2-D25FCF328924.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-1725698" width="354" height="265" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1340381' first='Jackson' last='Osborne']</strong>, the Skyhawks' 6-foot-4 power forward aided the Hammond cause with a 17-point outing. While much of what he did occurred in the painted area, he did have a highlight 3-pointer towards the conclusion of the first half. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='922025' first='Chris' last='Kitchings']</strong>, a senior who has spent four seasons on the Wagener-Salley varsity team, led all scorers with 27 points. Among his impressive performance was drawing contact on numerous occasions and getting to the free throw line. Kitchings also attacked the rim with regularity and even had a made 3-pointer. He has played wide receiver and cornerback for the War Eagles football team.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Up Next?</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Wednesday, Wagener-Salley would match up against 5A Blythewood and the Skyhawks would await Lower Richland.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->