Rippy’s Tipoff Classic Day 3 Recap
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High School Basketball is back in the State of South Carolina! My coverage of Feast Week in the Upstate continued on Tuesday in Union County at Rippy’s Tipoff Classic, hosted by Union County High School. Take a look at a recap…
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Continue ReadingHigh School Basketball is back in the State of South Carolina! My coverage of Feast Week in the Upstate continued on Tuesday in Union County at Rippy’s Tipoff Classic, hosted by Union County High School. Take a look at a recap from Day 3’s Games and Awards:
Tuesday’s Final Scores:
Newberry 65, Blacksburg 61
Broome 63, Landrum 61
Fountain Inn 67, Union County 61
Greer 89, Woodruff 46
Top Performance from Elkins Propels Newberry to Victory
In Tuesday’s opening game, the Bulldogs got a big 21 Point 6 Assist performance from Top 75 Senior Darius Elkins Darius Elkins 5'9" | PG Newberry | 2024 State SC . He hit 3-4 3 Point Field Goals in the first half, the only miss coming on a heave before the halftime buzzer. Newberry also starts 3 Sophomores: Kenton Caldwell Kenton Caldwell 5'11" | CG Newberry | 2026 State SC , AJ Jeter AJ Jeter 6'5" | SF Newberry | 2026 State SC , and Jamel Howse, all of which have bright futures. Howse and Jeter each went over double-digit rebounds and Caldwell hit a couple of threes to help the Bulldogs seal 7th Place at the 2023 Rippy’s Tipoff Classic.
Broome Tops Landrum in Dramatic Ending
Broome-Landrum was one of the more entertaining games in the young season so far. Two of Spartanburg County’s best shooters each had terrific nights: Landrum’s Franklin Davis Franklin Davis 6'3" | SG Landrum | 2024 State SC had 28 Points and Broome’s Lance Henderson Lance Henderson 6'0" | CG Broome | 2025 State SC had 24 Points on 6-6 3 Points Field Goals. But it was Broome Seniors Xavier Hill and DT Thompson who made plays late for the Centurions to finish off the Cardinals. Thompson had a couple of late buckets in the paint and Xavier Hill finished with 16 Points including some late free throws. Top 60 Junior Benett Edwards Benett Edwards 6'2" | SG Landrum | 2025 State SC had a solid game for Landrum with 8 Points and 8 Assists.
Late Run Not Enough as Fury Top Yellow Jackets
Fountain Inn opened on a 20-2 run against the host in the 3rd Place Game on Tuesday Night. As per usual, DJ Martin DJ Martin 5'10" | PG Fountain Inn | 2025 State SC was the architect of the Fury’s success. His ability to get paint touches to dump off to big man Amaziah Austin Amaziah Austin 6'5" | PF Fountain Inn | 2025 State SC or kick to shooters Terry Cunningham Terry Cunningham 5'11" | SG Fountain Inn | 2025 State SC and Caden McDowell is a joy to watch. Martin, who was selected to the All-Tournament Team, finished with 10 Assists in the game and McDowell led the team with 16 Points. On the flip side, the Yellow Jackets struggled to get buckets from anyone not named Keishawn Gibson Keishawn Gibson 5'10" | PG Union County | 2024 State SC or Eric Gray Eric Gray 5'10" | PG Union County | 2025 State SC . Those two guards scored the first 14 Points for Union County and each finished well above double-digits. The continuous attack of Gibson and the foul trouble of Martin played a big role in the Yellow Jacket’s attempted comeback down the stretch, but Fountain Inn would go on to win 67-61.
Greer Defeat Woodruff To Win Second Straight Rippy’s Tipoff Classic
The Championship of the 2023 Rippy’s Tipoff Classic wasn’t ever much of a game. The Greer Yellow Jackets, who are likely going to be one of the top teams in the state, matched up with the Woodruff Wolverines and they left no doubt who the better team was. Most of Greer’s success came in combinations: scoring from wings Zayn Valentine Zayn Valentine 5'11" | PG Greer | 2024 State SC (21 Points) and Amare Anderson Amare Anderson 6'2" | PG Greer | 2025 State SC (14 Points) and playmaking from guards facilitating guards Brayden Lytes Brayden Lytes 5'9" | PG Greer | 2024 State SC and Mikey Williams Jr Mikey Williams Jr 5'11" | PG Greer | 2026 State SC (6 Assists each). Senior Isaiah Woodruff also had a great game, scoring all 14 Points in the 4th Quarter for some style points on Greer’s Rippy’s Ripoff Classic Championship Win.
Final Tournament Standings:
1. Greer (3-0)
2. Woodruff (2-1)
3. Fountain Inn (2-1)
4. Union County (1-2)
5. Broome (2-1)
6. Landrum (1-2)
7. Newberry (1-2)
8. Blacksburg (0-3)
Tournament MVP: Amare Anderson Amare Anderson 6'2" | PG Greer | 2025 State SC (Greer)
All-Tournament Team:
Mikey Williams Jr Mikey Williams Jr 5'11" | PG Greer | 2026 State SC (Greer)
Nickolas McConnell Nickolas McConnell 6'1" | CG Woodruff | 2024 State SC (Woodruff)
DJ Martin DJ Martin 5'10" | PG Fountain Inn | 2025 State SC (Fountain Inn)
Eric Gray Eric Gray 5'10" | PG Union County | 2025 State SC (Union County)
Franklin Davis Franklin Davis 6'3" | SG Landrum | 2024 State SC (Landrum)
Ja’Coreyun Broadus (Broome)
Darius Elkins Darius Elkins 5'9" | PG Newberry | 2024 State SC (Newberry)
Tracy Smith (Blacksburg)