2023 Coaches Classic Recap

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2023 Coaches Classic was held on Saturday, December 10th, at Spartanburg High School. Six of the eight teams in the event are currently ranked in the Top-10 of their respective classes in the South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association Poll. <strong>Take a look at a recap of Saturday's action:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Final Scores:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Greer 71, Powdersville 65</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dorman 61, Riverside 32</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fountain Inn 58, Spartanburg 56</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Byrnes 67, South Pointe 31</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Greer Outlasts Powdersville for the Second Time in Three Days</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2294190,"width":"423px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/12/Image-12-10-23-at-8.26-PM.jpeg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/12/Image-12-10-23-at-8.26-PM.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2294190" style="width:423px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2023 Coaches Classic got started with one of the most exciting early-season rematches. On Thursday evening, the Greer went to Powdersville and knocked off the Patriots 74-72, and on Saturday, the Yellow Jackets were victorious against the same opponent. Powdersville opened the game with a point to prove. They had a lot of success in transition, getting easy buckets for South Carolina Commit [player_tooltip player_id='1149799' first='Hayden' last='Assemian'], <strong>Von Bruton</strong>, and [player_tooltip player_id='1766181' first='Jaleel' last='McGee'], holding a 3-point lead after one. However, from the 6:00-3:00 mark, the Yellow Jackets went on a 14-0 run to take control of the game. [player_tooltip player_id='1365021' first='Bradyn' last='Durrah'] was extremely active on the glass for Greer in the first half, and [player_tooltip player_id='1419748' first='Brayden' last='Lytes'] caused havoc for the Powdersville ball handlers. In the 3rd quarter, the Patriots cut the lead down to as little as two before [player_tooltip player_id='1407052' first='Amare' last='Anderson'] scored 8 straight to reestablish a double-digit lead. He finished the game with 16 points, trailing just [player_tooltip player_id='1486212' first='Mikey' last='Williams Jr'] with 20 and Von Bruton with 23 as the Yellow Jackets took a 71-65 victory to stay undefeated. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Dorman Defeats Riverside in a Battle of Undefeated Teams</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2293467,"width":"426px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/12/Image-12-9-23-at-9.27-PM.jpeg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/12/Image-12-9-23-at-9.27-PM.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2293467" style="width:426px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The defending AAAAA State Champions might just have been the most impressive team of the day. After trailing by 4 after a [player_tooltip player_id='1578660' first='Rylan' last='Jones'] half-court heave at the first-quarter buzzer, [player_tooltip player_id='1082599' first='Christian' last='Andrews'] took over during the second and third quarters for the Cavaliers. He had a tough step-through layup to cap a 9-0 run midway through the second period to build onto the Cavaliers lead, which would amount to 6 at halftime. And it was the third quarter when Dorman would really take control of the contest. They held Riverside to just 2 points, and got 8 points from [player_tooltip player_id='1645095' first='Will' last='Bush'] in the period. The defense was special all game long, led by [player_tooltip player_id='1360540' first='Keenan' last='Arcega-Whiteside'] who was assigned to one of the state's top players. Andrews led all scorers with 19 points, followed by Arcega-Whiteside with 12. Jones led Riverside with 13 points. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2293468,"width":"425px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/12/Image-12-9-23-at-9.29-PM.jpeg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/12/Image-12-9-23-at-9.29-PM.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2293468" style="width:425px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Martin and Cunningham Step Up Late to Seal a Fury Victory</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The hosts were in action in Saturday's third game, taking on AAA Fountain Inn. After starting trailing 5-0 after a quick Fury run, Spartanburg got strong early bench minutes from [player_tooltip player_id='2173841' first='Dashawn' last='Byrd'], [player_tooltip player_id='1692193' first='Brailun' last='Thomas'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1679969' first='Shrawmaine' last='Carson'] and led by 2 after the first quarter. Thomas, in particular, had a solid day making plays on both ends of the floor for the Vikings. The size of [player_tooltip player_id='1239535' first='Amaziah' last='Austin'] was a big boost for Fountain Inn and he was the first into double-digit points despite fighting foul trouble and a minor ankle injury. Along with the success of Jenkins in the post, the Fury backcourt was strong. [player_tooltip player_id='1419742' first='DJ' last='Martin'] and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2299081' first='Terry' last='Cunningham']</strong> each made big shots down the stretch to help seal the victory. [player_tooltip player_id='1564951' first='Dylan' last='Riddlespurger'], who had a slow shooting start, bounced back big in the second half and finished with 14 points for the Vikings. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Stallion Offense Stifled in Loss to Runnin' Rebels</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2293473,"width":"424px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/12/Image-12-9-23-at-9.53-PM.jpeg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/12/Image-12-9-23-at-9.53-PM.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2293473" style="width:424px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Byrnes put up a dominant performance of South Pointe in Saturday's nightcap. The Stallion offense struggled from the start, allowing a quick 9-0 run and eventually trailing 17-3 at the end of the first quarter. The Runnin' Rebels lived up to their name by getting out in transition early, finding Newberry Commit twice for open looks from behind the arc. They also got good minutes from <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2323877' first='Conner' last='Page']</strong> off the bench, at times using him as a small-ball 5 without [player_tooltip player_id='1985870' first='Kj' last='Stephens'] or [player_tooltip player_id='1266488' first='Evan' last='Enos'] on the floor. He had 7 points and 3 rebounds in the first half. South Pointe was held to just 3 made field goals in the first half and 8 total. They did, however, make some adjustments in the second half and had success getting to the line. But a 21-point 3rd quarter took away any hope of a Stallion comeback and gave the Byrnes' key players some extra rest at the end of the game. All 13 Rebels scored, led by 11 from McDowell and [player_tooltip player_id='1032164' first='Will' last='Fowler']. Freshman [player_tooltip player_id='1982890' first='Colt' last='Fowler'] made some really impressive plays as well in the 4th quarter, finishing with 3 points and 4 assists. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->