Playoff Roundup: Powdersville vs Daniel & Mauldin vs River Bluff

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>High School Basketball Playoffs are here in the State of South Carolina, and Prep Hoops SC is the place to be for coverage throughout the state! I was in Central on Friday Night for a Top-10 3A Matchup between Daniel and Powdersville and in Mauldin on Saturday Night as the Mavericks hosted River Bluff in a 5A Round Two affair. <strong>Check out my recap of these two high-level playoff encounters:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Notable Performances:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1149799' first='Hayden' last='Assemian'] - 18 Points, 10 Rebounds, and 3 Blocks</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2353453,"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/2/2024/02/Image-2-17-24-at-10.58-PM.jpeg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/Image-2-17-24-at-10.58-PM.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2353453" style="width:426px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1766181' first='Jaleel' last='McGee'] - 20 Points and 4 Assists</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2353454,"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/2/2024/02/Image-2-17-24-at-10.57-PM.jpeg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/Image-2-17-24-at-10.57-PM.jpeg?w=906" alt="" class="wp-image-2353454" style="width:425px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1849119' first='Caden' last='Kreger'] - 9 Points</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1524086' first='Tristyn' last='Carrington'] - 15 Points</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1405865' first='Nathan' last='Wilbourne'] - 16 Points and 6 Assists</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2280332,"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/2/2023/11/Image-11-23-23-at-11.32-AM.jpeg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/Image-11-23-23-at-11.32-AM.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2280332" style="width:424px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2356428' first='Alvarez' last='Smith']</strong> - 16 Points and 8 Rebounds</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2353456,"width":"422px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/Image-2-17-24-at-10.59-PM.jpeg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/Image-2-17-24-at-10.59-PM.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2353456" style="width:422px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1789300' first='Luke' last='Chapman'] - 22 Points</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1766186' first='Yasir' last='Cromer'] - 16 Points and 5 Assists</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Early Third Quarter Run Vaults Patriots to Road Playoff Win</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Friday Night's playoff featured a Top-10 Matchup in 3A: Powdersville at Daniel. [player_tooltip player_id='1766181' first='Jaleel' last='McGee'] and <strong>Hayden Anderson</strong> hit a three for their respective teams' first possession, but the early stages of the game were full of physical defense. Dribble drives from McGee and inch-perfect passing from [player_tooltip player_id='1321864' first='Nick' last='Sweet'] were the best form of offense from the Patriots and ball movement leading to open shooters worked well for the Lions. [player_tooltip player_id='1524086' first='Tristyn' last='Carrington'] banked in a three with 15 seconds left in the half to give Daniel a one-point lead going into the locker room. However, Powdersville scored the first 14 points of the second half holding Daniel without a bucket for 4 1/2 minutes. The Patriots got buckets from almost everyone on during that run including their two sets of brothers: [player_tooltip player_id='1849119' first='Caden' last='Kreger'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1997737' first='Colton' last='Kreger'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2299729' first='Von' last='Burton'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2305858' first='Quan' last='Burton']. Daniel got the lead as close as 7 late in the fourth off a Brady Jones three, but [player_tooltip player_id='1149799' first='Hayden' last='Assemian'] answered with emphatic dunks on back-to-back possessions and McGee knocked down his free throws late to seal the win. Assemian scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half and the Lions having no answers for his size and athleticism was a factor in their win. 3 teams from Region 2-3A remain in the Upper State Playoffs, and Fountain Inn's win over Travelers Rest means the Fury and the Patriots will meet for the third time this season in the Third Round of the 3A State Playoffs. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mavericks Lead Wire-to-Wire To Move Onto Third Round</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mauldin hosted River Bluff in a rare meeting between the two sides on Saturday Evening in the Second Round of the 5A State Playoffs. The Mavericks burst out of the gate on a 9-2 run getting 5 points from <strong>Jordan Sullivan</strong> and 4 from <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2356428' first='Alvarez' last='Smith']</strong>. [player_tooltip player_id='1405865' first='Nathan' last='Wilbourne'] was also key to Mauldin's early success due to his facilitating. River Bluff was forced into some tough shots and only had one made field goal in the first five minutes, but [player_tooltip player_id='1789300' first='Luke' last='Chapman'] started to hit some of those tough ones and the Gators began to find their rhythm. [player_tooltip player_id='1766186' first='Yasir' last='Cromer'], an All-State Guard who was plagued with early foul trouble, scored his first bucket with 2:45 remaining in the half to cut the Mauldin lead down to four. Chapman led all scorers at the break with 13 and Sullivan had 7 for Mauldin. The Mavericks were much more comfortable on both ends in the second half, and the game-sealing play came on an offensive rebound from [player_tooltip player_id='1982892' first='Owen' last='Stewart'], who kicked it out to Wilbourne for a three with 2 1/2 minutes left. The playmaking of Wilbourne and the persistence of Smith - on both ends of the floor - was the key to the final stages of the Mavericks' win. The Sophomore Duo is performing at a high level and gaining valuable playoff experience with each round, so the future of Mauldin Basketball is extremely bright. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>What's Next:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Powdersville: Home vs Fountain Inn on Wednesday (2/21)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mauldin: Home vs Dorman on Tuesday (2/20)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->