Playoff Roundup: Powdersville vs Daniel & Mauldin vs River Bluff
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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…
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Continue ReadingHigh 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. Check out my recap of these two high-level playoff encounters:
Notable Performances:
Hayden Assemian Hayden Assemian 6'8" | PF Powdersville | 2025 State #186 Nation SC – 18 Points, 10 Rebounds, and 3 Blocks
Jaleel McGee Jaleel McGee 6'1" | PG Powdersville | 2025 State SC – 20 Points and 4 Assists
Caden Kreger Caden Kreger 6'7" | SF Powdersville | 2024 State SC – 9 Points
Tristyn Carrington Tristyn Carrington 6'3" | SF Daniel | 2025 State SC – 15 Points
Nathan Wilbourne Nathan Wilbourne 6'2" | PG Mauldin | 2026 State SC – 16 Points and 6 Assists
Alvarez Smith Alvarez Smith 6'2" | SF Mauldin | 2026 SC – 16 Points and 8 Rebounds
Luke Chapman Luke Chapman 6'4" | SG River Bluff | 2024 State SC – 22 Points
Yasir Cromer Yasir Cromer 5'10" | PG River Bluff | 2025 State SC – 16 Points and 5 Assists
Early Third Quarter Run Vaults Patriots to Road Playoff Win
Friday Night’s playoff featured a Top-10 Matchup in 3A: Powdersville at Daniel. Jaleel McGee Jaleel McGee 6'1" | PG Powdersville | 2025 State SC and Hayden Anderson 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 Nick Sweet Nick Sweet 6'3" | SG Powdersville | 2024 State SC were the best form of offense from the Patriots and ball movement leading to open shooters worked well for the Lions. Tristyn Carrington Tristyn Carrington 6'3" | SF Daniel | 2025 State SC 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: Caden Kreger Caden Kreger 6'7" | SF Powdersville | 2024 State SC and Colton Kreger Colton Kreger 6'4" | SG Powdersville | 2027 State SC and Von Burton Von Burton 5'11" | SG Powdersville | 2025 State SC and Quan Burton Quan Burton 5'11" | PG Powdersville | 2025 State SC . Daniel got the lead as close as 7 late in the fourth off a Brady Jones three, but Hayden Assemian Hayden Assemian 6'8" | PF Powdersville | 2025 State #186 Nation SC 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.
Mavericks Lead Wire-to-Wire To Move Onto Third Round
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 Jordan Sullivan and 4 from Alvarez Smith Alvarez Smith 6'2" | SF Mauldin | 2026 SC . Nathan Wilbourne Nathan Wilbourne 6'2" | PG Mauldin | 2026 State SC 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 Luke Chapman Luke Chapman 6'4" | SG River Bluff | 2024 State SC started to hit some of those tough ones and the Gators began to find their rhythm. Yasir Cromer Yasir Cromer 5'10" | PG River Bluff | 2025 State SC , 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 Owen Stewart Owen Stewart 6'5" | SG Mauldin | 2024 State SC , 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.
What’s Next:
Powdersville: Home vs Fountain Inn on Wednesday (2/21)
Mauldin: Home vs Dorman on Tuesday (2/20)