1/3 Weekly Roundup

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>December has given way to January and the year 2022 has given way to 2023. We have reached the point in the high school boys basketball season across South Carolina where teams are looking ahead to region play.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As fans know, the seasons of many a team are made and broken with how a team does in January. Teams that may have started the season cold through the tournament portion of the schedule can ride a hot streak through January to a region championship and a tournament berth.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We at Prep Hoops have already had the chance to attend several boys games this season – including a couple this past week that certainly peaked our interest. Here are our recaps of those two matchups.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong><em>Spartanburg vs. Clover</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Earlier in the evening, the Clover girls team took care of business against their adversaries from 5A Spartanburg with the final score being 66-46. The girls' Blue Eagles team put smiles on the faces of the Clover fans in attendance. Could the boys' team do the same?&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Vikings had already earned one close victory over the Blue Eagles on Spartanburg's home court back in early December. On an early January evening in the South Carolina Upstate, the Vikings pulled off yet another close win over Clover as they dispatched the Blue Eagles with the final score being 55-52.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>First Time For Everything…</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prior to Wednesday evening, the Blue Eagles were undefeated on its home floor.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Game of Runs</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>If the early indications for Wednesday's matchup were any indication, it appeared that Spartanburg would win by a potentially larger margin than the final result. The Vikings jumped out to a 19-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>At one point in the second quarter, Spartanburg's advantage over Clover had ballooned to as much as 13 as it was 25-12 and it appeared the Vikings were on the verge of a rout.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Blue Eagles closed the second quarter with a 13-2 scoring binge and what was a 13-point lead was cut down to two as it was 27-25 Spartanburg at the half.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Clover even had a lead at the end of the third quarter and it was tied at 52 apiece late in the fourth quarter. The Vikings drained a go-ahead 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter that turned out to be Spartanburg's margin of victory.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Primetime Performers</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1576913' first='Tony' last='Webb']</strong>, a 6-foot-2 senior wing, finished with 14 points to lead all Vikings scorers. Seven of his occurred in the fourth quarter.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1679968' first='Zeke' last='Bell-Boyd']</strong>, a 5-foot-7 freshman guard, finished with 11 points – including a trio of made 3-pointers.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1738732,"width":326,"height":213,"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/IMG_6037-crop-2435x1599-1673286293.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/IMG_6037-crop-2435x1599-1673286293.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-1738732" width="326" height="213" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A pair of guards – junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1692193' first='Brailun' last='Thomas']</strong> and freshman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1692174' first='Dyllan' last='Harris']</strong> each tallied 10 points. All of Thomas' occurred in the second half and Harris notched all of his points in the first three quarters.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1738675,"width":339,"height":222,"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/IMG_5991-crop-2242x1472-1673285569.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/IMG_5991-crop-2242x1472-1673285569.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-1738675" width="339" height="222" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As for Clover, junior 6-foot-1 guard <strong>Jaylon Hoover</strong> led all scorers with 21 points. Among those were three made 3-pointers and several made attempts from the free throw line.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1738698,"width":337,"height":220,"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/IMG_6017-crop-2141x1406-1673285914.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/IMG_6017-crop-2141x1406-1673285914.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-1738698" width="337" height="220" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1114751' first='Vincent' last='Alexander']</strong>, a 6-foot-2 senior, contributed another 20 points to the Blue Eagles' efforts.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Up Next…</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Spartanburg returned home to host a Northwestern team that had entered into Friday's play with a 6-5 record. That game resulted in a 63-60 win for the Vikings over the Trojans. As for Clover, the Blue Eagles took to the road to take on a Gaffney team that was 4-10 entering Friday's play. It resulted in a 50-34 win for Gaffney over the Blue Eagles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong><em>Oceanside Collegiate Academy vs. Woodland HS</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Wolverines' girls team did not have the best of showings earlier that evening against the Landsharks. Woodland's boys were hoping to have better luck against Oceanside Collegiate's boys.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While this matchup may have featured a pair of 2A teams, the Landsharks (Region 7-AA) and Wolverines (Region 6-AA) occupy different regions. It was, however, a game that featured two teams considered to be among the top teams in their class.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The end result was a double-digit victory for Oceanside Collegiate as their boys team completed the clean sweep their girls started by earning a 71-43 victory on Woodland's home court.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>What Happened Last Time?</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Back during the 2019-20 2A tournament, the Landsharks best the Wolverines by a final score of 81-49.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Flashbacks from Earlier</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Landsharks boys, similar to what the girls accomplished earlier in the evening, jumped out to a big lead early in the game and did not look back. The first pair of points were actually put on the board by the Wolverines before Oceanside Collegiate commenced with their offensive outburst.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With one quarter in the books, the Landsharks advantage over the Wolverines was 18-7.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With continued stellar play, that included attacking the basket and success in shooting from the perimeter, the Landsharks upped their advantage to 33-15 as both teams entered their respective locker rooms.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Oceanside Collegiate outscored Woodland in every frame – including 21-17 in the third quarter and 17-11 in the closing eight minutes.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Primetime Performers</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1738739,"width":351,"height":229,"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/IMG_6600-crop-2248x1476-1673287121.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/IMG_6600-crop-2248x1476-1673287121.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-1738739" width="351" height="229" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1107730' first='Makhi' last='Rivers']</strong>, a 5-foot-11 senior point guard, was one of two players for Oceanside Collegiate that led all scorers with an 18-point effort. In addition to playing point, Rivers also managed to find his shot from behind the 3-point line and at the free throw line.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1738750,"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/IMG_6537.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/IMG_6537.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-1738750" width="354" height="265" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The other who finished with 18 points was six-foot junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1444154' first='Travis' last='Stickney']</strong>. He scored early and often as he led the Landsharks' scoring binge in the first quarter. Stickney managed to finish strong at the rim and make plays in transition.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1738798,"width":366,"height":239,"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/IMG_6479-crop-2460x1615-1673288079.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/IMG_6479-crop-2460x1615-1673288079.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-1738798" width="366" height="239" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1107732' first='Reid' last='Warden']</strong>, another of the team's standout guards, added 17 points to the winning Oceanside Collegiate effort. Warden was a key element in the barrage of 3-pointers that the Landsharks rained all over Woodland as he was true on three of his attempts from deep.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1738821,"width":379,"height":249,"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/IMG_6617-crop-2738x1798-1673288403.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/IMG_6617-crop-2738x1798-1673288403.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-1738821" width="379" height="249" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1149795' first='Ty'ree' last='Edwards']</strong> paced the Wolverines' effort with a 12-point showing. He only had one personal foul called against him for the game and tallied nine of his 12 in the second half of play. The junior guard is one of three team captains on Woodland's roster.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Up Next</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Landsharks will open region play on the road at Academic Magnet on Tuesday while the Wolverines will take to the road to face Porter-Gaud that same day.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->