Region Play Week 2: Wren vs Powdersville & Greenwood vs Berea

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The weather outside may be frightful, but the basketball being played in the state of South Carolina is more than delightful! We are now in the thick of region play with rivalry games and matchups with playoff implications seemingly every night. This week, I was in Powdersville, as the Patriots hosted Wren and in Berea, as the Bulldogs hosted Greenwood. Take a look at my recap of this week's action:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Final Scores: </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wren 71, Powdersville 65 (OT)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Greenwood 69, Berea 50</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Notable Performers</strong>:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1341455' first='Abijah' last='Franklin'] - 35 points on 10-21 FG</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2324001,"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/2/2024/01/Image-1-17-24-at-10.20-AM.jpeg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/Image-1-17-24-at-10.20-AM.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2324001" style="width:422px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1826853' first='Jeremiah' last='Campbell'] - 15 points 3 assists 3 steals</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2323994,"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/2/2024/01/Image-1-17-24-at-10.17-AM.jpeg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/Image-1-17-24-at-10.17-AM.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2323994" style="width:424px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1541103' first='Rhett' last='Warga'] - 9 points 8 rebounds 3 assists</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2325658,"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/2/2024/01/Image-1-18-24-at-9.00-PM.jpeg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/Image-1-18-24-at-9.00-PM.jpeg?w=986" alt="" class="wp-image-2325658" style="width:423px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1543950' first='Brock' last='Cherry'] - 6 points 7 rebounds 4 assists</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1149799' first='Hayden' last='Assemian'] - 11 points 16 rebounds 3 blocks</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2325657,"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/2/2024/01/Image-1-18-24-at-8.57-PM.jpeg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/Image-1-18-24-at-8.57-PM.jpeg?w=986" alt="" class="wp-image-2325657" style="width:423px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1766181' first='Jaleel' last='McGee'] - 17 points 8 rebounds</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2325656,"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/2/2024/01/Image-1-18-24-at-9.02-PM.jpeg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/Image-1-18-24-at-9.02-PM.jpeg?w=986" alt="" class="wp-image-2325656" style="width:426px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2305858' first='Quan' last='Burton'] - 13 points</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1766178' first='Jeremiah' last='Brooks'] - 16 Points on 5-11 FG &amp; 4 Assists</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2412585' first='CJ' last='Terrell']</strong> - 13 Points on 5-10 FG &amp; 7 Rebounds</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jay Williams</strong> (Berea) - 14 Points &amp; 8 Rebounds</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1419744' first='Destin' last='Eichelberger'] - 11 Points, 8 Rebounds, &amp; 4 Assists</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2326897,"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/2/2024/01/Image-1-19-24-at-10.39-PM.jpeg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/Image-1-19-24-at-10.39-PM.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2326897" style="width:425px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1932519' first='Kingston' last='Brown'] - 10 Points</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2326898,"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/2/2024/01/Image-1-19-24-at-10.40-PM.jpeg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/Image-1-19-24-at-10.40-PM.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2326898" style="width:423px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Defending AAA State Champions Make a Statement With Region Win Over Powdersville</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Tuesday night, two teams with hopes of a State Championship met in a region matchup: Wren and Powdersville. Both teams are featured in the Top-5 in Class AAA of both the SCBCA and MaxPreps Rankings and came into the night undefeated in region play. The hosts, Powdersville, came out with intensity on both ends of the floor jumping out to a 7-0 and a 10-0 run in the first quarter, capped by a [player_tooltip player_id='1766181' first='Jaleel' last='McGee'] 3 to go up 17-6 just over halfway through the period. The Patriots did a great job of forcing the Hurricanes into tough shots and turnovers and grew their lead to as many as 17 in the second quarter. However, Wren showed a glimpse of what they could be capable of and took their play to another level. The Hurricanes cut the lead to 4 off the back of 14 second-quarter points from [player_tooltip player_id='1341455' first='Abijah' last='Franklin']. [player_tooltip player_id='2305858' first='Quan' last='Burton'] answered with some big shots at the end of the half to push the lead back to 8, which is where it stood for most of the third quarter thanks to the continued top play from Burton and McGee and some important buckets from [player_tooltip player_id='1849119' first='Caden' last='Kreger'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1149799' first='Hayden' last='Assemian']. Wren again began to chip into the lead during the fourth quarter with strong play from [player_tooltip player_id='1826853' first='Jeremiah' last='Campbell'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1543950' first='Brock' last='Cherry'], before Franklin hit another clutch shot to tie the game at 56 with 2:55 remaining. Powdersville had a good look at the end of regulation, but Burton couldn't connect from the corner and we went to OT. In OT, the Wren Offense was unable to be stopped scoring 14 points over 3 minutes including 7 points from Franklin to seal the win a secure sole possession of first place in Class AAA Region 2. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Greenwood Picks up Road Win Over Berea to Remain Undefeated in Region Play. </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Greenwood Eagles have started to make some noise with their play so far this season, coming into the game with just 3 losses and a share of first place in Class AAAA Region 1. Their matchup with Berea opened with a high pace and good offense from both teams. Greenwood's [player_tooltip player_id='1766178' first='Jeremiah' last='Brooks'] had 9 first-quarter points including a three and a couple of nice pull-up jump shots. But, it was the Eagles' defensive pressure that allowed them to begin to build a lead in the second quarter. They primarily played a 2-3 Zone, and the length of their guards - Brooks and <strong>Nyjaviese Duncan</strong> - forced the Dynamic Bulldog Duo of [player_tooltip player_id='1419744' first='Destin' last='Eichelberger'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1932519' first='Kingston' last='Brown'] into tough shots and turnovers. Big man <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2412585' first='CJ' last='Terrell']</strong> found his began to find his rhythm, getting up to 8 points and 5 boards but it was Duncan who led all scorers with 10 at the break. Berea was much better in the second half, particularly on the defensive end with some pressure, but their inability to consistently get buckets was a continuous issue. Sophomore <strong>Jay Williams</strong> was a bright spot for the Bulldogs. He had success on the offensive glass, in the dunker spot, and even stretched out to the perimeter for a couple 3's. They cut it down to as little as 15, but a fourth-quarter [player_tooltip player_id='1766178' first='Jeremiah' last='Brooks'] solo run reestablished full control for Greenwood as they moved to 14-3 overall and 2-0 in Class AAAA Region 1. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->