Gilmer's Gospel

     Two-point shots just aren’t as appealing to the Greer Yellow Jackets.
     They like to jack up the 3-pointers.
     Tuesday night on the road against Union County, Greer’s players hoisted up 31 from behind the 3-point line.
     That would be a lot if you aren’t hitting the shots. These Yellow Jackets hit 11 in the 81-69 win.
     And they hit them in big spots.
     Joseph Neely nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to increase a four-point halftime lead to 10.
     Neely, Chris Dean and Chandler Hash each knocked down a triple in the first quarter’s 13-0 run.
     When one gets hot, the others follow suit.
     “We’re a shooting team,” Hash said. “We like to come in and shoot the lights out.”
     They weren’t all the way out in Union. Maybe a little dimmed.
     Union County coach Joe Pitt expected that out of Tuesday’s opponent. He’d seen them twice and watched a couple of films, too.
     He knew they would jack up shots quick. And accurately.
     “If you hit 11 3’s, you’re going to win most ball games,” Pitt said.

 

Here are some of the standout basketball performances from last week. These were submitted by local coaches.


Jalen Martin, Chesnee: Martin averaged 17.5 points and six rebounds in two region contests. He scored 18 points and had seven rebounds against Palmetto and then scored 17 points and grabbed five rebounds against Carolina. He was 62 percent from the field and 60 percent from 3-point range. He also had six steals and three assists.

Kierra Phillips, Gaffney: Phillips had 21 points against Fort Mill and 14 points against Northwestern in back-to-back region wins. She averaged 3.8 rebounds, 2.7 steals and 1 assist during the week.

Alex Wilson, Landrum: Wilson (at right in a Tim Kimzey photo) continues to lead the Cardinals. He had 16 points and 10 rebounds against Liberty and 19 points and eight rebounds against Christ Church. He was 15 of 17 from the free throw line.

Devin Booker, Union County: Booker helped the Yellow Jackets to back-to-back wins last week. He scored 38 points and grabbed 16 rebounds against Chapman and then scored 26 points and had seven rebounds against Clinton. He had 12 blocks during the week, including nine against Clinton.

DeShaun Hall, Landrum: Hall scored 11 points against Liberty and 17 against Christ Church. He had five assists and five rebounds in each game.

Corey McDowell, Landrum: McDowell came off the bench and had 15 points and 15 rebounds against Liberty. He also had two steals and two blocks. He had eight rebounds and five points against Christ Church.

Andre Whitmire, Spartanburg: Whitmire had 40 points and 17 rebounds in two region wins. He had 18 points and nine rebounds against Boiling Springs and 22 points and eight rebounds against Dorman.

Mykessa Glenn, Chesnee: Glenn posted back-to-back double-doubles last week in region wins. She had 22 points and 10 rebounds against Palmetto and 25 points and 13 rebounds against Carolina.
 

     If the preseason rankings are any indication, the Region II-4A championship is going to be as hard to win as the state title.
     Maybe harder.
     There are four region teams ranked in the top 10: Dorman (1), Boiling Springs (2), Mauldin (7) and Hillcrest (10).
     Not to mention the fact that Byrnes has some good arms returning and Spartanburg also has good players back.
     This region is always back-and-forth, but it may be even tougher to pick a champion halfway through the region schedule.
     I know it is basketball season, but we’re edging closer to spring sports. Teams can break out the bats and balls on Monday and by the end of February games will be happening.
     And when it comes to region play, this will be the region to watch.
     “It’s a 10-game shootout. We know that any team in our region can beat any team on any night,” Boiling Springs coach Jeff Lipscomb said. “It’s a dogfight every Tuesday and Friday.”
     Dorman coach Ben Waddle agreed on it being a dogfight and he knows that you’re going to see every team’s best pitcher.
     “You’re going to get someone’s No. 1 almost every game,” he said.
     And that’s what will make or break teams in this region – pitching.
     It’ll be fun to sit and watch from the bleachers as this region goes down to the wire.

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     Who do you think will win the region?
    
     What did you think of the Boiling Springs, the defending 4A champions, being ranked second in the preseason poll?

     The move to Region III-4A hasn’t been too hard for either Gaffney basketball team.
     Actually, it’s been quite helpful.
     Last season, as members of Region II-4A, neither team of Indians advanced to the playoffs.
     This year, the two teams are leading the region standings.
     On Friday the boys took sole possession of first place with a win over Northwestern. The Trojans are the only other team with a winning record in region play.
     The girls are also 4-0 in the region, but have two teams on their tails, with Nation Ford and York each at 3-1.
     Being at the top wasn’t where the Gaffney teams were last season. The boys team finished 6-6 in region play and in fifth place, while the girls were 2-10 and in sixth place.
     The boys had a good non-region record (9-1) but didn’t transfer that to a good region year. No problems with that this season.
     Maybe Region II-4A is a bit tougher, but maybe not.
     Maybe the two Gaffney teams are just better.
     Three starters from last season – including all-region players Josh Corry and Jeffrey Brown – are back this year. Those two are certainly helping the squad, as they are among the area’s leaders in scoring.
     After the run Mark Huff’s teams have made this decade, seeing a winner in Gaffney is almost expected.
     They still utilize the press that Huff has won so many games with and maybe the teams in Region III just aren’t accustomed to it.
     For the girls, second-year coach Stacey Parris has her team pushing the tempo and playing tough defense.
     They had four starters and 11 total players back from last year’s team. Eleven players will also be back next season, which should scare everyone else in the region. If they’ve gotten this much better from Year 1 to Year 2 under Parris, what will happen next year?
     These Indians are certainly scalping the opposition at the moment, but there are still a few weeks left to see who will come out on top of this region.

Boys
                   Overall    Region
Gaffney         15-2      4-0
Northwestern  11-6      3-1
Clover           15-3      2-2
Fort Mill         11-7      2-2
Nation Ford    6-11      1-3
York             6-11      0-4


Girls
                  Overall    Region
Gaffney        11-4       4-0
Nation Ford   12-4       3-1
York            10-8       3-1
Northwestern 10-6      1-3
Clover           7-9       1-3
Fort Mill         2-15     0-4

Broome's Lance Lee wrestles during a duals match against Woodruff on Thursday night. (Photo by Tim Kimzey)

    There’s a big reason why I enjoy duals matches instead of singles tournaments.
     Duals matches are all about the team.
     Thursday night, I sat in the stands and watched a back-and-forth match between Broome and Woodruff.
     The Wolverines jumped up 25-6, but Broome rallied to take the lead. Then the lead changed in each of the final three matches.
     When all that began, the wrestlers got excited.
     They stood behind the bench and screamed. They hugged, back-slapped and celebrated when a match was won. They consoled each other after a loss.
     Matthew Orias won the match with pin in the last weight class of the night. The Woodruff bench exploded.
     In duals matches, even someone who loses can be a winner.
     Because team points are counted and different amount of points are awarded based on the type of win – three points for a decision, four points for a major decision, five points for a technical fall and six points for a pin.
     So if a wrestler staves off a pin, but loses by a decision, he helps his team by not giving an opponent six points.
     “All close matches won by staying off your back. Getting pinned is how you lose big matches,” Woodruff coach Daniel Westmoreland said. “So it’s big when you stay off your back.”
     At singles tournaments, your teammates are scattered all over the gym or wrestling on a different mat. Coaches have to sit down and can’t get too animated.
     Dual matches, though, the focus is on one mat and the match going on. It because a great team sport.
     And it’s great to watch.
     I do, though, have some ways to make duals matches a bit more exciting, simply by bringing in some element from WWE. (And yes, I’m joking with all of these.)

     10. Mascots fighting.
     9. Coaches with tennis rackets, urns and megaphones.
     8. Pay-per-view events.
     7. Turnbuckles to jump off of.
     6. Valets.
     5. Hair vs. hair matches.
     4. Lumberjacks to keep wrestlers in the circle.
     3. Wrestler cutting cliché–laden promos.
     2. Masks.
     1. Cage matches.