The Gray Collegiate War Eagles defeated Chesnee 91-39 on Tuesday night, advancing to the second round of the SCHSL 2A playoffs.

Gray Collegiate entered this game finishing 26-6 in the regular season while going 8-0 in 2A Region 4, earning a No. 1 seed for the SCHSL 2A tournament. Chesnee finished 14-12 in the regular season, going 5-5 in 2A Region 1 play, entering as a No. 4 seed. 

Gray Collegiate, the reigning back-to-back 2A state champions in 2022 and 2023, are looking to make it a three-peat, and the team got off to a great start toward accomplishing that goal.

Gray Collegiate started strong and didn’t look back, taking a 21-0 lead in the first quarter before Chesnee recorded their first field goal. That massive spurt to begin the game was capped by a thunderous slam from junior guard Treyvon Maddox.

“I thought defensively we were real solid, and the kids did a great job sharing the ball and playing together,” said head coach Dion Bethea.

Gray Collegiate excelled in the first half in their halfcourt pressure, forcing turnovers that led to fast-break opportunities often capped off with ferocious slams. Junior guard Quan McDuffie and Maddox were often on the receiving end of those dunks.

The War Eagles entered the second half leading 62-15, where the exciting buckets continued to pour in. 

In the first play of the half, junior guard LJ Britt threw a beautiful backdoor alley-oop lob to senior wing Braylhan Thomas, which brought even more momentum toward Gray Collegiate, which the team carried through the rest of the contest.

Thomas may have been the most impressive player for Gray Collegiate, scoring 14 points on 7-8 shooting, along with bringing down nine rebounds. Thomas led an impressive all-around team effort from Gray Collegiate that saw six players go into double-digit scoring.

“Braylhan’s got something he wants to prove,” Bethea said. “Last year he came in halfway through the season, and he was a part of the team, but he wanted to make sure this year he left a statement showing that he can lead a team to a state championship too.”

Despite not necessarily performing well from behind the arc, shooting 7-30 as a team, Gray Collegiate was utterly dominant from inside, shooting 25-33 as a team on two-point field goals. 

The War Eagles were also particularly great on the offensive glass, recording 15 offensive rebounds to generate plenty of second-chance opportunities in the paint.

“It transferred over from practice to the game,” Bethea said. “They go extremely hard in practice, and the staff and myself do a great job of just making sure that they’re game-ready.”

Another star performance from the War Eagles was Britt, who recorded 11 points, seven assists, and seven steals. His defense in the full-court was incredibly beneficial, while many of his assists came in fast break opportunities. 

Likewise, sophomore guard Jaden Gerald went for 17 points, shooting 5-9, with four of those makes coming from three.

Gray Collegiate will continue its quest for another 2A State Championship at home Friday night at 7 p.m. when the team takes on Abbeville.