A total of 9 boys basketball teams have won 3 consecutive S.C. High School League titles.

Friday night at Carolina Life Arena, Gray Collegiate Academy joined that elite fraternity. The War Eagles defeated Whale Branch 53-39 to retain the Class 2A title for the 3rd straight year. 

Chase McDuffie scored a game-high 20 points and senior Tauris Watson added 11 to lead Gray Collegiate (25-6) to their 15th straight victory.

“We still have a target on our back and everybody is giving us their best shot,” Gray Collegiate head coach Dion Bethea said. “But I tell you what the turning point for us was the loss to Columbia (a 88-81 loss on Jan. 10...and the guys all bought it.” 

A steal by Tory Kelly resulted in 1-2 free throws to start the game. The Warriors answered with 9 unanswered points sparked by All-State center Nick Pringle 

Watson led a 16-2 run with 5 straight points. With Pringle getting into early foul trouble, Gray Collegiate held the Warriors scoreless the final 4:50 of the 1st quarter to take a 17-11 lead. 

“We went through a lot of ups and downs this season and it prepared us for this moment,” McDuffie said.

After Watson left the game with 2 personal fouls, the Warriors rallied again behind senior guard Shawn Chisolm, who finished with 13, and Pringle. He had 4 straight points, including a monstrous slam dunk putback that tied the game at 22-22.

The 1st half ended the way it started. A steal by Kristopher Wallace turned into a layup by R.J. Howell to put Gray Collegiate ahead at the break. 

“We stayed level,” Watson said. “They were going to make their run. They did a great job coming out making their run. We just stayed level-handed. Everybody stayed calm. This was our game. This was something we prepared for.”

It was the only points of the game for the son of former Gamecock forward Rolando Howell. 

The War Eagles did not trail again. After making just 2-9 from 3-point range in the 1st half, Gray Collegiate opened the 2nd half with 1 from behind the arc by McDuffie to take a 5-point lead.

Gray Collegiate managed to extend its lead to 39-31 at the end of the 3rd quarter. After Pringle fouled out with 5:44 left in the game to finish with 11 points,, Latavian Lawrence connected on 3 of his 9 points to push the lead out to 45-33. 

The Warriors got no closer as they were held to their lowest point total of the season.  With the championship at hand, Watson added an exclamation point with the final minute with a breakaway slam dunk.

“Defense is everything us,” Watson said. “They said at the beginning of the year that we were just athletes. But we showed that we’re more than that.”

The War Eagles will look next season to join Calhoun County as the only schools in the modern SCHSL era to win 4 straight titles.