The host team at the Cayce Roundball Classic looked to christen its inaugural holiday tournament with an appearance in the finals.

Despite an early double-digit lead, Brookland-Cayce could not hold off visiting A.C. Flora in the American Bracket semifinal Friday. The Class 4A 5th ranked Falcons took a 50-46 win to advance to Saturday’s 3 pm final against Lakeside High School out of Evans, Ga.  

Robert McCray scored 13 of his game-high 17 points in the 2nd half to lead A.C. Flora. 

Brookland-Cayce jumped out to a 11-0 lead in the 1st 4 minutes. In a span of 2 minutes, the Falcons erased the deficit with 13 unanswered points. Consecutive baskets by Patrick Iriel, who finished with 10 points, extended A.C. Flora’s lead to 20-15 lead late in the 1st half.

The Bearcats closed out the 1st half with a 6-0 run and took the lead on 2 free throws by Jamari Kennerly with .09 left.

The Falcons quickly erased the 21-20 halftime deficit and took its biggest lead of 8 points in the 2nd half. Brookland-Cayce stayed close thanks in part to consecutive 3-pointers by Cedric Shelby and scoring by Aubrey Richardson. He finished with a team-high 11 points. 

The Bearcats were within a basket late, but a turnover and free throws by the Falcons allowed them to maintain their lead. 

Lakeside (Ga.) 66, Conway 52 

Elise Ehuie scored 23 points and Rico Gonzalez added 11 as the Panthers advanced to the American bracket final.

Lakeside jumped out to a 7-0 lead and had a commanding 44-15 halftime advantage. The Tigers, who got a game-high 25 points from Tonka Hemingway, outscored the Panthers 37-22 in the 2nd half. 

C.A. Johnson 50, Fairfield Central 45 

Desmond Martin scored 10 of his 12 points in the 2nd half and Sam Witherspoon had 9 in finishing with 12 points as well for the Hornets.

Mike Johnson also scored in double figures for C.A. Johnson with 10.

Floyd Peay led all scorers with 14 points and Melvin Peay added 12 for the Griffins.

Hammond 51, Bamberg-Ehrhardt 43

Tucker Toman had a game-high 16 points and Bentley Yates added 12 to lead the Highlanders.

Anthony Jones had a team-high 14 points for the Red Raiders.

NATIONAL BRACKET 

Lower Richland 51, Dutch Fork 47

What looked like a rout early in the 2nd half saw the Class 4A 4th ranked Diamond Hornets fight off the Class 5A 2nd ranked Silver Foxes to the very end. 

After taking an early lead, the Silver Foxes could only manage 3 field goals of the final 8 minutes of the 1st half. Meanwhile, Lower Richland used its length to capitalize on 2nd shot opportunities and points off turnovers to take a 24-13 halftime lead. 

Lower Richland broke the game open early in the 2nd half. The Diamond Hornets stretched their lead as many as 21 points before the Silver Foxes mounted a furious charge back with a 23-3 run to get within a point with less than 5 minutes left. 

Jarvis Green sparked the comeback with 12 of his team-high 14 points in the 2nd half. 

Quenton Flood kept Dutch Fork at bay with a key 3-pointer from the left corner and a layup to extend Lower Richland’s lead to 5 points. He led the Diamond Hornets with 16 points, followed by Dajon Townsend with 12. 

A pair of turnovers in the final 2 minutes when Dutch Fork had an opportunity to get within a basket enabled Lower Richland to hold on for the win. The Diamond Hornets will face Fleming Island in the National Bracket final at 4:30 pm. 

Fleming Island 61, Westwood 58 (OT) 

South Aiken 77, Gilbert 50

Jonathan Burns scored 14 points and Omarion Chandler added 12 to lead the Thoroughbreds over the Indians.

Jy Tolen had 14 points and Brian Scirele added 9 for Gilbert.

Lugoff-Elgin 59, Westside 58 (OT)

Devante Johnson hit a 3-pointer with a second remaining in overtime to lead the Demons to victory.

Johnson finished with a game-high 27 points and teammate Kyjuan Gadson added 10 for Lugoff-Elgin. 

Khalon Hudson led the Patriots with 14 points. J’Quan Collier had 11 and Greg Smith finished with 10 for Westside. 

It was the 2nd straight loss by the exact same score at the Roundball Classic for the Patriots. They were defeated by Westwood on Thursday.

SATURDAY’S CAYCE ROUNDBALL CLASSIC SCHEDULE

AMERICAN BRACKET 

(Old Gym) 

Fairfield Central vs. Bamberg-Ehrhardt 9 am

(New Gym) 

C.A. Johnson vs. Hammond 9 am 

Brookland-Cayce vs. Conway noon 

A.C. Flora vs. Lakeside (Ga.) 3 pm 

NATIONAL BRACKET 

(Old Gym) 

Gilbert vs. Westside 10:30 am 

(New Gym)

South Aiken vs. Lugoff-Elgin 10:30 am 

Westwood vs. Dutch Fork 1:30 pm 

Fleming vs. Lower Richland 4:30 pm.