CLASH OF CHAMPIONS - Gray Collegiate defeats Ridge View 62-59 at MLK Bash

THOMAS GRANT JR.
chroniclesports@yahoo.com
Posted 1/20/20

Monday's finale of the 5th annual Crescent Construction Martin Luther King Jr. Bash pitted 2 defending boys' basketball champions against each other.

Class 4A champion Ridge View and 2-time …

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CLASH OF CHAMPIONS - Gray Collegiate defeats Ridge View 62-59 at MLK Bash

Posted

Monday's finale of the 5th annual Crescent Construction Martin Luther King Jr. Bash pitted 2 defending boys' basketball champions against each other.
Class 4A champion Ridge View and 2-time defending Class 2A titleholder Gray Collegiate battled for 30 minutes at George Glymph Gymnasium inside Eau Claire High School. 
The contest came down to the final seconds with the War Eagles holding on for a 62-59 victory over the Blazers. It was their 1st win in 3 tries against Ridge View (11-6, 3-0). 
Tauris Watson led Gray Collegiate (11-7, 0-1) with 22 points to earn Game Most Valuable Hoopa honors. Zaire Rogers had 8 of his 12 points in the 2nd half, including a go-ahead layup with 40 seconds left.
"We've been telling Zaire all season that you've got a great body, but you need to start throwing it around a little more," Gray Collegiate head coach Dion Bethea said. "You're too athletic and long not to play physical. He's coming along. He's doing a good job of playing better. So I was happy about that, that he had an opportunity to show tonight." 
Gray Collegiate jumped out to a 11-2 lead. Chase McDuffie connected on 2 of his 3 3-pointers and scored all 11 of his points in the 1st half.
The War Eagles led as many as 10 points in the 1st half. Fullcourt pressure defense and offensive rebounding enabled Ridge View to close the gap to within 4 points before heading to the lockerroom down 29-23.
Ja'Von Benson scored 10 of his game-high 23 points in the 2nd half. 
Ridge View made its charge at the 10-minute mark of the 2nd half. After a driving layup by Watson made it 42-36, the Blazers went on a 10-3 run to take a 46-45 lead following a steal and 3-point play by Jordan Smith.
Watson proceeded to score 5 points during a 9-2 run by the War Eagles which put them ahead 54-47. Ridge View answered with a 7-2 run of its own in which Jaylon Jeter scored 4 straight points on 2 free throws and a layup off a steal to reclaim the lead at 58-56 with 1:21 left.
Rogers scored the next 4 points for Gray Collegiate. He tipped in a missed free throw to tie the game, then converted a layup to put the War Eagles up 60-58.
After Ridge View made 1-2 free throws, Gray Collegiate was whistled for a 10-second violation. Greg Jackson was fouled with 8 seconds left, but missed both free throws.
Rogers was fouled with 6.6 seconds left. He mised the front end of the 1-and-1, but Lataviah Lawrence made the putback. Ridge View attempted a final shot, but it hit the front rim at the buzzer.
Gray Collegiate now turns its attention back to Region 3-2A. The War Eagles travel to Calhoun County Tuesday looking to keep pace with the Saints, C.A. Johnson and Columbia.
The Capitols handed the War Eagles a 88-81 loss on Jan. 10. 
"Our region, I think the talent level is there," Bethea said. "They don't give Calhoun County or Columbia a lot of respect. Both of those teams are solid teams. They've gotten a whole lot better. We need to make sure that we're on our A game and get prepared for them."

MLK HOLIDAY BASKETBALL SHOWCASE
Brookland-Cayce 63, Rock Hill 43

Cha'Mar Martin scored 19 points and Aubrey Richardson had 13 of his 15 points in the 2nd half to lead the Bearcats at York High School. 
Richardson earned Game MVP honors for Brookland-Cayce (11-7, 1-1), who travel to Midland Valley Tuesday. 
 

Gray Collegiate, basketball, Bethea

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