Tuesday was a night of first for the Brookland-Cayce boys’ basketball team.

The 7th ranked Bearcats were not only playing their 1st Region 5-3A game at home against Fox Creek. It was also their 1st game of 2021 and 1st since Dec. 9, 2020 - a span of 42 days.

Despite the layoff, Brookland-Cayce came away with the 57-45 victory over the Predators. Jahmari Kennerly had 19 points, Aubrey Richardson scored 18 and Christian Ferguson added 13 to lead the Bearcats.

Afterwards, Brookland-Cayce head coach Robert Wells felt fortunate for his team to have played through their rustiness for the win. 

“We looked out of sync a lot,” he said. “I thought we played good at times. I just thought at times we got out of character. We lost our fundamentals. But the guys played hard. We’ve got to keep working. We’re not going to get it back. We’re not going to get 42 days back in 3 days.”

The Bearcats had a 13-4 lead at the end of the 1st quarter. The Predators responded with 11 unanswered points to take a 15-13 advantage in the 2nd quarter. 

Brookland-Cayce turned up the defensive intensity to create transition points during a 14-3 run in the final 3:25 of the 1st half. Back-to-back layups off steals by Kennerly gave the Bearcats a 27-13 halftime lead.

The Bearcats increased their lead to 13 points in the 2nd half. Fox Creek, which was led by Jadon Johnson’s 10 points and 9 from She’keim Young, closed the gap to 41-43 with less than 7 minutes left in the game.

Ferguson answered with back-to-back 3 pointers to provide a cushion with 4 minutes remaining.

The Predators were held to 2 points the rest of the way. 

The 2 teams meet again Friday in North Augusta. The Bearcats (5-1, 1-0) will then play host to Class 5A number 1 Ridge View Saturday. No word is to whether the girls will make their 2021 debut. The games can be heard online at 1620 AM. 

White Knoll 52, River Bluff 49 (2OT) 

LJ Curry’s 3-pointer at the buzzer in the 2nd overtime lifted the Timberwolves to victory over the Gators. 

Jaylen Ray led White Knoll (4-3, 1-1) with 17 points, followed by Curray with 11 and Devin Stone with 9. Up next is 1st place Dutch Fork on Friday at home, while the Gators (7-3, 2-2) travel to Chapin. 

Myles Jenkins had a game-high 20 points and Malachi Reeves finished with 14 in defeat. 

Lexington 49, Chapin 33

Cam Scott scored 13 points, Zavian Measmer added 10 and Swae Young grabbed 15 rebounds as the Wildcats (7-4, 3-4) avenged a loss 4 days earlier to the Eagles. 

Lexington will next face White Knoll for the 3rd time this season. 

Gray Collegiate 97, Saluda 33 

The top-ranked and 3-time defending Class 2A champion War Eagles drew closer to a 4th straight region title following Tuesday’s win at Allen University. 

Chase McDuffie had 20 points, Timothy Barnes finished with 18 and Brandon Garner added 15 to lead Gray Collegiate (13-4, 4-0). 

AC Flora 51, Irmo 45

Wake Forest signee Robert McCray had 20 points to lead the top-ranked Falcons over the 5th ranked Yellow Jackets.

Dylan Williams led Irmo (5-5, 2-1) with 18 points. Juice Keitt had 11 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds and Nick Emmanwori added 9 points and 11 rebounds. 

The 2 teams meet again Friday in Columbia.  

Swansea 54, Gilbert 45

Tymir Lowman and MJ Reed each scored 11 points to lead the Tigers.

Darius Wigfall had a game-high 21 points for the Indians. 

Orangeburg Prep 69, Northside Christian 42 

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Lexington 74, Chapin 25

The 8th ranked Lady Wildcats moved a step closer to a 3rd consecutive Region 5-5A title after sweeping the regular season series with the Lady Eagles.

Alexis Sexton led Lexington (6-2, 5-1) with 18 points. Jenna Yanity had 13 and Lindsay Garner finished with 12 as the Lady Wildcats can clinch the region title with a win Jan. 26 versus White Knoll.

Trinity Curry had 8 points and McKenzie Lott added 6 for Chapin.

AC Flora 46, Irmo 35

The Lady Yellow Jackets suffered their 1st loss of the season at the hands of the Lady Falcons.

Terriana Gray had 14 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals and Jazzy Frierson added 10 points and 4 assists for AC Flora. 

Alani Liriano had 9 points and Mycah Seabrook added 8 for Irmo (9-1, 4-1). The 2 teams meet again Friday in Columbia. 

Orangeburg Prep 55, Northside Christian 17