HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS - Dutch Fork, Irmo advance to 3rd round

River Bluff boys fall at Carolina Forest

THOMAS GRANT JR.
chroniclesports@yahoo.com
Posted 2/22/20

Playing football for South Carolina's reigning Class 5A dynasty helped seniors Jarvis McClurkin and Dimarco Johnson develop a winning mindset. 

Saturday night at home, that championship …

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HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS - Dutch Fork, Irmo advance to 3rd round

River Bluff boys fall at Carolina Forest

Posted


Playing football for South Carolina's reigning Class 5A dynasty helped seniors Jarvis McClurkin and Dimarco Johnson develop a winning mindset. 
Saturday night at home, that championship mettle helped carry the Silver Foxes to a 57-52 win over West Florence in the 2nd round of the Class 5A playoffs.
McClurkin scored 9 of his co-game high 22 points in the 4th quarter and Johnson finished with 17 points to lead Dutch Fork. 
"Jarvis McClurkin hit some big shots, big free throws," Dutch Fork head coach Brett Jones said. "DiMarco had some big shots in the paint. A.J. (Knight) was sick, but he really battled through it and I kept telling him if we had really good point guard play, we'd win this game. (West Florence) was so physical. They're a good team.
"We tried to give them a couple easy ones. But, proud of the effort. We kept fighting and fighting. We're undersized. But we fight all the time. We fight hard and made some shots there. So, I'm proud of the guys."
Dutch Fork held a 1-point lead after 1 quarter. After briefly falling behind in the 2nd quarter, they rallied to take a 30-26 advantage into the lockerroom.
The Knights kept within striking distance in the 2nd half. Skaheem White scored 9 of his 13 points in the 3rd quarter and junior forward Travis Cooper led the way with 22 points. 
West Florence (17-9) got within 2 with less than 5 minutes remaining. McClurkin and Johnson proceeded to combine for 8 points to push Dutch Fork's lead to 54-47 with 1:54 left.
A 3-pointer by Darren Lloyd brought the Knights to within 54-50 with 1:38 left. They were unable to score on the next 2 possessions, the latter resulted in a steal by McClurkin with 19.8 seconds left.
West Florence fouled McClurkin, who hit 2 more free throws to seal the win.
"Playing football, it really helps us, especially in the weight room," McClurkin said. "And the coaches are a lot harder on us in football, so we know how to handle it here. And football, it's toughness. So when we come to basketball, we come with the same mindset."
"The younger guys, they listen to us because they know we've been through the wars," Johnson said. "They listen to us. We tell them 'We're going to need you to help us' and they buy into that."
Awaiting Dutch Fork (19-9) Tuesday in the 3rd round is a very familiar Lowcountry foe. For the 2nd time this season, McClurkin and Johnson will travel to Fort Dorchester, a 55-53 winner over Carolina Forest, for a berth in the state semifinals. 
It was last November when Dutch Fork blanked the Patriots 48-0 in the 3rd round of the Lower State playoffs. The Silver Foxes now look to do the same for a trip to the Florence Civic Center.


Irmo 59, Clover 34
What was a 7-point deficit in the 1st quarter turned into an eventual comfortable 2nd round win for the 2nd ranked Yellow Jackets.
C.J. Washington posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds Juice Keitt and Khari Felder each added 10 points to lead Irmo (24-3) to its 14th straight win and career victory number 781 for head coach Tim Whipple.
The Blue Eagles (19-9) jumped out to an 11-4 lead midway in the 1st quarter as they found success from 3-point range. The Yellow Jackets charged back with a 7-2 run to get within 13-11 heading into the 2nd quarter.
With the game tied at 18-18 midway in the 2nd quarter, Irmo proceeded to shut down Clover and scored the final 10 points of the 1st half to take a 28-18 lead.
The Yellow Jackets held the Blue Eagles to 8 points in the 3rd and 4th quarters. Rivaldy Judge's basket just before the buzzer gave Irmo its biggest lead of the game. 
Standing in the way of a 2nd state semifinal appearance in 3 years is Wade Hampton. The 4th ranked Generals defeated 5th ranked Mauldin 69-60 and will make the trip to The Temple of Doom Tuesday. 


Gray Collegiate 82, Fox Creek 40
The 2-time defending Class 2A champion and top-ranked War Eagles extended their overall winning streak to 12 and playoff winning streak to 13 following Saturday's rout at Allen University.
Chase McDuffie led Gray Collegiate (22-6) with 15 points, followed by Tauris Watson with 13 and S.C. Basketball Coaches Association's Player of the Year Latavian Lawrence with 10. 
The War Eagles play host Tuesday to 2nd ranked Christ Church, a 62-47 winner over Lee Central, for a berth in the Class 2A Upper State final.


Conway 57, River Bluff 47
The Gators jumped out to a 7-0 lead, but was unable to sustain it against the host team and 10th ranked Tigers.
Conway (12-10) rallied to take a 14-13 lead into the 2nd quarter where it increased the margin as high as 8 points. Two-sport All-State senior and University of South Carolina signee Tonka Hemingway had a game-high 27 points, Carlton Terry had 11 and Tim Steele finished with 10 for the Tigers. 
Grayson Renner led the Gators with 15 points and Josh Cranshaw added 10. River Bluff finished with a 19-9 record. 


S.C. HIGH SCHOOL LEAGUE SCHEDULE
(GIRLS)

Monday's Games 
T.L. Hanna at Irmo 7 pm
River Bluff at Goose Creek 7 pm 


 

Dutch Fork, basketball, Jones, McClurkin

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