It’s an all-Region 5-5A matchup in the Lake Murray Tipoff Classic Wednesday at Lexington High School.

The Wildcats, along with fellow co-host school White Knoll, advanced to the 12:45 championship game following lopsided home wins. 

The Timberwolves defeated Barnwell 85-52. They opened up an early lead by moving the ball well and minimizing turnovers in the first period along with taking high percentage shots off transition play.

This enabled White Knoll to take a 20-9 at the end of the 1st quarter. White Knoll’s defensive strategy denied Barnwell’s transition game by shutting down the passing lanes and getting back quickly to defend the basket.

White Knoll led 36-16 at the break. 

In the third quarter, the Timberwolves lost some focus for several trips down the court. This allowed Barnwell to make a run and cut the lead to 41-30 with 3 minutes left in the third period. A well-timed timeout from new Timberwolves head coach Darrick Cureton got the Timberwolves players’ attention, as Jaylen Ray scored on a dunk at the end of the third quarter and a 3-pointer from the corner to start the 4th quarter to put White Knoll ahead 53-40.

It wouldn’t get any closer down the stretch. The Timberwolves widened their lead in the final period, scoring both in transition and from 3-point range.

In all, 11 of the 13 White Knoll players scored at some point in the game. Ray finished with 20 points to lead the scoring and L.J. Curry added 14. 

Over at Wildcat Gymnasium, Lexington advanced to the championship with a 77-43 win over Batesburg-Leesville. 

OTHER GAMES 

Mid-Carolina 62, East Clarendon 27 

The duo of Zavier Measmer and Cam Scott erupted for double-digit points in the 2nd quarter. They combined for 24 of the Wildcats’ 27 points as Lexington turned a 1-point lead after the 1st quarter into a 43-28 halftime advantage.

After Lexington stretched its lead to 30 points at the end of the 3rd quarter, Dillon Harris had another productive 4th quarter with 8 of his 9 points. 

“P-Nut” Hyland scored a game-high 15 points for Batesburg-Leesville.