Lexington, White Knoll split basketball doubleheader

Posted 1/31/20

Lexington and White Knoll had rematches of their Region 5-5A opening games from a few weeks ago Friday night with nearly opposite results. 

Last time around, the Lady Wildcat girls lost by …

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Lexington, White Knoll split basketball doubleheader

Posted

Lexington and White Knoll had rematches of their Region 5-5A opening games from a few weeks ago Friday night with nearly opposite results. 

Last time around, the Lady Wildcat girls lost by a point and the boys won by a point. 

This time, Lexington’s girls varsity team took a close 40-38 win and the Timberwolves boys varsity defeated the Wildcats 52-41 in a game where they led nearly the entire way.

The Lady Wildcats controlled the first half of their matchup with the Timberwolves by running the floor effectively and scoring from multiple offensive rebounds. White Knoll struggled to score, with a 3-point shot from Janyiah Cowan making it only 15-8 at the half with Lexington in the lead.

The Timberwolves managed to draw closer in the third period through foul shooting. A 3-pointer cut the Wildcats’ lead down to 25-24 after White Knoll scored to open the fourth. 

The Timberwolves kept it close, scoring off turnovers and fast break points, but they couldn’t catch up to the Lexington Wildcats. Down the stretch, Alexis Sexton hit 4 free throws to hold off the Lady Timberwolves. 

With the win and River Bluff idle, the Lady Wildcats (12-8, 4-1) moved into sole possession of 1st place in the region. 

In the boy’s game, White Knoll started with good penetration in the paint but missed a number of free throw opportunities. Meanwhile, the Wildcats had a difficult time with the swarming defense of the Timberwolves and made multiple mistakes and turnovers as a result of the pressure en route to a 32-14 halftime score in favor of White Knoll. 

In the 2nd half, Lexington employed a more frequent press on defense to slow down the Timberwolves. White Knoll still extended its lead by the end of the third to 43-23.

Late scoring by the Wildcats was offset by the Timberwolves’ foul shooting that saw them scoring their last five points at the line. 

“That’s the effort we have to play with every night,” Timberwolves head coach Devin Liferidge said after the win. “We challenged them to not let up, because we did that at Lexington when we played there and let them take hold of that game.” 

 

The loss dropped Lexington (13-9, 3-2) dropped Lexington out of 1st place in Region 5-5A behind Dutch Fork. White Knoll (14-9, 2-3) snapped a 3-game losing streak. 

The cross-town rivalry between Lexington and White Knoll has become a catalyst for some great matchups. Liferidge noted the large attendance, the televising of the game by WACH 57 as part of its Rush’s High School Hoops series  all of which added to the excitement.

“That’s probably the best basketball environment tonight in this building since we’ve been here,” Liferidge said. “We need that here in Red Bank, and I’m happy our kids get to play in these kind of games.”

Jalen Jennings, honored at the start of the game for reaching the 1000 career points mark in his previous game, finished with 13 to lead the Timberwolves. Cameron Scott put in 18 to lead the Wildcats’ scoring. 

White Knoll’s next region game is Tuesday against Chapin. Lexington plays host Dutch Fork on Feb. 7. 

BOYS BASKETBALL

Irmo 77, Spring Valley 50 

C.J. Washington had 19 points and 20 rebounds and was 1 of 5 players in double figures for the 3rd ranked Yellow Jackets who remained undefeated in Region 4-5A.

Xavier Forest scored 16 points, had 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals. Dylan Williams finished with 12 points and Khari Felder and Juice Keitt each tallied 11 points.

The Yellow Jackets play host to Blythewood Tuesday. 

Dutch Fork 45, Chapin 40

The Silver Foxes avenged an earlier loss and moved into 1st place in Region 5-5A with the win.

Dutch Fork (15-6, 4-1) will visit Lexington Tuesday. 

Midland Valley 50, Airport 32

Cardinal Newman 63, Gray Collegiate 19 

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Irmo 71, Spring Valley 40

Jayla Lovett scored 19 points, Ehrial Wagstaff had 17 and Nina Johnson added 15 as the 2nd ranked Lady Yellow Jackets remained undefeated in region play.

Maliyiah Mason had 9 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists for Irmo (18-3, 5-0). It was career win number 402 for head coach Monica Williams, passing Orangeburg-Wilkinson’s Edward Pellman on the S.C. HIgh School League all-time win list.

Airport 49, Midland Valley 22

Jayla Jamison scored 16 points and Amea Zeigler added 10 as the Lady Eagles improved to 15-6 overall, 5-1 in Region 4-4A.

Up next is a 1st place showdown against 3-time defending Class 4A champion North Augusta.

Dutch Fork 64, Chapin 13

Hillary Offing had 21 points, 9 rebounds and 4 steals to lead the Lady Silver Foxes to victory.

Dutch Fork (8-11, 2-3) travels to River Bluff on Tuesday.

lexington, White Knoll, basketball

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