“To win 3 in a row, it’s another blessing,””

Gray Collegiate boys basketball coach Dion Bethea

‘For the 3rd consecutive year, the Gray Collegiate boys’ basketball team is headed back to Colonial Life Arena for the Class 2A championship.

For the 2nd straight year, it rolled past Andrew Jackson. A year after defeating the Volunteers in the title game, the top-ranked War Eagles won 57-39 in the Upper State final Saturday at Bon Secours Arena.

The War Eagles (24-6) led most of the game for their 14th straight win.  Their length and size proved too overwhelming for Andrew Jackson, who were held to 5 points and no field goals in the 3rd quarter and trailed as many as 24 points.

“The length we have...there’s not a lot of 2-A teams that have that type of length,” GCA head coach Dion Bethea said. “We’re very blessed to have it and we’re going to use it to our advantage.” 

Tauris Watson had a game-high 17 points and S.C. Basketball Coaches Association Class 2A Player of the Year Latavian Lawrence finished with 10 points. 

Tez Black had 11 points for Andrew Jackson (19-7). The contest saw both teams combine for 38 personal fouls and convert on 36-55 free throws. 

Gray Collegiate now looks to become the 9th boys basketball team in SCHSL history to win 3 straight state titles. It will face Whale Branch at 5 pm Friday for the championship. The Warriors (21-6) rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to defeat North Charleston 58-46 in overtime. 

“To win 3 in a row, it’s another blessing,” Bethea said. “Three is definitely tough and we’ll take it.”