The boys basketball regular season is almost over with most teams having just one game left before the playoffs begin. 

The past few months, teams from around Lexington County have been battling to achieve the best positioning possible for the playoffs. A few local squads positioned themselves nicely, entering this final week near the top of their region’s standings. 

In the local 5A region, River Bluff began the week undefeated in region play and in control of its own destiny. Dutch Fork sits one game behind the Gators after losing to them in their previous matchup. 

River Bluff and Dutch Fork faced off Tuesday night after the Chronicle’s press deadline. River Bluff and Dutch Fork faced off Tuesday night. The Silver Foxes avenged their previous loss and evened the series with a 63-50 win. 

The Gators currently hold the tie-breaker, but with one game left, either can pull ahead. 

Sitting under the two leaders is Irmo, who began this week 4-4. White Knoll was a game behind the Yellow Jackets. Chapin was fifth, sitting at 2-6 at the week’s start. Defending region champions Lexington sits in last place after going winless so far. 

In 4A, Gray Collegiate and Brookland-Cayce began the week a game behind current region leader North Augusta. The War Eagles and Bearcats were both in action Monday night. 

The Bearcats played North Augusta with a chance to give the Yellow Jackets their second region loss and set up a three-way tie with one game left. However, Brookland-Cayce came up short, losing 59-47 and falling out of the region title race. 

The War Eagles won on Monday night and are still one game behind North Augusta. The two teams split their season series this year, meaning Gray can win the region via a tie-breaker. 

Moving down the standings, Gilbert and Airport make up the bottom two teams in the conference, entering this week a combined 1-23. 

Batesburg-Leesville is also still in contention for their region title, beginning this week tied for first in the 2A Region 2 standings. 

The Panthers split their season series with Strom Thurmond and beat Pelion on Tuesday. Batesburg-Leesville will likely need to win both their final two games to win region. 

Pelion and American Leadership are out of the region title race, but can still improve their postseason positioning with more wins and a little help from other teams. 

In SCISA, Northside Christian is looking to move past Heathwood Hall for third place in the region. The Crusaders are well outside the realm of winning region, but the team can still make the playoffs. 

Swansea is the only boys basketball team in Lexington County that has not won a game all season. The Tigers began this week 0-17 and had just two opportunities left to earn a win this season.

The team played Fox Creek on Tuesday but lost. The Tigers play Newberry on Thursday night.

Should Swansea lose both games, it will be the second straight year the team has gone winless in a season. 

Big Performances 

Braylen Davis scored 20 points and had nine steals for Batesburg-Leesville in their win over Ninety Six. 

Bryson Taylor had 20 points, four rebounds and three assists for Dutch Fork against White Knoll.

Jayden Rowe finished with 18 points and four assists for Gray Collegiate against Gilbert.

Christian Brown scored 17 points for Irmo in the team’s win over White Knoll. 

Yasir Cromer had 17 points as River Bluff defeated Chapin. 

Upcoming Games to Watch 

Swansea at Newberry - Feb. 13

Batesburg-Leesville vs. Saluda - Feb. 13

River Bluff vs. Lexington - Feb. 13

Irmo vs. Dutch Fork - Feb. 13

Last Week’s Scores

Chapin- Lexington (54-50, W), River Bluff (63-43, L)

Dutch Fork- White Knoll (62-47, W), Lexington (70-47, W)

Irmo- River Bluff (47-42, L), White Knoll (64-41, W)

Lexington- Chapin (64-50, L), Dutch Fork (70-47, L)

River Bluff- Irmo (47-42, W), Chapin (63-43, W)

White Knoll- Dutch Fork (62-47, L), Irmo (64-41, L)

Airport- Gray Collegiate (83-19, L), North Augusta (69-29, L)

Brookland-Cayce- Aiken (58-53, W), Gilbert (97-56, W)

Gilbert- Midland Valley (71-36, L), Gray Collegiate (92-49, L), Brookland-Cayce (97-56, L)

Gray Collegiate- Airport (83-19, W), Gilbert (92-49, W), South Aiken (69-40, W)

Swansea - Silver Bluff (47-45, L)

American Leadership- Strom Thurmond (46-38, L), Batesburg-Leesville (55-52, L)

Batesburg-Leesville- Ninety Six (66-46, W), American Leadership (55-52, W)

Pelion- Saluda (34-33, L), Strom Thurmond (41-22, L)

Northside Christian- Heathwood Hall (63-57, W), Heathwood Hall (64-47, L), Cardinal Newman (75-63, W)