Another week of basketball action has concluded, and many teams around Lexington County had a successful week, adding wins before the holiday break. 

Four local teams had an undefeated week. Dutch Fork, Irmo, Pelion and Northside Christian went a combined 10-0 with many blowouts along the way. 

The Silver Foxes improved to 8-3 with wins over A.C. Flora, Spring Valley and Newberry. The Silver Foxes flipped the script against A.C. Flora, beating the Falcons by seven one game after A.C. Flora beat them by seven. 

This is Dutch Fork’s best start through its first 11 games since the 2020-21 season when the team started 9-2. That year the Silver Foxes advanced to the third round of the postseason before losing to region rival River Bluff. 

Irmo extended its win streak to five games after picking up two victories last week against Columbia and Dreher. The Yellow Jackets and Blue Devils played in a nail-biting thriller, which Irmo won by one point. 

Pelion went 3-0 last week, winning all of its games by double-digits. The Panthers beat King Academy 52-18, Wagener-Salley 42-30 and Whitmire 50-26. 

The Panthers entered this week 9-2 with its only losses coming to Northside Christian and Ridge Spring-Monetta. This is Pelion’s best start to a season in over two decades. The Panthers have had just two complete seasons over .500 since 2005, but are on track for their third this year. 

Northside Christian improved to 9-1 after beating Southside Christian and Gilbert. The game against the Indians came down to the wire, but the Crusaders hung on for a 76-74 win. 

Brookland-Cayce had a solid week, winning three of its four games. The Bearcats are undefeated in region games, sitting at 2-0. Last week, the team competed in the John Drafts Classic and placed third. 

Batesburg-Leesville also won a majority of its games last week, beating Swansea and Mid Carolina but losing to Augusta Christian. The Panthers are a game under .500 and have two more contests before beginning region play. 

Chapin picked up a win against Denmark-Olar to start the week but lost to Blythewood and Catawba Ridge at the end.  

The seven other Lexington County teams went a combined 0-15. 

Defending 5A state champion Lexington is struggling to start this season. The Wildcats have lost five of their last six and will look to turn things around during the Cayce Roundball Classic this weekend. 

Lexington, River Bluff and Airport all lost their only game last week. The Wildcats fell to Spring Valley 53-37, River Bluff lost to Lugoff-Elgin for the second time this year and Airport dropped a region game to South Aiken 66-52. 

It’s been a rough start to the season for Gilbert who is sitting at 1-12 entering this week. The Indians are on a seven-game losing streak and dropped four games last week. 

Gray Collegiate is also having a difficult start to the year, losing four games last week as well. The defending 2A champions are having to adjust to a 4A schedule and are currently 1-1 in region play. 

American Leadership picked up its fifth consecutive loss last week, falling to North and Fox Creek. 

Swansea is the only winless team left in Lexington County and will have one more chance to get a win before region play begins. That game will be against a red-hot Pelion team after the new year. 

Some teams will be off next week and others will participate in special holiday tournaments. The marquee tournament around here is the Cayce Roundball Classic, which will feature some of the best teams from South Carolina. That event takes place Dec. 26-29 at Brookland-Cayce High School. 

Big Performances 

Kolton Rogers had a double-double for Pelion against Wagener-Salley, finishing with 14 points, 10 rebounds and five steals. 

Laquantis Stewart scored 23 points, five rebounds and two steals in Batesburg-Leesville’s win over Swansea.

Jaden Rivers finished with 17 points in Irmo’s win against Columbia. 

Bryson Taylor had 14 points, six rebounds and four assists for Dutch Fork in their game against A.C. Flora.

Last Week’s Scores

Chapin- Denmark-Olar (62-48, W), Blythewood (72-38, L), Catawba Ridge (48-34, L)

Dutch Fork- A.C. Flora (51-44, W), Spring Valley (54-36, W), Newberry (66-48, W)

Irmo- Columbia (69-49, W), Dreher (51-50, W)

Lexington- Spring Valley (53-37, L)

River Bluff- Lugoff-Elgin (56-38, L)

Airport- South Aiken (66-52, L)

Brookland-Cayce- Midland Valley, (66-46, W), Easley (61-50, W), Hilton Head Prep (58-51, L), Battery Creek (71-52, W)

Gilbert- Ben Lippen (72-34, L), Aiken (64-37, L), Eau Claire (69-55, L) Northside Christian (76-74, L)

Gray Collegiate- North Augusta (60-50, L), St. Francis Prep (72-36, L), Pace Academy (62-59, L), Notre Dame Prep (65-37, L)

Swansea- Batesburg-Leesville (62-46, L), Fairfield Central (63-31, L)

American Leadership- North (80-77, L), Fox Creek (67-41, L)

Batesburg-Leesville- Swansea (62-46, W), Mid-Carolina (56-40, W), Augusta Christian (72-56, L)

Pelion- King Academy (52-18, W), Wagener-Salley (42-30, W), Whitmire (50-26, W)

Northside Christian- Southside Christian (72-62, W), Gilbert (76-74, W)