Defending Class 2A boys’ basketball champion Gray Collegiate made quick work of Region 4-2A rival Eau Claire Wednesday night to advance to the Upper State final.

The 74-45 rout of the Shamrocks gave the War Eagles their seventh consecutive appearance in the state semifinals.

For the second time in school history, they will face region archrival W.J. Keenan for a spot in the state championship. This will also be the rubber match as the two teams won on each other’s home floor in the two meetings.

Despite the 29-point win, War Eagle head coach Dion Bethea said his team needs to play with more focus.

"I thought we were sloppy," he said. "We had too many turnovers and we need to work on making our free throws."

By the end of the first quarter, Gray Collegiate (23-6) had jumped out to a double-digit lead at 16-6. Ellis Graham scored six points in the opening quarter for Gray Collegiate and Aventae Parker had four. 

Cedric Schofeld had six points for Eau Claire (18-6) in the first quarter. 

In the second quarter, Gray Collegiate was paced by Treyvon Mattox. He hit 2, 3-pointers and had all eight of his points in the quarter. Schofeld added four more points for the Shamrocks and finished with a game-high 19, but Gray Collegiate was up 32-13.

In the second half, the War Eagles employed an unforgiving man-to-man defense to stifle Eau Claire, forcing the Shamrocks to take challenging shots. 

By the end of the third quarter, Gray Collegiate stretched the lead to 60-28. Class 2A Player of the Year Montraivis White hit 2, 3-pointers and finished with eight points in the quarter, 13 for the point, and Devin Johnson also had eight points for Gray Collegiate.

The boys' matchup will take place at 2:30 p.m., following the Class 2A Upper State final pitting the same two schools against each other  at noon.