In  any other tournament a matchup between two state champions from the previous season would be viewed as the marquee game.

At the Cayce Roundball Classic, the contest between top-ranked Gray Collegiate and Ridge View took second billing to the lone tournament final played Dec. 23.

With weather concerns forcing the cancellation of the National Bracket final between Westside (Ga.) and North Augusta, the Classic closed out with the American Bracket final involving North Augusta and Lancaster.

With both teams losing in the semifinals, the War Eagles and Blazers competed for third place.

What started as a lackluster affair turned into a nail-biter that stretched into overtime. After 44 minutes, Gray Collegiate came away with the 50-44 win over Ridge View.

Ellis Graham had 16 points and All-Tournament selection Montraivis White scored five of his 14 points in overtime.

The two teams combined for 22 turnovers in the first half with the Blazers shooting just 5/28 from the field. After a three-pointer put Ridge View ahead 13-12 with 6:46 left in the first half, Gray Collegiate outscored it 9-2 over the remaining minutes.

Treyvon Maddox, who was held scoreless in the previous loss to Lancaster, scored five points during the run to give the War Eagles a 21-15 halftime lead.

Gray Collegiate stretched its lead to 33-18 as it held the Blazers to one field goal through the first 12 minutes of the second half. A 14-4 run brought Ridge View to within 37-32 with six minutes remaining.

White answered with a three-point play of his own to put Gray Collegiate up 40-32. The Blazers scored the final eight points of regulation to force overtime and took a 42-41 lead on a putback layup early in the extra period.

After two free throws by Jayden Pretty put Ridge View up 44-41, White converted another three-point play to tie the game. On Gray Collegiate’s next possession, Avantae Parker was fouled and made 1-2 free throws with 2:25 left.

Nine seconds later, Gray Collegiate converted a three-point play as Graham was fouled while completing an alley oop slam dunk off a White pass.

White added two more free throws in the final minute to close out the scoring.

Adonis McDaniel was named to the All-Tournament team for Ridge View, who got nine points each from Bishop Ukata and Yale Davis and 12 rebounds from Pretty.  

The third-place game provided a prelude to the American Bracket final which also went into overtime. Third-ranked Lancaster improved to 13-0 with the 74-66 overtime victory over Westside High School out of Georgia. 

American Bracket

Consolation Games

A.C. Flora 40, Hartsville 39

Cooper Wiley scored 15 points and Christopher Parker scored 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the Falcons took the lead with eight seconds left for the victory.

Parker was named to the National Bracket All-Tournament team.

Xavion Robinson scored 14 points for the Red Foxes. His teammate Kameron Foman was named to the All-Tournament team.

T.L. Hanna 87, Westwood 57

Javeyn Martin scored 26 points on 10-12 shooting as the Yellow Jackets scored 45 second-half points to set a new single-game scoring record at the Classic.

Adrius Armstrong had 17 points, Zach Williams finished with 13 and All-tournament selection Jaquarious Robinson added 12 to help T.L. Hanna break the mark of 86 set by Gray Collegiate Academy in the Classic first-round game.

All-tournament selection Arden Conyers finished with 23 points and T.J. Bell had 13 for the Redhawks.

National Bracket

Third Place Game

J.F. Byrnes 68, Cross Creek (Ga.) 43

All-Tournament selection Kobe Staggs scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds as the Rebels led as many as 25 points in placing third in the National Division.

All-Tournament selection Antoine Lorick scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Razorbacks.