The Class 2A finals for South Carolina High School League basketball will both involve War Eagles.

Both the Gray Collegiate boys and girls’ basketball teams swept their respective Upper State finals over Region 4-2A rival W.J. Keenan.

The Lady Eagles opened with a 46-38 win over the Lady Raiders, who were without All-State and Class 2A Player of the Year Milaysia Fulwiley. In the boys’ game, the defending state champion Eagles stormed back from as many as 12 points down to beat the Raiders 72-66.

It’s the first-ever state title appearance for the Gray Collegiate girls, who will face Bishop England at University of South Carolina-Aiken at 6 p.m. on March 3. The boys final will be an all-Charter School of Erskine affair with sister schools Gray Collegiate and Oceanside Collegiate playing at 7:30 p.m.

Boys Basketball

Gray Collegiate 72, W.J. Keenan 66

It was Jan. 17 when school trainers raced to save the life of senior Mychael Mitchell after he went into a bloody seizure after falling down on the court during the first meeting against W.J. Keenan.

For the third meeting with the Raiders, a now-healthy Mitchell and the War Eagles would not be denied a fifth state title appearance. He, along with Montraivis White and L.J. Britt, sparked a second half comeback to claim the rubber match with the Raiders.

White scored 20 of his game-high 23 points in the second half, while Mitchell and Britt, who both finished with 12, combined for 19 points.

“It was teamwork, keep fighting, never give up and encouraging our defense,” Mitchell said.

“L.J. played good,” Gray Collegiate head coach Dion Bethea said. “I kind of forgot about him in the first half. I should have gone back with him, but you live, and you learn. He definitely played very well in the second half for us.”

“We wanted to win this game to get to the state championship,” Britt said. “I just tried to help my team win. That’s the goal.”

With the War Eagles down 37-25, the trio were responsible for a 25-9 run over the final 7:17 of the third quarter to take the lead. Mitchell put Gray Collegiate ahead with a driving layup.

A putback by Braylin Thomas after a steal by White made it 47-44. After Broderick Anderson, who closed out the first quarter with a three-pointer, hit two free throws, White answered with a long distance 3-pointer to give the War Eagles a 50-46 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Gray Collegiate opened the fourth quarter with a 10-2 run. It started with a three-pointer by Britt, followed by two free throws by Mitchell, a jumper by Britt and a three-point play by Mitchell off a steal.

“I’m just happy for Mike and his family,” Bethea said. “To go through something like that and then to come out and execute and play like he did, it’s definitely godsent. I’m glad he’s on our team.”

Mitchell’s 3-point play gave the War Eagles its biggest lead with 2:47 left in the game. W.J. Keenan managed to score on its next four possessions, but Gray Collegiate got a driving layup from White and went 5-6 from the free throw line to secure a fifth state title appearance.

The War Eagles are 4-0 all-time in the state finals.

“It means a lot,” Mitchell said. “My teammates encouraged me. My teammates pushed me. We worked at practice, so it feels said.”

Girls Basketball

Gray Collegiate 46, W.J. Keenan 38 

History does repeat itself for Gray Collegiate Academy head coach Brandon Wallace.

It was 20 years ago as a senior center for Silver Bluff, he helped orchestrate a one-point upset win over top-ranked Calhoun County in the Class 2A final.

This time, Wallace led a Lady War Eagles’ team into the Upper State final to face a W.J. Keenan team which had won all six previous meetings.

Despite the Lady Raiders missing Class 2A Player of the Year Milaysia Fulwiley with a calf injury, they still had an edge in playoff experience facing a Gray Collegiate team making its first-ever state semifinal appearance.

Led by senior center Maliyiah Mason’s 13 points and the poised play by the backcourt of Diamond Tatum and Jordan Mintz, the Lady War Eagles prevailed to earn a trip to Aiken.

“We didn’t know until today until pregame,” said Wallace, went asked about Fulwiley’s availability. “We were going to prepare like she was going to play because she’s that type of kid. She’s a tough kid with great character."

Three-pointers by Alyssa Woodlock and Mintz gave the Lady War Eagles an early 6-5 lead. Without Fulwiley, W.J. Keenan relied on its defense and balanced scoring to take a 13-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Lady War Eagles outscored W.J. Keenan 11-7 in the second quarter to take a 22-20 halftime lead. They then opened the third quarter with a 7-2 run to take a 29-22 lead.

W.J. Keenan answered back with a 7-0 run led by Tanaja Kennedy, who finished with 12 points, to tie the game. After the two teams exchanged three-pointers, a putback by Mason gave Gray Collegiate a 34-32 lead going into the fourth quarter.

“We knew Keenan was a tough team,” Mason said. “They weren’t going to give up. They wanted to do this for her. So, we had to come out with energy…keep fighting, keep fighting. They had a lot of second-chance points, but we were able to clean that up.”

A three-point play by Mason and free throw pushed Gray Collegiate’s lead to 38-33 with 3:14 left. Following a Lady Raider basket, Woodluck connected on a reverse layup to make it 40-35.

W.J. Keenan made 1-2 free throws, but then Keenan's Samiya Hicks was whistled for a technical foul for slamming the basketball after she was called for a personal foul.

Gray Collegiate managed only 1-4 free throws to go up 41-36. It rebounded to  convert 5-8 free throws in the final minutes to close out the victory.

“I want them to take in this moment, but we’re back to work next week getting ready for Bishop England,” Wallace said.