A week of wild weather delayed but could not prevent boys and girls basketball teams around Lexington County from taking the court and competing in the first week of region games. 

Extreme weather on Tuesday and Friday led to many games around the county being delayed to either later in the week or the season. Most teams moved their games to the following day, keeping schedules on track for the end of the year. 

Chapin and Lexington were supposed to begin their region journeys against each other on Tuesday but the games were delayed to Wednesday night. Both the boys and girls teams from Lexington pulled out wins on their homecourt to begin 1-0 in the region. 

The girls game was extremely competitive and went down to the wire. Lily Sundell hit the game’s final field goal in the last 90 seconds to increase Lexington’s lead from one point to three. 

Chapin got a clean three-point shot off in the final 15 seconds, but it fell off the front of the rim and into the hands of a Lexington player. 

The score changed many times throughout the match, with each team taking momentum during certain points. Chapin led through the first eight minutes and began the second quarter up 13-11. 

Lexington flipped the script in the second quarter and outscored the Eagles by three to hold a 25-24 lead at the half. The Wildcats continued this momentum into the third quarter and extended the lead to seven before the fourth quarter. 

Chapin did not let it get worse in the final period as the team started cutting into Lexington’s lead. The game got close at the end, but Lexington made plays on both ends before setting up Sundell for the dagger two-pointer. 

Izzy Savile led all scorers, finishing with 17 points for the Wildcats. Brooke Holmes scored 15 points to lead Chapin.

The boys game was not as close with Lexington running away with the game from the beginning. 

Jaxon Prunty scored 30 points, while Coulter Bell and Cam Scott each added 10 to help Lexington beat Chapin 73-61. Cayman Collins and Braydin Francis scored 15 and 14 points, but it was not enough to help the Eagles. 

The Wildcats took control from the jump and used their superior physicality to body through Chapin and crash the offensive glass. The team was up double-digits after one quarter and 20 after two.

Chapin put up some fight in the second half and even outscored Lexington by eight to cut the deficit to 12 by the final buzzer. 

Lexington followed these games with two blowout wins against River Bluff. The boys won by 31 points and the girls by 24. Only Lexington and Northside Christian had both teams win all their games last week. 

The White Knoll boys team went 2-0 last week to continue its recent hot streak. The team is now 10-10 on the year after overcoming an 0-7 start. 

Despite getting back to .500, the record that matters more for the Timberwolves is 2-0, which is their region record after week one. That puts White Knoll in a tie for first place with Lexington, who the team will host early this week. An upset in that game would be monumental for this team moving forward. 

Other teams in the county were not as fortunate as Lexington, Northside Christian and White Knoll. The first week of region play was difficult for many teams even without the hazardous conditions. 

Gilbert’s girls, which entered the week ranked No. 7 in all of S.C. 3A, got destroyed by an unranked Lower Richland team on the road. 

The Indians scored just 12 points all game and allowed the Diamond Hornets to score 53. It was never a close contest with Gilbert trailing 13-2 after one quarter and 29-7 at halftime. Gilbert never scored more than five points in any quarter.

River Bluff, Irmo, Brookland-Cayce, Batesburg-Leesville and Pelion’s teams lost all of their contests. 

The Gators were the only team to go 0-4 after the boys and girls lost to White Knoll and Lexington. Brookland-Cayce's teams went 0-3 with losses to Lower Richland and Atlantic Christian Academy for the boys and just Lower Richland for the girls. All the other schools went 0-2, having played one game a piece last week. 

This week will offer those teams a chance at redemption. It is still early in region play and anyone can pull ahead and claim the crown.

Teams will have four more weeks of regular season games before playoffs begin. So while there is still time, there is not much left to complete a turnaround. 

Five big performances 

1. Jaxon Prunty scored 30 points for Lexington in a win over Chapin.

2. McCoy Bell led White Knoll in scoring with 18 points during the win over River Bluff.

3. Izzy Savile finished with 17 points as Lexington pulled past Chapin late in the game.

4. Cade McNeil had a strong all-around performance, recording 17 points, six rebounds and three steals in Northside Christian’s win over Providence Athletic Club

5. Kadence Walker-Lee had a double-double for Gray Collegiate, scoring 14 points and 12 rebounds against Legion Collegiate Academy.  

Full area scores and schedule

Chapin: Boys (4-11), Girls (8-6) 

Boys last week - Lexington (73-61, L)

Girls last week -  Lexington (54-50, L)

This week - vs. Dutch Fork (1/16), vs. White Knoll (1/19)

Dutch Fork: Boys (8-10), Girls (15-3) 

Boys last week - White Knoll (47-31, L)

Girls last week - White Knoll (69-35, W)

This week - at Chapin (1/16), vs. River Bluff (1/19)

Lexington: Boys (15-2), Girls (7-7)

Boys last week - Chapin (73-61, W), River Bluff (85-54, W)

Girls last week - Chapin (54-50, W), River Bluff (64-40, W)

This week - at White Knoll (1/16), vs. Aiken (1/17), at Hopewell (boys 1/20)

River Bluff: Boys (11-7), Girls (6-11)

Boys last week - White Knoll (61-54, L), Lexington (85-54, L)

Girls last week - White Knoll (40-33, L), Lexington (64-40, L)

This week - at Dutch Fork (1/19)

White Knoll: Boys (10-10), Girls (5-15)

Boys last week - River Bluff (61-54, W),  Dutch Fork (47-31, W)

Girls last week - River Bluff (40-33, W), vs. Dutch Fork (69-35, L)

This week - vs. Lexington (1/16), at Chapin (1/19)

Airport: Boys (7-11), Girls (12-6)

Boys last week - South Aiken (57-52 OT, L)

Girls last week - South Aiken (51-26, L)

This week - vs. Midland Valley (1/15), at North Augusta (1/16)

Irmo: Boys (3-13), Girls (7-6)

Boys last week -  Ridge View (66-43, L)

Girls last week -  Ridge View (56-48, L)

This week - vs. Crestwood (boys 1/15),  vs. A.C. Flora (1/16), at Westwood (1/19)

Brookland-Cayce: Boys (8-7), Girls (3-8)

Boys last week - Lower Richland (51-45, L), Atlantic Christian Academy (54-39, L)

Girls last week - Lower Richland (61-7, L)

This week - vs. Gilbert (1/16), at Swansea (1/19)

Gilbert: Boys (5-10), Girls (10-6)

Boys last week - Lower Richland (70-39, L)

Girls last week - Lower Richland (53-16, L)

This week - at Brookland-Cayce (1/16), vs. Dreher (1/19)

Swansea: Boys (0-14), Girls (4-7)

Boys last week - Dreher (81-34, L), Lake Marion (70-37, L)

Girls last week - Dreher (37-29, W), Lake Marion (41-20, L)

This week - at Orangeburg-Wilkinson (1/15), at Lower Richland (1/16), vs. Brookland-Cayce (1/19)

Batesburg-Leesville: Boys (7-5), Girls (0-12)

Boys last week -  Strom Thurmond (55-44, L)

Girls last week - Strom Thurmond (54-19, L)

This week - vs. Fox Creek (1/16), vs. Pelion (1/19)

Pelion: Boys (5-8), Girls (4-8)

Boys last week - Fox Creek (80-46, L)

Girls last week - Fox Creek (46-28, L)

This week - vs. Strom Thurmond (1/16), at Batesburg-Leesville (1/19)

Gray Collegiate: Boys (16-5), Girls (9-7)

Boys last week - Fairfield Central (forfeit W), Legion Collegiate Academy (68-34, W), Fairfield Central (forfeit W)

Girls last week - Fairfield Central (forfeit W), Legion Collegiate Academy (46-39, W), Fairfield Central (forfeit W), vs. North Augusta (34-25, L)

This week - at Keenan (1/16), vs. Keenan (1/19) 

(Editor’s note: All of Gray’s region games are likely to be forfeit wins)

Northside Christian Academy: Boys (9-4), Girls (9-4)

Boys last week - Providence Athletic Club (77-51, W)

Girls last week - Providence Athletic Club (43-25, W)

This week - vs. Orangeburg Prep (1/16), at Greenwood Christian (1/19)