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Walhalla Ends 73-Year Title Drought, Lancaster Boys Make History, and North Augusta Girls Continue Dynasty in South Carolina State Basketball Championships

South Carolina decided six state champions over the last three days at the Florence Center to wind up the 2024-25 basketball season.

Among the highlights are the Walhalla girls winning the school’s first team state championship in any sport since 1952 and the North Augusta girls winning their sixth state championship in nine years. Lancaster also won its first championship in boys basketball.

Here’s what happened.

BOYS

1-A

Denmark-Olar 58, Abbeville 52

History was made as Denmark-Olar beat Abbeville 58-52 to claim the program’s first state championship.

And it came in the final game for Vikings’ coach Hercules Davis, who is retiring at the end of the school year.

Joshua Goodman led the way for D-O, scoring 28 points. Tykeem Ross added 12 points for the Vikings, who ended the season with a 15-game winning streak and a 20-5 record.

Jaden Baylor led Abbeville with 15 points and Jamearion Williams had 14.

2-A

Atlantic Collegiate Academy 58, High Point Academy 52

The Armada won a state championship in the first year the program, which is in its second year of existence, was eligible to participate in the playoffs.

Jaylen Bellamy scored 20 points to lead the Armada while Jamie Brooks had 14 and C.J. Hemingway had 9.

ACA took command with a 13-0 run at the end of the first half. The Grizzlies rallied several times in the second half but ACA never relinquished the lead.

Travis Morman led HPA with 16 points, Jaden McNeil had 11 and Chonci Miller 10.

3-A

Keenan 58, Powdersville 53

Antoine Caughman scored 17 points as Keenan beat Powdersville 58-53 to win the program’s 10th state championship. Nyheim McNeil had 15 points and Brian Sumpter added 10.

Von Burton led the Patriots with a game-high 19 points while Jaleel McGee gad 15 points and Quan Burton 13.

4-A

Lancaster 69, North Augusta 55

Jordan Watford and Columbus Parker each scored 19 points as the Bruins made history. Malik Tinsley scored 15 points, and Jacarey Ballard had 13 points in Lancaster’s balanced effort.

Jamison McKenzie scored a game-high 21 points for North Augusta. Da’Ron Dunbar had 16 points and Quh’mareon Webb added 10.

5-A Division II

Greenville 81, Goose Creek 71 in 2 OT

Greenville rallied from a 15-point deficit to win a thriller. Franklin Whitley led the Red Raiders with 25 points while Caden Coleman had 21. Roman Cooley scored 13 points and Tucker Scholl added 11.

Shane Potts led Goose Creek with a game-high 29 points. JaQuell Brown had 27 points.

5-A Division I

Ridge View 71, Blythewood 47

Korie Corbett led the way with 23 points as the Blazers cruised to their second straight state title and sixth in the last eight years. Yale Davis scored 13 points while Malachi Cooper had 9 and Tal Staley 8. Ridge View finished the season on a 17-game winning streak.

T.J. Lewis led Blythewood with 17 points.

GIRLS

1-A

Military Magnet 59, Lee Central 40

Military Magnet won its fourth state championship in the last five year comfortably.

Da’nariyah Williams led Military Magnet with 18 points, Dream Watson had 16 and Sabri Mitchell contributed 11.

Kiyonna Austin led Lee Central with 12 points.

2-A

Andrew Jackson 89, Eau Claire 36

Winning by over 50 points in a state championship game is the epitome of dominance. That’s how good Andrew Jackson was Saturday and all season. The Volunteers won their second consecutive state championship and fourth overall.

The same two stars led the way once again. Tamia Watkins scored 31 points and grabbed 15 rebounds while Ni’Yonna Asbelle had a career-high 30 points.

Andrew Jackson won its five playoff games by an average of 60.5 points.

MiLayshia Chisholm led Eau Claire with 16 points.

3-A

Walhalla 52, Dillon 37

Talk about history. Walhalla finished off the season with a 20-game winning streak and secured the school’s first title in 73 years.

Miley White led the Razorbacks with 14 points while Annie Campbell had 13 and Kami Roach 11.

Treasure Davis led Dillon with 18 points.

4-A

North Augusta 50, Westside 37

North Augusta added yet another title to its dynasty. Celena Grant led the way with 17 points while Ashley Walker had 10.

Khalia Hartwell scored a game-high 21 points for Westside.

5-A Division II

Berkeley 60, Greenwood 54

Amani McCray and Madison Thomas each scored 15 points to lead the Stags. Alaina Carter contributed 13 points to the balance effort.

Danielle Oliver scored 22 points to lead Greenwood. Tykirea Johnson added 14 points and Cameron Oliver had 13.

5-A Division I

Blythewood 62, Summerville 56

India Williams scored 22 points as the Bengals captured the program’s first state championship three years after having a winless season. Chase Thomas had 18 points for the Bengals. Hayley Hightower added 11 points.

Molly Daugherty led Summerville with 22 points and Cailah Tucker had 18.

Published Mar 9, 2025|Modified Mar 9, 2025

MIKE DUPREZ

Mike Duprez became a freelance sports journalist for Scorebooklive.com several months after retiring from the newspaper business. A native of Oakland, California, Duprez moved around as a child due to his father’s service in the United States Marine Corps. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1981. Duprez, who lives in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, had 30 years of experience in newspapers as well as other endeavors before retiring at the end of 2021. He covers stories in both North Carolina and South Carolina for Scorebooklive.com.

FLORENCE — Two top-ranked teams walked into the Florence Center on March 7 in search of their first boys' basketball state championship.

While North Augusta came out swinging in its first state final appearance, it couldn’t come back from a flat third quarter as Lancaster surged ahead to capture its first title in school history.

“Just disappointed for these young men,” said North Augusta head coach Tony Harrell. “At the end of the day, they had a tremendous season, 26-2. Nothing to hang your heads about. We had a bad stretch there in the third quarter for the game, kind of got away from us, we were playing catch-up a little bit after that. But I love our heart. I love our fight. I love what they've done for not only themselves, the school, our community and the support we got from them. It's just been unbelievable.”

It was a revenge game for the second-ranked Jackets after the No. 1 Bruins (27-1) sent them home early in the second round of the playoffs last season.

Senior DaRon Dunbar opened up the game with a slam dunk to put them on the board first, which they built into an 8-0 scoring run midway through the period. It didn’t take long for Lancaster to catch back up with a run of its own to tie the game at 12-all.

+18 Prep Basketball: North Augusta vs. Lancaster Boys, Class AAAA state championship

Before the end of the quarter, North Augusta managed to recapture the lead behind more scoring from Dunbar and fellow senior Jamison McKenzie. They continued to fight off the Bruins at the net while they ate away at their lead, and their momentum, going into halftime.

The two seniors were scoring powerhouses in their final game in Yellow Jacket uniforms, with McKenzie leading the team with 21 and Dunbar right behind with 17 points .

Harrell said it won’t be easy to fill the holes those two will leave in North Augusta’s offense next year after the impact they’ve made on the program. They will go down in Jacket history as the senior class with the most wins at the time of graduation.

“They're just special kids,” he said. “Take the basketball out of the equation. Both of them are just really fine young men. They'll be successful in life, they'll be good, they'll be good husbands, they'll be good fathers. They've learned a lot about life through the game of basketball on the court. They're tremendous players. DaRon Dunbar, almost 1,400 career points, all the accolades that he's gotten has been fantastic. Jamison McKenzie, three-year varsity player. It'll be tough to replace them, too. And I appreciate everything they've done for our basketball program.”

While the Jackets were able to hold onto the lead by just three points, it started to go downhill as Lancaster exploded offensively in the third quarter while holding them to just six points.

Bruins All-State senior Jordan Watford not only led them to regain the lead after halftime, but he helped to extend it beyond North Augusta’s reach. He led the team in scoring with 19 points, which was tied with guard Columbus Parker.

It was a battle well into the third as a frustrated North Augusta tried to get its groove back at the net while also trying to contain a dominant Lancaster offense. While they started to regain scoring momentum in the final eight minutes of the championship, it wasn’t enough to claw back into the game with Lancaster capitalizing on late-game fouling trouble from the Jackets.

“ No. 0, Jordan Watford on the team, heck of a player,” Harrell said. “He got the ball, he sliced our defense up a few times, got to the basket, got to the free throw line a lot. We just didn't have an answer there for him in the third quarter.”

North Augusta finished the season as Region 4-AAAA and Lower State champions with a 26-2 overall record.

The game marks the end of an era for North Augusta’s seniors, but Harrell is looking forward to getting several juniors back next season, including Jordan Rouse, Toian Nabriat and Quh’Mareon Webb, who have all played a big part in the Jackets' success so far.

He said this moment of heartbreak will do a lot to motivate them as they prepare to do it all again next season.

“Well, you remember,” Harrell said. “You remember the feeling. Now you'll go a little extra harder in the weight room or in individual workouts or whatever, just knowing in the back of your mind where you were and what it's going to take to get back to this point.”

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - The Atlanta Braves are taking the Truist Park experience on the road with the Braves Country Road Trip this spring and summer, including a stop in North Augusta.

This year, the “Braves Country Road Trip: An All-Star Experience” will bring regional fan experiences centered around the upcoming 2025 MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard at Truist Park on July 15.

Established in 2023, this fan-favorite initiative will take on a brand-new All-Star twist with activations that bring Braves fans together across Braves Country including community engagement projects across various stops.

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From March to July, this ultimate fan engagement will feature stops across Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina.

The Braves will begin the trip on March 15 with a visit to the University of Tennessee’s Lindsey Nelson Stadium as the NCAA reigning champion Tennessee Volunteers take on the Florida Gators. Additional stops include visits to each of the Braves-affiliate organizations across Georgia, including Low-A Augusta GreenJackets, High-A Rome Emperors, Double-A Columbus Clingstones, and Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers.

The Braves Country Road Trip will also celebrate the unique collaboration between Major League Baseball and NASCAR, with visits to four NASCAR Cup Series races ahead of the historic MLB Speedway Classic, where the Atlanta Braves will take on the Cincinnati Reds at Bristol Motor Speedway on Aug. 2.

Each stop will feature the brand-new All-Star Wall, showcasing the various initiatives taking place during the 2025 MLB All-Star Week and previous All-Star moments. Each section will display official artifacts and All-Star memorabilia from years past. Once fans have made their way through the All-Star Wall experience, they will channel their big-league dreams in the Hype Set photo activation before autographing the larger-than-life baseball.

The Braves Country Road Trip will make its final stop at Capital One All-Star Village during 2025 MLB All-Star Week in Atlanta. This stop will showcase the larger-than-life baseball representing autographs from each stop, and allowing fans to make their mark on history as the baseball will be displayed at Truist Park during MLB All-Star Week.

Stops include:

*Ticket required for entry

Fans can also enjoy exciting free giveaways and will have the chance to enter sweepstakes to win a pair of tickets to any of the 2025 MLB All-Star Week events, including the T-Mobile HBCU Swingman Classic, Celebrity Softball Game and MLB Futures Game, T-Mobile Home Run Derby, and MLB All-Star Game, along with a one-night hotel stay near Truist Park and two tickets to the Capital One All-Star Village.

To learn more about the “Braves Country Road Trip: An All-Star Experience” or for additional details on each stop, visit Braves.com/BCRT.

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