UPPERSTATE BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW

INDIANS FIND A WAY TO GET IT DONE!!

In their Upperstate Semi-final match-up with Dorman on Tuesday night, the game started out like the Tribe was going to run the Cavaliers right out of The Burial Ground as they ran out to an 11 to 2 lead. The Dorman Cavaliers then realized that they could not beat the Indians at their own game, so they changed to a zone defense to slow down the tempo and they began to chip away at the Gaffney lead. The Cavaliers were able to slow the Indians down enough that they managed a 20 to 20 tie at the halftime break.

The 2nd half started with both teams still playing great defense against each other and Dorman was able to open up a four point lead in the 3rd quarter. Gaffney star Josh Corry was having an off night shooting the ball and did not hit his first field goal of the game until he hit a 3-pointer with 2:45 left in the 3rd quarter. The Indians held a 33 to 30 lead at the end of the 3rd quarter.

In the 4th quarter the Indians were able to open up a five point lead and still had a 42 to 40 lead when Dorman made a steal and Charone Peake scored on a dunk to tie the game up at 42. Gaffney's Michael Wright would miss the front end of a one and one with 24 seconds left in the game, but Dorman lost the rebound out of bounds to give the ball back to Gaffney. The Indians would make the Cavaliers pay for that mistake as Dershawn Dawkins would drive into the lane and dish off the ball to a wide open Quinshad Davis for a lay-up with seven seconds left on the clock. With their haste to get the ball in and get it down court to try to tie or win the game, Dorman's Johnnie Foster would lose the ball out of bounds. Gaffney would get the ball back with 4 seconds left. The Indians would get the ball into Micheal Wright and he was immediately fouled with 3.3 seconds left. Wright had already missed four free throws in the late stages of the 4th quarter but he made the first try to give the Indians their 45 to 42 lead. Wright missed the 2nd free throw, but the Cavaliers desperation shot from 3/4 court was no good. THE TRIBE HAD FOUND A WAY TO WIN THE GAME!! Gaffney won the game 45 to 42 to advance to this Friday night's Upperstate Championship game.

Eighth grader L.J. Peak came up big for the Tribe in this game as he led Gaffney in scoring with 12 points. Eight of L.J's points came down the stretch when the outcome of the game was on the line. Micheal Wright gave the Tribe a big lift off the bench with his energy on both ends of the floor. It was a total team win and Gaffney showed that they can win a basketball game when the other team controls the tempo. CHAMPIONSHIP CALIBER TEAMS FIND A WAY TO WIN.

UPPERSTATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME PREVIEW

Gaffney (24-2) vs Easley (24-4)..... The Gaffney Indians expected to be here in the Upperstate Championship Game. They feel like they have unfinished business to take care of this season. This is their next step to getting back to Columbia for the State Championship game to avenge the loss that they had in last years game to Goose Creek. The next step is to defeat Easley who was able to upset NO.1 Ranked Hillcrest 62 to 59 to get to the Upperstate Championship. Most people, myself included, expected it to be a Gaffney vs Hillcrest Upperstate Final. The Easley Green Wave crashed the party and they are a very deserving participant in the Upperstate Championship Game as they are the Champions of Region 1 4A with a 24 and 4 record. The Green Wave have defeated Mauldin 59 to 26, Fort Mill 63 to 47 and Hillcrest 62 to 59 during the first three rounds of the playoffs. Easley has scored on and average of 61.3 during the playoffs and they have given up and average of 44.0 per game. The Green Wave has a very tall line-up led by 6'9" Sr. Joel Cook who has averaged 19.0 points per game this season. The Wave also has a 6'5" kid and a couple of 6'4" kids which could give the Indians problems.

The Gaffney Indians have defeated South Pointe 69 to 43, Spartanburg for the 3rd time this season 69 to 47 and Dorman for the third time this season 45 to 42 to get to the Upperstate Championship Game. The Indians are the Champions of Region 3 4A with a 24 and 2 record and they are also the defending Upperstate Champions as they defeated Northwestern here at the Bilo Center last season. Several of the Indians played here last season and that experience could be a very big factor down the stretch of this game. The Indians have scored on an average of 61.0 points per game during the playoffs and they have given up and average of 44.0 points per game. The stats are almost identical to Easley's. The Gaffney Indians are a much smaller team than Easley, but they are much quicker and more athletic. The Indians are going to do what got them here run and play a full court pressure man to man defense. The Indians will try to get Easley to play an up tempo game to take advantage of their deep bench and to wear the Green Wave down. The Indians must do a good job on the boards against the much taller Easley team. They had trouble on the boards against Dorman in the first half on Tuesday night but played much better in the 2nd half. Josh Corry, who has been slowed in the playoffs with an ankle injury and foul trouble, must have a typical Josh Corry game. He has not shot the ball well in the playoffs. It should be a great High School basketball game Game time is at 8:30PM tomorrow night at the Bilo Center in Greenville.

LETS FILL UP THE BILO CENTER WITH GAFFNEY INDIANS FANS!!! GO GAFFNEY!!!!!

Until Tuesday.

UPPERSTATE SEMI-FINAL PREVIEW

The Gaffney Lady Indians went down to defeat at Ridge View last Tuesday night 71 to 57. The Lady Indians season comes to and end. It was a very good season for the ladies, as they battled to the end for the Region 3 4A Title. The Lady Indians were also able to defeat the Dorman Lady Cavaliers this season for the first time in years. Thanks for an exciting season.


The Gaffney Indians boys team defeated South Pointe by a score of 69 to 43 in the 1st round of the playoffs last Wednesday night. The Indians Josh Corry suffered a severe sprained ankle in the 2nd quarter of the game against South Pointe and was doubtful for the 2nd round game against Spartanburg.


In the 2nd round game against Spartanburg, Josh Corry started, but was in foul trouble most of the game, but it did not matter as the Tribe got off to a fast start and pounded the rival Vikings by a score of 69 to 47. It was the 3rd time this season that the Indians had defeated the Spartanburg Vikings this season.


UPPERSTATE SEMI-FINAL PREVIEW


The Gaffney Indians will face another familiar rival for the third time this season in the Upperstate Semi-final as they face the Dorman Cavaliers. The Indians have already defeated the Cavaliers twice early in the season by scores of 66 to 60 and 54 to 49. The Indians come into the game with a 23 and 2 record and Champions of Region 3 4A and are playing very good especially defensively. Hopefully the Indians Josh Corry and Quinshad Davis will be closer to 100% for this game after ankle injuries suffered against South Pointe. The Indians will keep trying to do what they do best by playing at a fast pace on offense and full court pressing man to man on defense. The Indians will continue to use their deep bench to try and wear down the Cavaliers, as they do all of their opponents. Tempo will be very key to tonight's game, as very few teams can stay with the Indians in a fast paced up and down game.


The Dorman Cavaliers come into this game with a 17 and 9 record and Runner-up in Region 2 4A. The Cavaliers come into this game after a 1st round win at home against T.L. Hanna and a 2nd round win on the road against Ridge View by a score of 65 to 60. The Cavaliers play a different style than the Indians as they try to control the tempo of the game and run their half court offense to try and take advantage of their size. They will definitely have a size advantage against the Indians, both inside and along the perimeter. The Cavaliers are not near as deep on the bench as the Indians and they are not as quick. So this game will come down to which team can control the tempo to see which contrasting style will win out, size or speed.


The Game will be played at The Burial Ground on the campus of Gaffney High School. Game time is 7:00 PM. The winner of this Semi-final will play the Hillcrest vs Easley winner on Friday night for the Upperstate Championship at the Bilo Center in Greenville.


I will have a special Tribe Blitz on Thursday of this week to recap the Dorman and Gaffney game and to preview the Upperstate Championship game if Gaffney is in the game. I see the Indians playing the Hillcrest Rams on Friday night. GO INDIANS!!!

Until Thursday.

4A STATE BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS PREVIEW

REGULAR SEASON FINALES

The regular season ended on Monday night with mixed results for the Tribe's boys and girls basketball teams. The season was supposed to end last Friday night but the games got snowed out. The Gaffney Indians boys team, after already wrapping up the Region 3 Championship last Tuesday night, completely dominated the Northwestern Trojans 114 to 46 to end their regular season 21 and 2 over-all and 9 and 1 in Region 3 4A. The Indians appear to be playing their best basketball of the season going into the playoffs this week.

The Gaffney Lady Indians were not as fortunate, as they had a chance to force a three way tie for the Region 3 Championship with a win over Northwestern. The Lady Indians got off to a fast start leading by ten after the 1st quarter. The game was pretty much Northwestern's the rest of the way as the Lady Trojans defeated the Lady Indians 63 to 56 to wrap up the Region 3 4A Championship. The Gaffney Lady Indians finished as the third place team in Region 3 as they finished 15 and 6 over-all and 7 and 3 in Region 3. It has been a very good season for the ladies this season, their best in quiet awhile.

IST ROUND PLAYOFF MATCH-UPS FOR THE TRIBE

As one of the two NO. 1 seeds in their playoff bracket, the Gaffney Indians will play host to a NO. 4 seed out of Region 4, the South Pointe Stallions. The Stallions come into the game with a 6 and 13 record. The game will be played on Wednesday night at The Burial Ground at 7:00 PM. Lets pack the place and show South Pointe why the Gaffney gym is called The Burial Ground.

As the NO. 3 seed out of Region 3, the Gaffney Lady Indians have to travel down to play the NO. 2 seed out of Region 4, the Ridge View Lady Blazers. The Lady Blazers come into the game with a 17 and 5 record. The game will be played tonight at Ridge View High School in Columbia. Game time is at 7:00 PM.

2ND ROUND POSSIBLE MATCH-UPS

The Gaffney Indians, if they win Wednesday night against South Pointe, would face the winner of the game between NO.2 seed out of Region 1 Westside Rams vs NO. 3 seed out of Region 2 Spartanburg Vikings. It would be a very interesting game if we play our old rivals from Spartanburg. The Indians defeated the Vikings twice during the regular season. The games were very competitive. The game would be Saturday night February 20th at The Burial Ground on the campus of Gaffney High School.

The Gaffney Lady Indians, if they win tonight against Ridge View, would face the winner of the game between NO. 1 seed out of Region 2 Dorman Lady Cavaliers vs NO. 4 seed out of Region 1 Wren Lady Hurricanes. It would be a very interesting match-up against the Lady Cavaliers if the Lady Indians could get by their first round opponent. If the Lady Indians could win their first two rounds they would have to play either Greenwood , Mauldin, York or Blythwood in the 3rd round on Monday night.

I look for the Upper State Championship for the boys to come down to the Gaffney Indians and the Hillcrest Rams as they seam to have the two best teams and they are both playing very good basketball at this time in the season.

I look for the Upper State Championship for the girls to come down to the Greenwood Lady Eagles and the Spring Valley Lady Vikings as they seam to have the two best teams. The Dorman Lady Cavaliers are my next pick for the dark horse.

FORMER INDIANS UPDATE

Donald Sims of Appalachian State, won his third Southern Conference player of the week award for this season. He won the award for his play from last week.

Until Next Tuesday.

REGION 3 4A BASKETBALL RACE UPDATES

The Region 3 4A basketball races really heated up this past week as the Gaffney Indians had three games, including a weather make-up game last night. Lets look at the results from last week and see where the Tribe's two teams stack-up in their Region races.

THE GAFFNEY INDIANS BOYS

The Indians started the week with a game at The Burial Ground against Nation Ford. The Indians all-state guard Josh Corry had his best game of the season as he exploded for 36 points in leading the Indians to a 90 to 52 rout of the Falcons. Chase Smith and Dershawn Dawkins each scored 14 points in the win. The Indians offense executed very well and the defense forced 28 Falcons turnovers.

Then on Friday night the Indians traveled to Fort Mill to face the Yellow Jackets. The Indians were determined to avenge their loss at home to the Jackets three weeks earlier. The Indians had their worst performance of the season when they fell to Fort Mill at home. This game would be different as the Indians raced out to a 16 to 8 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Indians got 19 points from Dershawn Dawkins and 18 points from Josh Corry to lead the Tribe's offense. The Indians defense did a much better job defending the three point shot in this game as Fort Mill only hit two three point shots compared to hitting nine three pointers in their four point win over the the Indians. The Indians would win this game 71 to 66 to take a two game lead over Fort Mill in the Region standings.

In the weather make-up game on Monday night, the Gaffney Indians would score early and often, as they blew out the York Cougars 94 to 56 in front of the home crowd at The Burial Ground. The Indians got big nights from Josh Corry with 27 points and Dershawn Dawkins with 24 points. Quinshad Davis added 14 points of his own in the Tribe's rout. After a very impressive week the Gaffney Indians have a record of 19 and 2 over-all and 7 and 1 in Region 3 4A.

The Gaffney Indians can clinch the Region 3 4A Championship with a win on Tuesday night at Clover or a win at home on Friday night against Northwestern. The Indians have been playing very good basketball since their loss at home against Fort Mill and look like they are beginning to peak here at playoff time. I see the Indians winning the Region Championship tonight in Clover and then having a playoff tune-up game on Friday night against Northwestern.

THE GAFFNEY INDIANS LADIES

The Gaffney Lady Indians got their week off to a good start with a blow-out at home against Nation Ford 61 to 40. Kierra Phillips had 15 points and Paris Davidson added 13 points to lead the Lady Indians.

The Lady Indians followed up their win over Nation Ford with a 46 to 40 victory over Fort Mill on Friday night. Kierra Phillps again led the Lady Indians with 10 points and Logan Davis scored 9. It was not a win with a lot of style points, but it was a win that the ladies needed to stay in the Region 3 4A race.

The make-up game with York on Monday night turned into a heartbreaking 48 to 47 loss to the Lady Cougars. Keisha Leach led the Lady Indians with 14 points and Kierra Phillips added 12. The loss to the Lady Cougars kept the Lady Indians from moving into a first place tie with Northwestern in the Region 3 standings. The Lady Indians record falls to 14 and 5 over-all and 6 and 2 in Region 3 4A.

The Gaffney Lady Indians face a huge week this week as they travel to Clover to face the Lady Blue Eagles on Tuesday night and then they host the Northwestern Lady Trojans on Friday night. Two wins by the Lady Indians could pull them into a first place tie in the Region 3 4A standings. It has been the best season in several years for the Gaffney Lady Indians and it will be very interesting as we move toward the playoffs next week.

Until Next Tuesday.

TRIBE NEWS BRIEFS ( 1ST EDITION )

Today I am going to start a feature in Tribe Blitz called Tribe News Briefs where I can quickly get you caught up on some news and information about the Gaffney Indians that I normally don't blog about. My objective with Tribe Blitz is to give you as much news and information as possible and with Tribe News Briefs Editions , that will appear periodically, it gives me more flexibility for coverage. I hope you will enjoy the 1st Edition.

STATE CHAMPIONS BASEBALL TEAM is ranked No.3 in the Class 4A preseason baseball poll.

ALL SPRING SPORTS at Gaffney High School started practice on Monday February, 1st.

TRIBE WRESTLING TEAM finished 3rd in Region 3 4A and qualified for the State Duals for the second straight season.

WZZQ FM RADIO 104.3 will broadcast the remaining Gaffney boys basketball home games to close the regular season. They will also air all playoff games for the Tribe's boys team.

GAFFNEY MIDDLE SCHOOL'S boys basketball team has had a successful season thus far as their record is 7 and 2.

GAFFNEY JV BOYS BASKETBALL improved their record to 8 and 5 with a blowout win over Clover last week.

GAFFNEY 9TH GRADE BOYS BASKETBALL team stayed unbeaten in conference play at 5 and 0 after beating Clover last week.

JOE CRAIG, football and track star at Gaffney High school, is expected to sign to play football for the Clemson Tigers on Wednesday.

GAFFNEY INDIANS FOOTBALL will open the 2010 football season in week 0 against Boiling Springs. The Indians and Bulldogs have not played since 2007 season.

GAFFNEY'S FOOTBALL JAMBOREE will be cancelled for the 2010 season because the Indians season opener is scheduled for week 0.

GAFFNEY INDIANS WILL PLAY in the Battle of the Border Football Jamboree again this August at Shelby High School. The Indians join area rivals Spartanburg and Byrnes in the event.


Lets get caught up on the basketball from last week and look ahead to this weeks games.

THE GAFFNEY BOYS basketball team got a blowout win against Clover last Tuesday night at The Burial Ground. The Indians won 76 to 48 to improve to 16 and 2 over-all and 4 and 1 in Region 3 4A play. Sophomore post player Quinshad Davis had a monster game with 19 points and 15 rebounds.

The Indians were suppose to play host to York on Friday but the game was rescheduled because of the winter storm that wreaked havoc on the area.

THE GAFFNEY GIRLS basketball team also got a blowout win over Clover as well, as they won 53 to 35 over the Lady Blue Eagles. Keisha Leach led the Lady Indians with 14 points. The Lady Indians record improves to 12 and 4 over-all and 4 and 1 in Region play.

The Lady Indians game at home against York was rescheduled because of the winter storm.

INDIANS BASKETBALL SCHEDULE for this week has the Indians playing host to Nation Ford on Tuesday night. The Indians then have a road game at Fort Mill on Friday night. In the boys game it will be a battle for first place in Region 3 4A as both the Indians and Yellow Jackets are tied atop the Region 3 standings at 4 and 1. Fort Mill defeated the Indians at The Burial Ground a couple of weeks ago. Then on Monday February 8th, the rescheduled game at home with York will be played. It will be a tough and busy week of basketball for the Indians and hopefully the weather will cooperate. GO INDIANS!!

Until Next Tuesday.