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.