4A BOYS BASKETBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME RECAP

THE FINISHERS FINISH THE JOB, STATE CHAMPIONS!!!

The Gaffney Indians finished the job this past Friday night at the Colonial Life Arena, as they won their 4th State Basketball Championship in the last eight years as they defeated Lexington 71 to 57. It is the Gaffney Indians 5th Basketball State Championship in School history. The Indians finished with a 26 and 2 record with Region 3, Upperstate and State championships.Lets recap the State Championship Game.

1ST QUARTER

The Indians came out as the home team dressed in their home white uniforms. Lexington would open the game with a 5 to 0 lead before Dershawn Dawkins scored on a runner in the lane to give the Tribe their first points of the game. Gaffney looked like they came out a little tight and their first basket of the game seemed to calm them down. Gaffney would out score the Wildcats 10 to 2 the rest of the quarter to lead 12 to 7 at the end of the first quarter. The Indians would show in the 1st quarter how they were going to win this game. The Indians really pounded the boards and got some great play off of their bench.

2ND QUARTER

The Indians depth and rebounding would continue to be the story in the 2nd quarter as well as they held the Wildcats to one and done for most of the quarter and they continued to get outstanding production off of their bench. The Indians bench would out score Lexington's bench 16 to 0 in the first half, led by Zevonta Shands who had two huge three pointers for 6 points and William Smith with 6 points. Eighth-grader L.J. Peak had 2 points off the bench and rebounded and defended well also. Michael Wright was his usual spark plug off the bench as he had 2 points and played good defense and continued to come up with loose balls. The Indians would lead 35 to 24 at the half.

3RD QUARTER

The third quarter started with the Lexington Wildcats making a major run at the Indians, fueled by their star guard Shaq Roland. The Wildcats would go on a 13 to 2 run to tie the game up at 37. The Indians responded with one of their patented runs as they would out score Lexington 10 to 0 in the blink of and eye. The 10 to 0 run took all of 1:21 off the clock. The Indians would then lead 47 to 37. The Wildcats would come off the deck once again, as they out scored Gaffney 12 to 2 to end the third quarter. The quarter ended with the score tied at 49 to 49.

4TH QUARTER

The 4th quarter started with Lexington getting a steal on the Indians first possession of the quarter and getting a basket for their first lead since the first quarter at 51 to 49. Instead of panicking the Indians got back to playing Gaffney basketball as super-sub for the game Zevonta Shands would hit his 3rd three point basket of the game to put the Indians back on top 52 to 51. The Indians would not give up the lead again, as the Indians depth began to take its toll on the Wildcats. Dershawn Dawkins would score 6 points down the stretch and he would drive and dish to Quinshad Davis who had 7 points down the stretch as the Indians increased their lead to 10. The Wildcats got the lead down to 63 to 57, but was unable to get any closer, as the Indians would hit their free throws down the stretch to finish the job of winning the State Championship 71 to 57.

THE KEYS TO VICTORY

The keys to the Gaffney Indians winning the State 4A Basketball Championship was the Indians being so dominant on the boards as they out rebounded the taller Lexington Wildcats 37 to 17 for the game. The depth of the Indians payed off as usual, as Gaffney's bench outscored the Lexington bench 29 to 3 for the game. The Indians were able to out score Lexington 22 to 6 the rest of the game after falling behind 51 to 49 with 7:30 left in the 4th quarter. Lexington probably handled Gaffney's press better than anybody had all season, but it still took its toll on the Wildcats as they ran out of gas in the 4th quarter.

Gaffney's All-state guard Josh Corry did not have one of his better games as he only scored 9 points with two big three point baskets in the first half and two key free throws down the stretch. The Indians showed just how good they are by winning the State Championship game with their star having a sub-par game. They got a team high 16 points from junior point guard Dershawn Dawkins, 15 points and 13 rebounds from sophomore forward Quinshad Davis, 11 points and three key three point baskets from junior reserve guard Zevonta Shands, 6 points and 6 rebounds from eighth-grader L.J. Peak and only 2 points but 7 big rebounds from senior forward Chase Smith. CONGRATULATIONS INDIANS FOR FINISHING THE JOB OF WINNING THE STATE BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP!!!

TRIBE FACTS..... The Gaffney Indians moved into a tie with Lower Richland High School for the most 4A Basketball State Championships with 4. The 4A classification was formed by the South Carolina High School League back in 1969. The Indians have a total of 5 basketball State Championships in their history.

Until Next Tuesday.