EARLY JANUARY BASKETBALL UPDATE

The Gaffney Indians rolled through their early season and holiday tournament schedule with a 12 an 0 record. So after Gaffney's championship in the Upwards Classic they have gone 3 and 1 and haven't been very impressive. Since the Upwards tournament the Tribe has beaten Boiling Springs 77 to 60, they beat them in early December by 58 points. From Boiling Springs they traveled down to Union County and beat the Jackets 70 to 59, they beat them by 56 points in mid December. Then the snow hit the state and their game at Rock Hill was postponed until January 19th and their game at Lancaster was rescheduled for January 15th. So the Tribe went down to Lancaster on Saturday afternoon and played a hard fought game with the Bruins and came home with their first loss of the season 67 to 62. Then they were supposed to have their first home game since December 21st, but the home game against Clover had to be rescheduled for January 29th because of Clover's exam schedule. So the Tribe was back out on the road, as they traveled down highway 5 to play their rescheduled game against a Rock Hill team that had been up and down with a 7 and 6 record. Gaffney won the game 74 to 66. The Gaffney Indians stand 15 and 1 and 1 and 1 in Region 3 4A play.

My View From The Stands..... I will tell you what I think is wrong with the Tribe right now. I expected them to be flat after their emotional Upwards Championship run. They also came out of the tournament with a couple of nagging injuries. The one player that they can not do without Dershawn Dawkins, the engine that runs the machine, has been hobbled with a foot injury since the Upwards tournament and Michael Wright has also been hobbled with a foot injury as well. So the first two games after the tournament was at two teams that they had already beaten by a total of 114 points. Then the snow came and they had the postponements and the rescheduled games. You also have to factor in they have not played at home at The Burial Ground since December 21st. You also have to factor in that they are the defending State Champs and they have a bullseye on their back and they will get everyone's best shot. During a basketball season teams go through stretches when they don't play their best. I remember last season when Gaffney lost a game to Fort Mill and it seem to help them refocus. They didn't lose again on their way to the State Championship. I am very confident that the Tribe will get it back together and I expect them to be back in Columbia defending their State Championship in March.

Schedule For The Week..... The Tribe is back on the road tonight at Spartanburg. They finally get to play at home next week as they host Northwestern on Tuesday January 25th and then Rock Hill on Friday the 28th and then their rescheduled game with Clover on the 29th.

Until Next Time.

HOLIDAY BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT RECAP

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I had a very good holiday season celebrating with family and friends. I also saw some good holiday basketball. Lets recap the holiday basketball tournament action by the Gaffney Indians.

THE SUBSTATION II INVITATIONAL

The Gaffney Indians held their annual holiday tournament on Monday December 20th and Tuesday December 21st, at The Burial Ground. The Tribe blew out Woodruff 105 to 51 in their 1st round game. In the Championship game, the Tribe pounded the Chesnee Eagles 91 to 44. The Indians started pulling away from the Eagles about the midway point of the 2nd quarter and it was all Gaffney in the 2nd half. The teams that Gaffney played in this tournament were clearly outclassed by the Indians. The Tribe's Sr. PG Dershawn Dawkins was the Substation II Tournament MVP.

THE UPWARDS CLASSIC

The Indians would then play in the Upwards Classic at Dorman High School from December 27 thru December 30. This has quickly become one of the best holiday High School basketball tournaments in the southeast. You had some of the best High School basketball teams in the southeast participating. There were six states represented and Gaffney was one of four teams from South Carolina in the field.

Gaffney vs Carter (TN)..... The Tribe's first game was against Tennessee power Carter. The Indians did not shoot particularly well in this game, from the field or the free throw line, but their defense and depth wore down Carter and the Indians won going away 79 to 58. Michael Wright had a very good offensive game with 17 points.

Gaffney vs South Gwinnette (GA)..... In the 2nd round the Tribe played Georgia power South Gwinnette. The Indians played a pretty solid first half and led 38 to 26 at the half. The 2nd half was a different story, as Gaffney missed 16 of 22 free throws and also went cold from the field, but they held on to defeat South Gwinnette 57 to 55.

Gaffney vs Terry Sanford (NC)..... Gaffney's 2nd round win over South Gwinnette set up a 3rd round game with the tournament favorite Terry Sanford from Fayetteville, North Carolina. The Indians got off to a slow start, hitting only one field goal, in the 1st quarter and trailed 14 to 6 after one quarter. The Tribe's defense kept them in the game. From the start of the 2nd quarter till the end of the game, the Tribe took control of the game and out scored Terry Sanford 66 to 47 to win the game 72 to 61. Dershawn Dawkins took over the game in the 4th quarter for Gaffney.

Gaffney vs Irmo (SC)..... What a game the Championship game turned out to be. Irmo led by their Jr. PG Jordan Roper, who would score 43 points in the game, got off to a very hot start. They were hitting almost every thing they shot. They would lead by as many as 15 points in the first half. The Tribe would scratch and claw themselves back into the game by halftime, as they trailed by only 6 points. The 3rd quarter was much the same as the 1st half, as Irmo was still hot. The Indians would finally get their first lead of the game late in the 3rd quarter, by 2 points. Irmo would take control again and led by 6 points after 3 quarters. In the 4th quarter the Indians would make another run and get it down to 2 points. Behind Jordan Roper, Irmo stretched the lead back to 9 points with less than 5 minutes remaining in the game. The Tribe would trail 70 to 65 with 5 seconds left when Quinshad Davis hit a three pointer to cut the Irmo lead to 70 to 68 with 2.5 seconds left in the game. The Tribe then fouled Roper and he had a chance to put the game on ice if he could hit both free throws. Roper hit one of two free throws to give the Tribe a chance. So with 2.5 seconds left Irmo led 71 to 68. So Michael Wright (baseball pitcher) took the ball out of bounds, he throws a perfect pass 3/4 down the court to Quinshad Davis (football WR) he passes to FR. L.J. Peak who steps behind the three point line and drills a three pointer at the buzzer to tie the game at 71 to 71 forcing overtime. In the overtime the Tribe got the early lead, but Irmo came back and had a 84 to 83 lead with about 9 seconds left when Gaffney got the ball back. The Tribe would hurry the ball down court and Michael Wright missed a layup and L.J. Peak would tip the ball in at the buzzer to give the Tribe the victory, 85 to 84. What a basketball game! The Tribe ia 2010 Upwards Classic Champions. Quinshad Davis and L.J. Peak were on the all tournament team and Dershawn Dawkins was the tournament MVP.

My View From The Stands..... The Gaffney vs Irmo Upwards Championship Game was the best High School basketball game I have ever seen. It had everything. It very well could be a State Championship Game preview.

Games this Week

The Indians have a record of 12 and 0 and a NO. 1 state ranking and they have games at Boiling Springs tonight and at Union County on Friday night. The Tribes game at Rock Hill scheduled for Tuesday next week has been rescheduled for Monday at Rock Hill.

Until Next Time.