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.