THE FINISHERS ( THE STORY OF THE 2010 4A STATE CHAMPIONS )

What I would like to do today is to look back and see how the 2010 4A State Championship Basketball Season unfolded. Before we look at this Championship season we have to look at how the 2009 season ended.

The 2009 season ended with the Gaffney Indians getting to the State Championship game in Columbia to play Lowerstate Champion Goose Creek Gators. The Indians fell behind by double digits in the 1st half, only to rally and cut the lead to two points with less than a minute to go in the game. The Goose Creek Gators would hold on and hand the Gaffney Indians a very disappointing 63 to 58 loss in the State Title Game. The Indians would finish the season at 25 and 3. The Indians would lose eight players off of the 2009 team but had 4A Player of The Year Josh Corry coming back. The Indians had three more players coming back as well with Bo Wray, Domminick Byers and Chase Smith. The loss in the Championship Game stayed with these four returning players all through the summer work-outs and preseason practices as they could not wait until the new season would start so they could try to finish what they could not finish the season before, to win a State Championship.

The season started for the Gaffney Indians with the four returning players and eight new players on the varsity team. For most programs it would have been a rebuilding season, but the Gaffney Indians of Head Coach Mark Huff are not most programs, as they are the top 4A boys program in the state of South Carolina and they were just reloading for another championship run. Coach Huff has always given his teams a nickname before the start of the season and this years edition of the Gaffney Indians would be called The Finishers.

The season opener was on December 4th against rival Union County. The Indians opened the season without their top player and the reigning 4A Player of the year Josh Corry as he was suspended for the season opener for missing a practice. The undersized Indians were quicker than the taller Yellowjackets and out rebounded Union County 48 to 27 and senior Chase Smith picked up the scoring slack from Corry not playing with 24 points. The Indians would defeat Union County 92 to 57.

The early season had the Indians defeating arch-rival Spartanburg 86 to 68 in game two of the season. Game number three of the young season had the Indians in their first big showdown of the season as the 3rd ranked Gaffney Indians faced the 4th ranked Dorman Cavaliers. The game lived up to the hype as the Indians escaped with a 66 to 60 victory. After an easy 72 to 45 win over Byrnes the Indians and Cavaliers would meet once again with the Indians completing the regular season sweep of the Dorman Cavaliers 54 to 49.

The Holiday Tournament part of the Indians schedule started as they hosted the Substation 2 Tournament at The Burial Ground. The Indians would play Spartanburg Christian Academy in the first round and defeat the Warriors 68 to 64. The Indians would defeat Chesnee in the Substation 2 Championship 81 to 59. It was two very lackadaisical and unimpressive performances for the Indians even though they won the Tournament Championship.

The Indians would then participate in the Upwards Classic Tournament at Dorman High School where they would face Peachtree Ridge from Atlanta in the first round. The Indians did not play well for a third consecutive game and fell to a very good Peachtree Ridge team 87 to 70. The Indians would bounce back and defeat Butler (NC) 85 to 73 and Sebastian River (FLA) 82 to 60 to finish out the Upwards Classic.

The Non-Region schedule for the Indians ended with another big win over Byrnes 70 to 57 and another win against arch-rival Spartanburg 67 to 56 and another win over Union County 95 to 73.So the calender had turned from 2009 to the 2010 part of the schedule with the Indians finishing the non-region part of their schedule with an 12and 1 record.

The 2010 Region 3 4A opener had the Indians defeating the York Cougars 88 to 75. It was a Region win but it was not pretty. The Indians stood at 13 and 1 over-all and 1 and 0 in region play.

The 2010 season turning point came after another lackadaisical win over Region 3 4A lightweight Nation Ford 65 to 55, the Indians would then host Fort Mill at The Burial Ground. The Fort Mill Yellowjackets would come to Gaffney and defeat the Indians 66 to 60. The Indians would follow up their loss to Fort Mill with a win at the buzzer against Region 3 4A's last place team Northwestern 73 to 71. The Indians would then insert Quinshad Davis into the starting line-up and they turned up their defensive intensity a few notches and greatly improved their rebounding as their season turned around.

The 2010 regular season ended on a roll for the Gaffney Indians, after their loss to Fort Mill and near-miss to Northwestern, as they reeled off Region 3 4A wins of 76 to 48 over Clover, 90 to 52 over Nation Ford, 71 to 66 in their rematch with Fort Mill, 94 to 56 over York, 89 to 60 over Clover and 114 to 46 over Northwestern. The Indians would end the regular season with a 21 and 2 record and as Region 3 4A Champions as they headed to the playoffs.

The 2010 4A Playoff opener had the Indians hosting and defeating South Pointe by a score of 69 to 43. The Indians would lose star guard Josh Corry in the 2nd quarter with a badly sprained ankle. The win over the Stallions would set up another showdown with arch-rival Spartanburg in the 2nd round.

The 2nd and 3rd round of the 4A Playoffs had the Indians, with a questionable Josh Corry playing in the game at about 80%, defeating Spartanburg 69 to 47 in the 2nd round and they survived a 3rd classic match-up with Dorman in the 3rd round 45 to 42. Sophomore Quinshad Davis scored the winning basket with a lay-up with 10 seconds left in the game.

The 2010 Upperstate Championship Game had the Gaffney Indians facing the surprising Easley Green Wave who had upset NO. 1 ranked Hillcrest in the 3rd round. The Indians jumped to a 22 to 8 lead at the end of the 1st quarter and was able to hold off the Green Wave with a late run for a 74 to 66 victory and the Upperstate Championship for the Indians. Dershawn Dawkins led the Tribe with 24 points including 12 in the 4th quarter. Eighth-grader L.J. Peak added 14 points and 8 rebounds.

The 2010 4A State Championship Game had The Finishers back in Columbia to finish the job that they didn't finish in March of 2009. The Indians would face the Lexington Wildcats who defeated Goose Creek the team that broke the hearts of the Indians and their fans a year ago in the Title game. The State Championship game with Lexington was a game of runs with the last and Championship clinching run being a 22 to 6 run by the Indians to end the game after falling behind 51 to 49 to Lexington to start the 4th quarter. The Wildcats had finished an 11 to 0 run to take the lead early in the 4th quarter. The Indians won this game with their bench outscoring the Lexington bench 29 to 3 for the game and they out rebounded the taller Wildcats 37 to 17. Junior PG Dershawn Dawkins led the Indians with 16 points and executed the Indians offense flawless and sophomore Quinshad Davis scored 15 points and 13 rebounds. The Indians defeated Lexington 71 to 57. THE FINISHERS FINISHED THE JOB AND WON THE 2010 4A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP IN BOYS BASKETBALL!!

The loss in the State Championship Game last year was a big motivating factor with this years Gaffney Indians basketball team. They wanted to finish the job and they did. The Finishers are 2010 State Champs!

TRIBE FACTS..... The Gaffney Indians have won four 4A Basketball State Championships in eight years.

TRIBE FACTS..... The Gaffney Indians have won a total of five Basketball State Championships in school history. The Titles were won in 1949, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2010.

Until Next Tuesday.

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.

4A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME PREVIEW

INDIANS WIN THE UPPERSTATE CHAMPIONSHIP!!

The Gaffney Indians are Columbia bound for a second year in a row, as they defeated Easley 74 to 66 to win the 4A Upperstate Championship on Friday night at the Bilo Center in Greenville. The Indians got off to a fast start as they led 22 to 8 at the end of the 1st quarter. Easley would chip away at the Tribe's lead and eventually tie the game at 54 with 5:39 left in the game. The Indians would then turn up the pressure and go on a 10 to 0 run to pretty much put the game away. The Indians would hit 9 of 10 free throws down the stretch to finish off the Easley Green Wave. Josh Corry had 16 of his 23 points in the 1st half as the Indians built their halftime lead. Dershawn Dawkins would score 12 of his team high 24 points down the stretch after the game was tied at 54. Eighth-grader L.J. Peak had another big game, off of Head Coach Mark Huff's bench, with 14 points and 8 rebounds. Sophomore Quinshad Davis had a solid game as well with 8 points and 8 rebounds. SO THE GAFFNEY INDIANS ARE 2010 4A UPPERSTATE CHAMPIONS!!

4A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME PREVIEW

Lexington (25-4) vs Gaffney (25-2)..... The Gaffney Indians are in Columbia for a second consecutive season to try to bring home another State Basketball Championship. The Indians came up shot last season losing to Goose Creek 63 to 58. This season the Indians intend to Finish the job! The Indians have been focused and motivated to get back to the title game and finish the job. Head Coach Mark Huff named this years team The Finishers. The Indians will be ready to play, as they have seen a great 2-3 zone from Dorman, a great 1-3-1 zone from Spartanburg and a mixture of defenses from Easley. During the regular season the Indians scored 76.5 points per game and gave up 59.4 points per game. During the playoffs the Indians have averaged scoring 64.3 points per game and they have given up an average of 49.5 points per game. The Indians will continue to do what they do best, full-court pressure and try to run as much as possible on offense and use their speed and quickness and deep bench to wear down the Lexington Wildcats. IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT !

The Lexington Wildcats are the Champions of Region 5 4A and the 2010 Lowerstate Champions. The Wildcats have been pretty impressive during the playoffs with wins over Dutch Fork, Berkeley, Sumter and defending 4A State Champions Goose Creek 72 to 61 to win the Lowerstate Championship. During the regular season the Wildcats averaged scoring 63.4 points per game and gave up an average of 51.1 points per game. During their playoff run, the Wildcats have averaged 72.5 points per game and they have given up an average of 60.5 points per game. The Wildcats will probably try to slow the game down, as they usually play at a slower pace than Gaffney does on offense. As I look at this game, I see Lexington as a very good team and they can beat Gaffney if the Indians don't bring their A-game. I see the Indians bringing their A-game and The Finishers will finish the job this season and bring another State Championship back home to the School of Champions..... Winner Gaffney

Tribe Facts..... The Gaffney Indians are playing for the 4A State Basketball Championship for the 5th time in the last 8 years. With a win it would be their 4th Title in 8 years and 5th all-time.

GO INDIANS! GO INDIANS! GO INDIANS!

Until Next Tuesday.

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.