Panthers, Gators survive opening-round games

  • The Post and Courier
  • Posted: Tuesday, December 29, 2009 12:01 a.m.
    UPDATED: Friday, March 23, 2012 12:08 p.m.
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Goose Creek;s DeVontae Wright (left) tries to get past East Hall's Ashton Cheeks during Monday's opening round of the Piggly Wiggly Roundball Classic. The Gators won 48-44.
Phil Bowman/Goose Creek;s DeVontae Wright (left) tries to get past East Hall's Ashton Cheeks during Monday's opening round of the Piggly Wiggly Roundball Classic. The Gators won 48-44.

If Monday's first two games are any indication, you might want to call it the Piggly Wiggly Roundball Cardiac Classic.

In the opening game of the 17th annual event, Pinewood Prep watched Ridge View's Jamaal Brantley miss two free throws with nine-tenths of a second left in the game to hold on for a 55-54 victory at West Ashley High School.

If that wasn't enough drama, Goose Creek jumped to a 16-0 lead against East Hall, Ga., in the second game, and then had to rally from a five-point deficit to gain a 48-44 victory.

The tournament featured eight games on the opening day, and not all were as dramatic. But that might be good news, especially if you're a fan and not a cardiologist.

Pinewood's victory was a great start in the Rotary Bracket. There were seven

ties and 12 lead changes, and the Panthers held on to gain their seventh victory in 14 games.

Panthers coach Pat Eidson said he was surprised an official called a foul on his team with less than a second to go.

"All you ever hear is don't call that foul unless it is blatant," the veteran coach said. "They called a foul on a loose ball. They should have won the game, but they couldn't hit their free throws."

Ridge View connected on only 12 of 22, which was a shade worse than the Panthers' 12-of-21 effort from the charity line. Steve Chase led Pinewood with 19 points, hitting 5 of 7 from 3-point land. Bruce Haynes hit 3 of 4 from beyond the arc and finished with 17 points and nine rebounds.

The difference was 3-point shooting. Ridge View outscored the Panthers 20-4 in the paint and 25-7 from the bench.

But Pinewood hit 11 3-point goals while Ridge View made six.

Goose Creek held East Hall scoreless for the first 12 minutes and four seconds of the second game, but the Vikings didn't quit against the defending Class AAAA state champions.

Kevin Blackwell scored on a layup with 3:01 to go to give the Vikings a 44-39 lead. But the Gators held the Vikings scoreless the rest of the way and DeVontae Wright hit three free throws in the last 21 seconds to help the Gators pull it out.

Wright led the Gators with 12 points and James Robinson tallied 11.

In other games, Denzel Myers scored 28 points and James Brown added 16 to lead North Charleston over Fort Dorchester 57-41 in the 4 p.m. game.

Tom Daly scored 22 points to lead Sturt Sabres past Bishop England 77-39 in the 7 p.m. game.

PINEWOOD PREP 55, RIDGE VIEW 54

Ridge View (54): Edmonds 5, Moore 1, Johnson 6, Lee 8, Portee 9, Brantley 2, Gillespie 13, Green 8, Dickerson 2..

Pinewood Prep (55): Alexander 5, Chase 19, Deas 7, Haynes 17, Williams, 2, Moore 3, Fisher 2.

Halftime: Pinewood Prep, 27-22.

GOOSE CREEK 48, EAST HALL (Ga.) 44

East Hall (44): Edwards 4, Hampton 9, Teasley 4, Carter 2, C. Perry 5, D. Perry 8, Cheeks 1, Blackwell 9, Orr 2.

GC (48): Robinson 11, Wright 12, Robinson 4, Williams 6, Davis 7, White 2, Shell 6.

Halftime: Goose Creek, 27-17.

WEST ASHLEY 70, JOHN CARROLL 39

John Carroll (39): Ronald Scott 11, Van Rowe 11, Malcolm McMillan 10, James 4, Akinyulere 2, Johnson 1, Weatheford 2, Sparrow 8, Heath 8, Mcelven 3, Rhodes 2.

West Ashley (70): Matt Kennedy 17, D'Montre Edwards 12, Earl Lawrence 12, Donovan Burns 12, Brown 5, Gordon 3, Clark 3, Heyward 3, McLean 2.

Halftime: WA 40-23. Records: WA 9-0, JC 3-9.

WANDO 61,

OUR SAVIOR NEW AMERICAN 57 (OT)

Wando (61): John Swinton 16, Joe Rubino 16, Naji Pasha 16, Simmons 5, Walker 3, LeGree 2, Jenkins 2, Kinloch 1.

Our Savior NA (57): Franklin Milian 24, Daouda Soumaoro 13, Jevon Thomas 10, Sam Hattin 10.

Halftime: 20-20. End of Regulation: 54-54. Records: Wando 6-3, OSNA 1-4.

NORTH CHARLESTON 57,

FORT DORCHESTER 41

Fort Dorchester (41): R. J. Slawson 12, Laurez Matthews 11, Wright 8, Bowdre 5, Gibbs 3, Frasier 2.

North Charleston (57): Denzel Myers 28, James Brown 16, Ray 6, Samuel 4, Washington 3.

Halftime: NC 30-26. Records: NC 4-3, FD 8-1.

ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE 93, MANNING 41

St. John's (93): Jamaal Pwell 24, Julian DeBose 19, Chris Martin 14, Primus-Devonish 9, Pope 7, McKenna 5, Witts 4, Habtemariam 3, McNeill 2, Peel 2, Coates 2, Koebke 2.

Manning (41): Howard 9, Pendergrass 6, Frierson 5, Ragin 4, Pearson 4, Henry 4, Dukes 3, Calvin 2, Thames 2, Lawson 2.

Halftime: SJ 45-20. Records: SJ 8-2, Manning 4-8.

STURT 77, BISHOP ENGLAND 39

Sturt (77): Tom Daly 22, Jan Worbout 16, Rhys Elliott 12, Nathan Spehr 11, Brandon Bride 10, Owen-Thomas 3, Marriott 2, Prest 1.

BE (39): Alex Abrams 12, Heffron 9, Fosberry 7, Hughes 4, Mills 3, Solomon 2, McGill 2.

Halftime: Sturt 44-18. Records: Sturt 7-2, BE 7-3.

CENTENNIAL 77, JAMES ISLAND 64

Centennial (77): Devonta' White 20, Nathan Harries 15, Gaskins 9, Bailey 8, Nobles 8, Dirton 6, Edwards 5, Pack 4, Stephenson 2.

JI (64): C. J. Bray 14, Austin Bennett 12, Jemel Prioleau 11, Chris Wilkins 10, Bolus 7, Green 6, Dickerson 2, Washington 2.

Halftime: Centennial 33-16. Records: Centennial 5-3, JI 6-6.