By Thomas Grant Jr.
The road to reach the state championship in Class 5A Division I goes through Dutch Fork.
What has proven true for football is now the case in basketball. Having clinched Region 4-5A titles, both the boys and girls earned top seeds in the Upper State bracket.
In addition to first-round byes, they will have homecourt advantage in the second and third rounds.
The Lady Silver Foxes open the playoffs Thursday as the top overall seed in the Upper State. They will face either Dorman or Mauldin.
A week earlier, the Lady Silver Foxes defeated Irmo 70-39 to claim their second straight region title under head coach Candace Bush.
“It feels good, but then again, having a week off is kind of scary to see how they’ll come back after having a week off,” Bush said. “But it feels good for the break and the extra practice.”
Region 4-5A Player of the Year Michaela Fairwell scored 18 points. Former Yellow Jacket Claire Howard added 17 points in her return to “The Temple of Doom”.
“It means a lot,” she said. “I was a little nervous coming back because I didn’t know what the environment was going to be like. But, it was hyped, it was good and my team came out on top.”
The Dutch Fork boys opened play Wednesday against Monday’s winner between Spartanburg and Clover. The Silver Foxes enter the post-season as the second seed after winning two straight games on the home floor of archrival Irmo High School.
Needing a win to set up a one-game playoff against River Bluff, Dutch Fork prevailed in overtime 51-47.
Bryson Taylor scored 23 points and Caleb Garner had 10 points to lead Dutch Fork.
A layup by Irmo’s Jaden Rivers with 1.9 seconds left tied the game at 40-40 to force overtime. The Yellow Jackets opened with a 4-point lead, only for Dutch Fork to outscore them 8-2 to take a 48-46 lead with 1:19 remaining.
Irmo got within a point, but a steal by Taylor and two free throws with 19.7 seconds left put Dutch Fork up 50-47. Christian Brown was fouled on Irmo’s next possession with 11.7 seconds left but missed both free throws.
Taylor added another free throw for the victory.
The following night, Dutch Fork returned to Irmo for a one-game playoff against River Bluff. After a low-scoring first quarter, the Silver Foxes broke the game open by halftime and rolled to a 55-27 victory.
Justus Bell led the Silver Foxes with 19 points and Taylor and Caleb Garner each had 10. The victory, coupled with Riverside’s win over J.F. Byrnes, gave Dutch Fork the second-overall seed in the Upper State and the Gators the fourth seed.
The state semifinals and finals take place at the Florence Civic Center.
Feature photo by Thomas Grant Jr. – Dutch Fork seniors Michaela Fairwell, Kyla Niles and Taylor Monroe.
