By Thomas Grant Jr.
Both Irmo basketball teams headed to The Swamp Tuesday looking to improve their Region 4-5A standings.
The Lady Yellow Jackets managed to escape with a 43-41 victory over River Bluff. Jayla Anderson scored 17 points, including the go-ahead layup with less than a minute left.
Abby Livingston added 14 points for Irmo, which snapped a 4-game losing streak.
The contest saw both teams trade scoring runs. River Bluff used a 7-0 run to tie the game at 16-16 in the second quarter.
Meghan Tucker led the offense, scoring eight of her 14 points in the second quarter.
Irmo (11-10, 2-5) responded with a 7-3 run to go into the locker room up 23-19. Trailing 36-28 at the end of the third quarter, the Lady Yellow Jackets scored eight straight points to tie the game.
Jenna Johnson scored six of her 10 fourth-quarter points during the run. She finished with a game-high 16 points.
A layup by Anderson and basket by Janiyah Stokes put the Lady Yellow Jackets up 40-36. Johnson answered with a 3-pointer and driving layup to put the Lady Gators ahead 41-40 with 1:09 remaining.
Anderson made 1-2 free throws with 59.8 seconds left to deadlock the game. On the next possession, she put back a Livingston miss for the go-ahead score.
River Bluff had four opportunities in the final 30 seconds. The Lady Gators (8-15, 0-7) could not convert, losing their 10 straight game and 12th straight in region play dating back to last season.
The Irmo boys looked to extend a 2-game winning streak against the first-place Gators.
Sparked by 3-point shooting, River Bluff jumped out to a 18-10 lead. Dax Avery had three of the Gators’ five 3-pointers in the first half to finish with 11 points.
Trailing 28-21 at halftime and down as many as nine points, Irmo closed the gap to 31-29. Jeremy Anderson scored six of his game-high 16 points to lead the comeback.
River Bluff came out strong in the fourth quarter. Blake Wilson had eight of his 12 points in the fourth quarter to give the Gators a 38-32 advantage.
Matthew Hopkins kept Irmo close with a pair of 3-pointers. He also led the full court pressure attack of the Yellow Jackets which caused difficulties for River Bluff.
Irmo got within 44-42 with 26.1 seconds left in the game. After Wilson made 1-2 free throws, the Yellow Jackets looked to tie the game.
An errant pass over the reach of Tanner McCray with 2.6 seconds left ended those hopes. Yasir Cromer was fouled and made two free throws to finish with 12 points.
River Bluff (17-5, 7-0) remained a game ahead of Dutch Fork in the standings. Irmo (13-8, 3-4) remained tied with White Knoll for third place in the region.
The two schools will meet in “The Temple of Doom” Friday.
Dutch Fork gets sweep
The fifth-ranked Division I Lady Silver Foxes knocked the fourth-ranked Lady Timberwolves out of a share of first place in Region 4-5A Tuesday.
Fresh off scoring a career-best 33 points against Chapin, senior Michaela Fairwell scored 20 points in the 69-37 rout of White Knoll. Jamia Gerald had 14 points and Claire Howard added 10 for Dutch Fork (18-2, 6-1).
Lexington’s 52-42 win over Chapin sets up a rematch for sole possession of first place Friday at Dutch Fork. The Lady Wildcats won the first meeting on Jan. 17 in dramatic fashion 68-66 as Jaleya Lytes hit a 3-pointer in the final seconds.
The boys game saw the seventh-ranked Silver Foxes defeat White Knoll 62-47. Bryson Taylor scored 20 points, Justus Bell had 16 points and Caleb Garner added 13 for the Silver Foxes (15-6, 5-1).
They remained a game behind River Bluff in the region standings with three games remaining. The two teams will meet Feb. 11 at Dutch Fork.
S.C. BASKETBALL COACHES ASSSOCIATION TOP 10 RANKINGS
BOYS
Class 5A
(Division I)
1. Ridge View, 2. J.F. Byrnes, 3. Dorman, 4. Blythewood, 5. Summerville, 6. River Bluff, 7. Dutch Fork, 8. Mauldin, 9. Ashley Ridge, 10. Carolina Forest
Class 4A
1. Lancaster, 2. North Augusta, 3. Crestwood, 4. Gray Collegiate, 5. Wren, 6. Brookland-Cayce, 7. Bluffton, 8. Wilson, 9. Greer, 10. May River
GIRLS
Class 5A
(Division I)
1. Ashley Ridge , 2. Blythewood, 3. Summerville, 4. Clover, 5. Dutch Fork, 6. Carolina Forest, 7. Wando, 8. J.L. Mann, 9. J.F. Byrnes, 10. Lexington
(Division II)
1. Gaffney, 2. North Myrtle Beach, 3. Berkeley, 4. White Knoll, 5. Riverside, 6. Fort Mill, 7. Greenville, 8. St. James, 9. Greenwood, 10. Goose Creek
Feature Photo by Thomas Grant Jr. – Irmo forward La’Nee McCutchen dribbles upcourt as she’s pursued by River Bluff’s Braelyn Davis.
