Bulldogs win second Carolina Classic title

Through three games at the Pepsi Carolina Classic, Lake City’s sharp shooting carried the Panthers into Wednesday’s championship matchup against Marlboro County.

The Bulldogs made sure it didn’t happen a fourth time.

A combination of man-to-man defense by Marlboro and a bad shooting night by Lake City paved the way for the Bulldogs’ 52-44 victory.

The win is the second Classic title in school history. The other came in 1990 with a 64-55 victory against Wando.

“We decided to play man-to-man and try to get some hands in faces,” Marlboro County coach James Pate said. “We knew we couldn’t let them get as many wide open shots as they did against Hemingway.

“If they were going to beat, they were going to have to earn it.”

Lake City was just 3-of-13 from beyond the arc, and missed more than few opportunities inside.

“We were very indecisive tonight, and didn’t play as aggressively as we had been in the tournament,” Lake City coach Willie Thomas said. “We didn’t shoot the ball well at all, from the outside or around the bucket. We were 12 for 40-something, so that’s not going to get it done.”

Despite the poor shooting by both squads, the Bulldogs held just a 37-35 lead entering the fourth quarter.

But the Bulldogs went on a 7-0 run as the Panthers failed to score in the first four minutes of the final quarter.

“We just tried to slow down the pace,” Pate said. “Our guys did a good job of staying within the game plan and the scheme and forced them into making some tough shots.”

Leading the way for Marlboro offensively was tournament MVP Trimaine Quick, who scored 16 points.

“We have a great point guard in Daerell Dease, and he was able to find me a couple of times behind the defense,” Quick said. “We knew we had to come out and play as a team and that’s what we were able to do.

“It’s a great feeling.”

Tyrone Harrington added 14 points for the Bulldogs and Kinsman Thomas pulled down 13 rebounds.

Corey Baker was the only Panther to post double figures, finishing with with 17 points and nine rebounds.

Hemingway 102, Hartsville 93

The Tigers helped write another chapter in the Carolina Classic history books in the third place game.

Hemingway’s 102 points tied a tournament record for most in a game. Wilson and Dillon also scored 102 points in separate games at the 2004 Classic.

The 195 combined points fell five points short of the record set by Wilson and Chester in 2004.

Tashan Fredrick led six Hemingway players in double figures with 23 points, and had nine rebounds. Quintin Brown had 22 and Rashawn Smalls added 15.

Jordan Scott led all scorers with 33 points for the Red Foxes. Darian Hudson followed with 19 points and Chris Ketter had a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Hartsville came back from a 10-point deficit in the first quarter. The Red Foxes also came back to within two points twice in the fourth quarter after Hemingway built double-digit leads, but the Tigers held on down the stretch.

Timmonsville 87, Dillon 71

The Whirlwinds had four players in double figures to help Timmonsville close out their tournament run with a win.

Oschwand Scott had a team-high 23 points for the Whirlwinds followed by Antonio McAllister with 20.

McAllister also dished out nine assists.

Antonio Jones finished with 16 points and Jonathan Jones just missed a double-double with 10 points and eight rebounds for Timmonsville.

Dillon’s Quincy Bethea led all scorers with 24 points. Jarvis Williams had 18 and Garrett Ford added 11 for the Wildcats.

Florence Christian 59, C.E. Murray 55

Florence Christian outscored C.E. Murray 26-12 in the fourth quarter en route to a come-from-behind win.

David Waring led the charge for the Eagles with 22 points. Jordan Washington followed with 17.

Tevin Wallace had 14 points to lead the War Eagles. Keaston Keels and Emanuel Brown each chimed in with 11 points.

West Florence 57, Georgetown 52

Led by Jonathon Gardner’s 23 points and nine rebounds, West Florence closed out the Carolina Classic with a win.

Raheem Williamson added 10 points for the Knights.

Kinard Gadsden-Gillard finished with 21 points for Georgetown, the only Bulldogs player in double figures.

All-tourney team
Kinard Gadsden-Gillard (Georgetown)
David Waring (Florence Christian)
Jordan Scott (Hartsville)
Tashan Fredrick (Hemingway)
Daerell Dease (Marlboro County)
Corey Baker (Lake City)
Trimaine Quick (Marlboro County) — MVP