By Warren Lee
For the Times
Andrews traveled to Bishopville to take on Lee Central on Jan. 8, but lost both contests, with the girls’ team falling 45-34 and the boys’ team losing a nail biter 64-62.
The Lady Yellow Jackets got off to a hot start, taking a 10-0 lead.
Andrews’ defense forced multiple turnovers, stretching the lead to 12-0 with two minutes remaining in the first quarter before Lee Central got on the board with two free throws.
To start the second quarter, Shemeika McCray took a rebound coast to coast for a layup, giving the Yellow Jackets a 14-2 lead.
In order to slow down the Yellow Jackets, the Lady Stallions switched to a full court man-to-man defense, which slowly changed the momentum.
Lee Central started making their layups and crashing the boards for rebounds and cut the Andrews lead to 17-14 at the half.
Lee Central tied the game at 17-17 with a three-point conversion on the first play of the second half.
The Lady Stallions then went to a half-court trap defense, which frustrated the Andrews ball handlers, resulting in many easy shots, as they built upon their second half momentum.
Tionna White scored the first point of the half for the Yellow Jackets with a free throw at 3:21 left in the third. The next trip down the floor, White hit a three-pointer to bring the Yellow Jackets back to within five points.
In the fourth quarter, Andrews went on a scoring run to bring them to within four points with 4:00 remaining in the game. Their defensive pressure on the Lady Stallions inbounds plays forced some turnovers, but the Yellow Jackets couldn’t complete the comeback.
Zanayvia Deas had six points and 13 rebounds to lead the Yellow Jackets.
White had six points and three rebounds; McCray had six points; Latesja Deas had five points, two rebounds and two steals; Nykia Timmons had five points; Brittany McKnight had four points and five rebounds; and Nyesha Filmore had three rebounds and three steals.
The boys’ matchup followed a similar path, but this time, Lee Central struck early.
The Stallions jumped out to a 14-2 lead, thanks to some long-range buckets and extra passes.
Andrews mounted a small run to cut the lead to eight points by attacking the basket and drawing fouls. After Johnel Grant hit back-to-back three pointers to tie the game at 22 points, the game went back and forth, with each team claiming momentum, and then losing it a few possessions later.
In the fourth quarter, the Stallions hit a three-pointer to stretch the lead to 47-42, but Monte McCrea answered with a three pointer of his own.
The Yellow Jackets closed to within one point, 51-52, with four minutes remaining, but couldn’t sustain a run to give them the lead for good.
Andrews coach Kevin Branham was pleased with the Yellow Jackets’ effort trying to comeback.
“We fought hard against many factors,” Branham said. “We only shot eight free throws, but we had 27 fouls called on us.”
Johnel Grant had 20 points to lead Andrews.
McCrea had 18 points and 20 rebounds, Jowan Grant had 15 points, and William Lewis had five steals.
Carvers Bay
The Bears opened region play with a 53-46 win over Timmonsville on Jan. 8.
Carvers Bay led 15-8 at the end of the first quarter, but Timmonsville rallied to cut the lead to 24-21 at halftime. The Bears extended the lead to 42-36 at the end of the third quarter and held off the Whirlwinds in the fourth for the victory.
Da’Shaun Aiken had 20 points, three rebounds and three steals to lead Carvers Bay.
Walter Linnen had nine points and three steals; Darius Williams had eight points, nine rebounds and three steals; Shayton Durand had seven points, six rebounds and three steals; Rayshad Dorsey had three points, three rebounds and two steals; and Nigel Gamble had three points.
The girls lost 48-28 to Timmonsville.
Georgetown
The Bulldogs opened region play with a 42-39 win over Socastee on on Jan. 8.
The teams were tied 7-7 at the end of the first quarter and 18-18 at halftime.
Trailing 32-28 at the end of the third quarter, Georgetown outscored Socastee 14-7 in the fourth for the victory.
A.J. Walker had 14 points and five rebounds to lead Georgetown.
Charlie McGirt had eight points and seven rebounds; Dae’Quan Gibson had six points and four steals; Anthony Blair had six points and seven rebounds; Eddie Anderson had five points and three steals; and Leslie Chen had three points.
The girls lost 46-38 to Socastee.
Lowcountry Prep
Rachael Exum had a game-high 24 points to lead the Lady Fighting Marlins to a 51-30 win over Cathedral Academy on Jan. 8.
Lowcountry Prep put the game out of reach early with a 16-point first quarter.
Sydney Derrick had 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Waccamaw
The Lady Warriors lost 67-31 to Mullins on Jan. 8.
The Lady Auctioneers dominated the first two quarters and took a 40-13 lead at halftime, then outscored Waccamaw 27-18 in the second half.
Jaynae Rice had 11 points to lead Waccamaw. Mary Tyler had 10 points and Jess Preedom had four.
The boys lost 63-47 to Mullins.