Rock Hill girls, Clover, Northwestern boys open holiday tournaments with wins | The Herald

The Rock Hill girls and Clover and Northwestern boys moved into the winners’ brackets in two Christmas Tournaments being played in Rock Hill this week.

At the Y.C. Winborn Tournament at Rock Hill High, the Rock Hill Bearcats advanced to the winners’ bracket in the girls’ division with a 60-26 win over the Buford Yellow Jackets.

Rock Hill, 8-2 overall, led 31-10 at halftime and cruised to the victory to earn a spot in Friday’s semifinals at 6:30 p.m. against Sun Valley (N.C.).

Rikoya Anderson led Rock Hill with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Included in her game-high total were three baskets from behind the arc. Jalen Armstrong added a pair of treys and scored eight points. Abrianna Green added six points for Rock Hill.

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In other girls action at the Winborn Tournament, Butler beat Airport 59-39, Sun Valley defeated Lugoff-Elgin 59-32, and St. James toppled Gray Collegiate 39-22.

In the boys’ division, the Clover Blue Eagles moved to the winners’ bracket with a 54-46 win over the Chapin Eagles.

Clover led 30-29 at halftime, but Chapin regained the lead at 37-36 after three quarters. Clover pulled away to pick up the win and improve to 5-2 on the year.

Heze Massey led Clover with 16 points. Markus Nastase and Qwasham Garrett joined him in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Clover will take on Butler in the semifinals at 5 p.m. Friday. Butler, the three-time defending champion, destroyed Fairfield Central 93-26 in the opening round.

The Byrnes Rebels pulled away in the final quarter and downed the York Cougars 71-59.

York led 25-14 after one period, but Byrnes rallied to cut the deficit to 36-34 at halftime. The Rebels were in front 53-51 headed to the final eight minutes.

Malcolm Kennedy led York with 26 points. Tabari Moore and Cameron Jones joined him in double digits with 16 and 14, respectively.

York fell to 4-5 on the year and will play at 2 p.m. Friday against the Rock Hill Bearcats, who lost 64-51 to Greeneville (TN) in the final contest of the night.

Greeneville took a 16-11 lead after one period, and extended it to 27-21 at halftime. Greeneville took a 43-37 lead into the fourth quarter, and gradually pulled away for the win.

Luke Bracey led Rock Hill with 14 points. Savion Williams added 10 points for the Bearcats, who dropped to 0-9 on the year.

At the Lindberg Moody tournament at Northwestern, the Northwestern Trojans led from start to finish and toppled the Marlboro County Bulldogs 69-53.

The Trojans’ quick start gave them a 21-17 cushion after one period. They stretched it to 35-27 at intermission, and gradually pulled away in the second half for the win.

Northwestern placed four players in double figures. Chris Leach led the scoring parade with 16 points, and Jaywen Westbrook was close behind with 14 points. Mason Grigg added 12, and Ashton Parker tossed in 11.

Northwestern evened its record at 5-5. The Trojans will play at 7 p.m. Friday in the semifinals against River Bluff, which toppled Crestwood 56-48 in the last contest of the opening round.

In other first round action at the Moody Tournament, Elevation Prep defeated Fundamental Prep 80-70, and Orangeburg-Wilkinson defeated Aiken 57-49.