HS roundup: Bearcats rout Sun Valley for spot in Winborn finals
The Rock Hill Bearcats advanced to the finals of the girls’ division at the Y.C. Winborn Tournament, highlighting play Friday in Christmas tournaments at Rock Hill and Northwestern high schools.
Rock Hill routed Sun Valley 76-22 to move to the 6:30 p.m. championship contest Saturday at Rock Hill High School. The Bearcats will play Butler, which topped St. James 66-21.
Rock Hill led 41-11 at halftime en route to the one-sided victory. Rikoya Anderson led Rock Hill with 15 points. Canijah Taylor joined her in double figures with 13 points.
The Bearcats used a strong defense and eight goals from behind the arc to move to 9-2 on the year.
In other girls’ action at the Winborn, Buford topped Lugoff-Elgin 34-25, and Airport routed Gray Collegiate 48-9.
In the Winborn boys’ division, Butler moved into the finals with a 59-47 win over the Clover Blue Eagles. Butler will play for the championship Saturday against the winner of Friday night’s Byrnes-Greeneville (Tenn.) contest.
Butler took a 21-9 lead after one period, but Clover cut it to 25-17 midway through the second quarter. Butler pulled away for a 36-20 lead at halftime.
Clover trimmed Butler’s lead to 39-31 in the third quarter, before Butler pulled away again for a 45-33 lead heading to the final period.
Kendall Strout paced Clover with 14 points. Heze Masset followed with nine. Clover is 5-3 on the year.
In other boys action Friday, Rock Hill edged York 48-43 in a loser’s bracket game. The win was Rock Hill’s first of the year after nine losses. York dropped to 4-6. Chapin topped Fairfield Central 59-44 in the other loser’s bracket contest.
At the Lindberg Moody Tournament at Northwestern, the River Bluff Gators came from behind in the final 12 minutes and topped the Northwestern Trojans 71-61 to advance to Saturday’s finals at 3:30 p.m.
The Gators will take on the Orangeburg-Wilkinson Bruins, who knocked off Elevation Prep 58-50 in the other semifinal game.
River Bluff trailed Northwestern 49-41 midway through the third quarter, but closed the period on a 12-0 run for a 53-49 lead heading to the last eight minutes.
The Gators were up 59-49 with just less than four minutes to play and held on for the win.
Chris Leach was the top scorer for Northwestern with 14. Zuric Harvey and Jaywen Westbrook joined him in double figures with 10 points each.
Northwestern plays against Elevation Prep in the third-place game at 2 p.m. Saturday.
In other action at the Moody Tournament, Crestwood hit a three-point goal at the buzzer and nipped Marlboro County 49-48, and Aiken got by Fundamental Prep 68-39.
Y. C. Winborn Tournament
Girls’ Division
Friday’s Scores
Buford 34, Lugoff-Elgin 25
Airport 48, Gray Collegiate 9
Butler 66, St. James 21
Rock Hill 76, Sun Valley (N.C.) 22
Saturday’s Pairings
9:30 a.m. - Lugoff-Elgin vs. Gray Collegiate (7th Place)
12:30 p.m. - Buford vs. Airport (5th Place)
3:30 p.m. - St. James vs. Sun Valley (3rd Place)
6:30 p.m. - Rock Hill vs. Butler (Championship)
Boys’ Division
Friday’s Scores
Chapin 59, Fairfield Central 44
Rock Hill 48, York 43
Butler 59, Clover 47
Saturday’s Pairings
11:00 a.m. - York vs. Fairfield Central (7th Place)
2:00 p.m. - Rock Hill vs. Chapin (5th Place)
5:00 p.m. - Clover vs. Byrnes-Greeneville loser (3rd Place)
8:00 p.m. - Butler vs. Byrnes-Greeneville winner(Championship)
Lindberg Moody Tournament
Friday’s Scores
Crestwood 49, Marlboro County 48
Aiken 68, Fundamental Prep 39
Orangeburg-Wilkinson 58, Elevation Prep 50
River Bluff 71, Northwestern 61
Saturday’s Pairings
11:00 a.m. - Marlboro County vs. Fundamental Prep (7th Place)
12:30 p.m. - Crestwood vs. Aiken (5th Place)
2:00 p.m. - Northwestern vs. Elevation Prep (3rd Place)
3:30 p.m. - River Bluff vs. Orangeburg-Wilkinson (Championship)
This story was originally published December 22, 2017 at 10:08 PM with the headline "HS roundup: Bearcats rout Sun Valley for spot in Winborn finals."