Can Great Falls boys snap rivalry losing streak against Lewisville?

The Great Falls Red Devils and the Lewisville Lions meet 6 p.m. Friday night at Great Falls in a key battle of rival teams that are in the hunt for the Region 2-A championship.

It may also be the last time they are in the same region as Lewisville, despite its appeals, moves up to the 2A classification next school year in the new South Carolina High School League realignment. The two teams still plan to play each other twice, it will just be earlier in the season. Bragging rights will still be on the line, just like they are Friday.

Coach Jimmy Duncan’s Red Devils have already improved on last year’s 10-9 record as they sit at 11-3 and 2-1 in the region. Great Falls is a tradition-rich program that is trying to get back to the level they were at for years under legendary coach John Smith. The Red Devils will try to rebound from a 75-54 loss at McBee on Tuesday night, but Duncan is excited about where the team is right now.

“We started the region with three road games and got two of the three,” he said. “These kids have a lot of character. We play a lot of sophomores but they act older. I can’t complain with where we are at so far.”

One of the key Red Devils is senior Tommy Belk. Duncan said he is the glue of the team. Belk does a lot of things that are not visible in a box score, such as draw charges. He took four in the McBee game alone.

Sophomore D.J. Adams leads Great Falls on defense with four steals a game, and the offense is directed by first-year point guard ZyDerrick Jordan, a junior.

Neither team has practiced since its Tuesday game. Snow closed schools in Chester County on Wednesday and Thursday and sports teams are not allowed to practice on days that school is closed. That could result in some erratic play other than just the rivalry game jitters.

“I think it will be a sloppy, hard-nosed game,” Duncan said. “With the emotion and no practice, it might not be pretty. But we have a passionate fan base and that gym will be full, so that will help.”

Great Falls won 16 out of 18 against the Lions from 2006 to Jan. 2015, but Lewisville has taken the last five with coach Mike McCray at the helm. He agrees with his counterpart Duncan that it will be a slugfest.

“It’s going to be an old-fashioned Ali-Frazier fight,” McCray said. “Everybody is ready to go. Some of these kids we’ve coached on the same AAU team. Some are even related.”

McCray’s Lions are coming off a thrilling and successful season last year which ended with a heart-stopping one-point state championship game loss to McCray’s former team Hemingway. Lewisville lost players college athletes Mike Hill and Trey Keels off of that squad. This year’s version of the Lions is currently 8-7 and, like Great Falls, 2-1 in the region after defeating Lamar 73-48 Tuesday night.

“We knew it would be a rocky season,” McCray said. “We didn’t expect it to be easy after breezing last year. We know the target is on our head.”

McCray crafted a difficult, early-season non-conference schedule to prepare his young Lions for their region and the playoffs. In December, they played 4A and 5A schools such as Spring Valley, Northwestern, and Elevation Prep, which is out of Charlotte.

Some of their leaders are sophomore point guard Demetric Harden, who started as a freshman and scores 15.4 a game, and senior Mikhail Fourney, who tosses in 15.1 per game.

McCray still feels good about where the Lions are and hopes the scheduling pays off.

“The region is a toss-up,” McCray said. “It might be the first one to six (region victories) wins.”

Local region standings (as of Jan. 17, 2018)

Region 4-5A

Region 3-4A

Region 4-3A

Region 2-A

This story was originally published January 18, 2018 at 5:31 PM with the headline "Can Great Falls boys snap rivalry losing streak against Lewisville?."