On a night when the legacy of Roosevelt High School was honored, all of Clover won
The seniors on the Clover High School dance teams and cheer squads and basketball teams all stood facing the home-side crowd, basking in applause just minutes before the boys’ basketball team’s Senior Night game tipped off.
But Friday was about more than just a final night of basketball on the CHS home court.
On Friday, all of Clover won.
The Blue Eagles’ penultimate regular season game honored the legacy of Roosevelt High School, the high school Black students in the Clover School District attended during segregation.
Roosevelt alumni, wearing their blue and gold shirts and letterman jackets, filled the stands. Both Clover basketball teams wore special uniforms for the occasion — the front read “Roosevelt,” the back read “Tigers.”
“It was a very special game,” Clover girls’ basketball assistant coach Shakkia Walker said, wearing a Roosevelt cardigan. “I’m blessed to be a part of this program, this amazing program. And we’re showing the change, demonstrating it, leading by example.”
Walker grew up in Clover, and her family has been here for generations. Her grandmother and grandfather attended Roosevelt. Several aunts and uncles and friends who attended Roosevelt were in the Clover gym’s stands on Friday night, too — seeing their school’s place in history acknowledged on the basketball court.
Walker played basketball at Clover under current coach Sherer Hopkins and returned to Clover after college to teach at CHS. A mission of hers the past few years, she said, has been to teach her students about Clover’s past.
After all, knowing your community’s history — and including everyone in that history — is important.
“I’m a Roosevelt product,” Walker said with a prideful smile. “I lived over there. I remember when the school was still up. I used to go and play basketball there in the gym. And being able to honor all the legends over there — they may not think they are legends, but they’re legends in our book — it’s just like a dream come true that they’re able to witness this in person.”
Roosevelt High School stood on Mobley Street, just off of South Main Street in the heart of Clover. It welcomed students for 48 years. Its last class graduated in 1970.
The campus was cleared years ago and replaced by baseball fields on what is now Roosevelt Park.
But the school’s history and memory lives on.
Jackie Tate and Lela Littlejohn, both 70 years old, are a part of Roosevelt High School’s last graduating class and were in attendance on Friday night. Both, for many years, worked in the school district, and both have supported Clover basketball through the years.
Both, even, played basketball at Roosevelt High. Tate was part of the boys’ basketball team who won a 1A state championship in 1970.
“It was an honor for me, an honor for us,” Littlejohn told The Herald, referring to Friday’s game.
Said Tate: “It means a lot because we were the last class before we integrated, but our alumni is passing on, you know? I see some in the audience tonight, and they are in their late 70s. And we want to keep the Roosevelt tradition alive. Because nobody will know about it if we don’t keep it out there.”
On Friday night, Clover won two basketball games: The girls, led by Tegan Bertwell’s 13 points, defeated Fort Mill, 39-30, and clinched the Region 3-5A championship and a No. 1 seed in the state playoffs. The boys — thanks to a go-ahead floater from sophomore guard Jaylon Hoover with 10.2 seconds left and a game-sealing block by senior forward Lawrence Bartee the next possession — downed Fort Mill, 52-51, and gave themselves the chance to share the Region 3-5A title when regular season play wraps up next week.
Clover won both of its basketball contests on Friday night.
But whatever the scores turned out to be, the community of Clover would’ve won anyway.
“I was on a committee to do a plaque (honoring Roosevelt High School) for the stadium to revel next year,” Clover head basketball coach and athletic director and Clover High alum Bailey Jackson told The Herald on Friday night, “and I just started thinking about all the people who had been my teachers. My coaches. People who knew me in the community. People who still come to our games who were all a part of Roosevelt. And I just thought it was a good idea.
“I thought it was overdue. I thought it needed to be done, and we have the resources to do it. So we did it. And we’re going to do it every year.”
Girls basketball scores this week
Monday
Fort Mill 48, Gaffney 42
Indian Land 32, York 28
Tuesday
Clover 48, Nation Ford 31
Fort Mill 43, Boiling Springs 35
Northwestern 50, Blythewood 10
South Pointe 51, Lancaster 34
Catawba Ridge 64, York 13
Lower Richland 64, Chester 5
Andrew Jackson 44, Chesterfield 23
York Prep 52, Cheraw 43
Lewisville 44, Governor’s School 20
McBee 54, Great Falls 27
Wednesday
Fairfield Central 46, Indian Land 35
Great Falls 28, Governor’s School 16
Thursday
Lancaster 33, York 22
Andrew Jackson 61, North Central 26
Friday
Rock Hill 63, Blythewood 14
Clover 39, Fort Mill 30
Spring Valley 54, Northwestern 32
Gaffney 60, Nation Ford 42
Catawba Ridge 49, Lancaster 44
South Pointe 48, Indian Land 27
Lower Richland 61, Chester 17
Andrew Jackson 51, Buford 36
McBee 55, Lewisville 34
Fairfield Central 57, Great Falls 11
Boys basketball scores this week
Monday
Fort Mill 70, Gaffney 42
Indian Land 84, York 66
Tuesday
Clover 37, Nation Ford 36 (OT)
Northwestern 77, Blythewood 57
Fort Mill 60, Boiling Springs 48
South Pointe 59, Lancaster 55
Catawba Ridge 83, York 36
Lower Richland 63, Chester 47
York Prep 87, Cheraw 38
Andrew Jackson 54, Chesterfield 24
Great Falls 77, McBee 43
Governor’s School 50, Lewisville 34
Wednesday
Indian Land 51, Fairfield Central 50
Thursday
Lancaster 66, York 59
York Prep 104, Pageland Central 42
Friday
Northwestern 58, Spring Valley 44
Rock Hill 67, Blythewood 55
Clover 52, Fort Mill 51
Gaffney 47, Nation Ford 41
South Pointe 77, Indian Land 63
Lancaster 54, Catawba Ridge 44
Lower Richland 57, Chester 55 (OT)
Andrew Jackson 70, Buford 47
Great Falls 59, Fairfield Central 38
Lewisville 60, McBee 46
Girls basketball region standings
Region 4-5A: Rock Hill 6-0, 19-3; Northwestern 5-2, 15-6; Spring Valley 4-3, 13-9; Ridge View 1-5, 5-14; Blythewood 0-6, 0-17.
Region 3-5A: Clover 7-0, 16-5; Fort Mill 3-3, 9-15; Gaffney 3-3, 14-7; Boiling Springs 1-4, 6-13; Nation Ford 1-5, 5-17.
Region 3-4A: Catawba Ridge 6-1, 19-2; South Pointe 6-1, 14-7; Lancaster 2-4, 10-8; Indian Land 1-5, 6-12; York 1-5, 6-15.
Region 4-3A: Keenan 8-0, 19-3; Lower Richland 4-2, 17-4; Fairfield Central 4-2, 14-3; Mid-Carolina 0-6, 9-9; Chester 0-6, 1-15.
Region 4-2A: Andrew Jackson 9-0, 16-3; Buford 6-3, 7-7; Chesterfield 7-3, 14-4; Cheraw 4-6, 6-11; York Prep 2-4, 4-10; North Central 2-6, 6-10; Pageland Central 0-8, 1-13.
Region 2-1A: McBee 6-0, 11-4; Lewisville 4-2, 5-10; Great Falls 3-2, 3-9; CA Johnson 0-4, 0-9; Governor’s School 0-5, 0-7.
Boys basketball region standings
Region 4-5A: Ridge View 5-1, 13-11; Northwestern 5-2, 16-6; Blythewood 3-3, 9-12; Spring Valley 2-5, 11-14; Rock Hill 1-5, 10-10.
Region 3-5A: Clover 6-1, 17-7; Fort Mill 5-1, 17-5; Gaffney 3-3, 9-12; Nation Ford 1-5, 6-15; Boiling Springs 0-5, 11-12.
Region 3-4A: South Pointe 7-0, 12-5, Catawba Ridge 4-3, 19-5; Lancaster 3-3, 17-6, Indian Land 1-4, 5-12; York 0-5, 3-15.
Region 4-3A: Keenan 8-0, 15-10; Lower Richland 4-2, 5-10; Fairfield Central 2-3, 4-12; Chester 1-4, 4-11; Mid-Carolina 0-6, 2-19.
Region 4-2A: York Prep 8-0, 19-0; Pageland Central 6-3, 10-7; Andrew Jackson 6-3, 15-7; Cheraw 4-6, 7-17; North Central 2-4, 9-5; Chesterfield 3-7, 8-10; Buford 1-7, 5-13.
Region 2-1A: Great Falls 5-0, 11-7; CA Johnson 3-1, 8-6; Governor’s School 3-2, 6-3; Lewisville 1-5, 2-12; McBee 1-5, 1-14.
Latest South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association rankings
These standings are up-to-date through Feb. 2. Teams from York, Chester and Lancaster counties are in bold.
Girls 5A: 1. Rock Hill, 2. Sumter, 3. Lexington, 4. Cane Bay, 5, Dutch Fork, 6. Dorman, 7. Stall, 8. Stratford, 9. Summerville, 10. Northwestern.
Boys 5A: 1. Dorman, 2. Riverside, 3. Ft. Dorchester, 4. Sumter, 5. Fort Mill, 6. Northwestern, 7. Cane Bay, 8. Conway, 9. Ridge View, 10. Mauldin.
Girls 4A: 1. Westside, 2. North Augusta, 3. Catawba Ridge, 4. Bluffton, 5. South Florence, 6. Westwood, 7. North Myrtle Beach, 8. Aiken, 9. South Pointe, 10. AC Flora.
Boys 4A: 1. Irmo, 2. AC Flora, 3. South Pointe, 4. Hartsville, 5. Wilson, 6. West Florence, 7. Travelers Rest, 8. Greenville, 9. Catawba Ridge, 10. North Augusta.
Girls 3A: 1. Keenan, 2. Camden, 3. Lower Richland, 4. Southside, 5. Blue Ridge, 6. Emerald, 7. Orangeburg-Wilkinson, 8. Mid-Carolina, 9. Wren, 10. Clinton.
Boys 3A: 1. Orangeburg-Wilkinson, 2. Seneca, 3. Crestwood, 4. Blue Ridge, 5. Union County, 6. Brookland-Cayce, 7. Dillon, 8. Powdersville, 9. Fox Creek, 10. Oceanside Collegiate.
Girls 2A: 1. Blacksburg, 2. Christ Church, 3. Gray Collegiate, 4. Silver Bluff, 5. Andrew Jackson, 6. Phillip Simmons, 7. Chesterfield, 8. Latta, 9. Saluda, 10. Landrum.
Boys 2A: 1. York Prep, 2. Phillip Simmons, 3. Landrum, 4, Gray Collegiate, 5. Wade Hampton, 6. Christ Church, 7. Woodland, 8. Andrew Jackson, 9. Abbeville, 10. Kingstree.
Girls 1A: 1. Military Magnet, 2. East Clarendon, 3. Denmark-Olar, 4. High Point Academy, 5. Lake View, 6. Calhoun Falls Charter, 7. Southside Christian, 8. Cross, 9. Whale Branch, 10. McBee.
Boys 1A: 1. Scott’s Branch, 2. Calhoun County, 3. Baptist Hill, 4. Carvers Bay, 5. Denmark-Olar, 6. Hannah-Pamplico, 7. Hemingway, 8. McCormick, 9. Great Falls, 10. Southside Christian.
This story was originally published February 5, 2022 at 12:37 AM.
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