Watford, South Carolina, soar to 125-112 win vs. N.C. prep stars in Carolinas Classic

South Carolina’s senior stars overwhelmed North Carolina’s with a torrent of dunks and alley-oops on Saturday evening, rolling to a 125-112 victory in the boys’ portion of the annual Carolinas Classic doubleheader at Hoggard High in Wilmington.

Lancaster’s Jordan Watford, who helped lead the Bruins to the 4A state championship earlier this month, played a big role in Saturday’s victory with a 12-point performance.

Earlier, North Carolina’s girls pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 93-68 victory over South Carolina.

But Andrew Jackson’s Tamia Watkins played a big role for South Carolina, scoring 14 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

The Carolinas Classic is basketball’s version of the Shrine Bowl — meetings between the top senior high school players in North Carolina and their South Carolina counterparts.

The boys’ game was long on fast-breaks and 3-point shots, and short on defense.

South Carolina’s 125-point total was the highest for a winning team since 2019, when South Carolina won 129-117. The Carolinas Classic record for the two teams was set in 2017, when North Carolina won 134-129.

Greer High’s Amare Anderson, a Presbyterian commit, was named Most Valuable Player with his 14-point, six-steal performance.

Watford scored nine of his points in the second half, when South Carolina pulled away.

North Carolina broke on top in the first quarter of the boys’ game, with Lake Norman’s Trent Steinour, a Clemson commit, scoring eight points. The Tar Heels led 31-26 after the opening period.

But South Carolina got its offense going in the second quarter, outscoring North Carolina 37-24 and taking a 63-55 halftime lead.

The second period was a dunk-fest for South Carolina, which repeatedly grabbed rebounds and beat North Carolina down the floor on fast-breaks. Back-to-back dunks by Keenan High’s Brian Sumpter and Greer’s Amare Anderson put South Carolina ahead to stay 50-46.

And the half ended with Lamont Britt of Gray Collegiate grabbing an offensive rebound and scoring on a dunk.

South Carolina opened the second half with three straight dunks, two by Wren High’s Abijah Franklin, and before long, North Carolina trailed 73-57.

North Carolina closed to 89-81 late in the third quarter, but South Carolina pulled away again early in the final period.

North Carolina 31 24 28 29 — 112

South Carolina 26 37 31 31 — 125

NORTH CAROLINA — Brim (West Forsyth/Appalachian State) 6; K.J. Younger (Weddington/UNC Greensboro) 13; Will James Jr. (Holly Springs/Toledo) 11; Grimes (Clayton/Liberty) 2; McKinnon (Lake Norman/Appalachian State) 5; Jackson Keith (Southern Durham/Butler) 27; Issac Ericksen (Green Level/Illinois State) 17; Williams (West Bladen/The Citadel) 5; Trent Steinour (Lake Norman/Clemson) 22.

SOUTH CAROLINA — Sumpter (Keenan/Wofford) 6; Amare Anderson (Greer/Presbyterian) 14; Da’Ron Dunbar (North Augusta/Augusta University) 15; L.J. Britt (Gray Collegiate/undecided) 12; Abijah Franklin (Wren/Furman) 24; Jordan Watford (Lancaster/Queens) 12; Lewis (Blythewood/undecided) 2; Evan Enos (Byrnes/Coker) 12; Tristan Thompson (Wilson/Coastal Carolina) 18; Teal (Summerville/Flagler) 5.

Watkins stars, but N.C. wins

Andrew Jackson’s Tamia Watkins scored a team-high 14 points, but it wasn’t enough for the South Carolina stars in their 93-68 loss to North Carolina.

Lake Norman’s Samantha Shehan scored 13 of her 17 points in the second half, as North Carolina pulled away.

One week after leading Lake Norman to the 4A girls’ state championship, Shehan helped North Carolina pull away in the fourth quarter.

The N.C. team led 68-54 after three quarters but outscored the S.C. stars 25-14 in the final period. Shehan scored nine points in the final period.

Seaforth’s Gabby White, a Virginia commit, also scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. She was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.

North Carolina quickly built a lead that ranged from six to nine points, but the Tar Heel all-stars opened the gap in the second quarter. Rolesville’s Caitlyn Jones, a Wake Forest commit, scored on a field goal with 30 seconds left in the half, giving North Carolina a 10-point lead (44-34).

Ridge View’s Anasia Harvey, a Wingate commit, added 11 points for South Carolina.

Rock Hill’s Aubrey Stevenson scored three points.

North Carolina 26 20 22 25 — 93

South Carolina 19 15 20 14 — 68

NORTH CAROLINA — Stilwell (East Burke/undecided) 1; Baldwin (Albemarle/Winston-Salem State) 7; Caitlyn Jones (Rolesville/Wake Forest) 11; Jasmine Nivar (Apex Friendship/undecided) 17; Sears (Watauga/Virginia Tech) 5; Tionna Pettus (Bessemer City/undecided) 5; Taniya Simms (Fairmont/Winston-Salem State) 0; Gabby White (Seaforth/Virginia) 17; Ashanti Fox (Union Pines/Elon) 13.

SOUTH CAROLINA — Chi’Nya Issac (Lower Richland/Texas A&M Intl.) 9; Faith Farmer (North Myrtle Beach/undecided) 2; Michaela Fairwell (Dutch Fork/UC San Diego) 7; Aubrey Stevenson (Rock Hill/Charleston) 3; Skyla Tuthill (Ashley Ridge/Rice) 9; Anasia Harvey (Ridge View/Wingate) 11; Molly Daugherty (Summerville/Abilene Christian) 9; Kadence Walker-Lee (Gray Collegiate/Coker) 6; Tamia Watkins (Andrew Jackson/Elon) 14; Emma Daugherty (Summerville/Abilene Christian) 0.The high school basketball season isn’t quite finished for three Rock Hill-area standouts.

This story was originally published March 21, 2025 at 5:15 AM.