Wilson Hall boys claim region title; Laurence Manning, Lee Academy girls fall in tournament championships

The Wilson Hall boys won the regular season region title with a win over Laurence Manning on Friday. Their goal on Tuesday? Finish the region off with a tournament title, too.
The Barons faced off with Trinity Collegiate in the title game and used some spectacular performances from juniors Shawn Michael Matthews and Hugh Humphries to pull out a 56-46 win. With the victory, the Barons were able to avoid a little bit of déjà vu from a year ago.
“It was a good job to kinda close that story. Last year, as the No. 1 seed, we felt like we were in a spot to win the region tournament last year, and Trinity came out with a really good game plan and took care of business. This year, we were excited to get the opportunity to do it again,” head coach Rip Ripley said. “We were happy with the way we ended up playing.”
While Wilson Hall won by 10, they spent most of the night on the back foot. The entire game was close, but the Barons struggled to get into a groove offensively, especially from behind the arc. Humphries kept Wilson Hall afloat early, scoring all 10 of their first-quarter points. After the break, it was Matthews’ turn. He brought an added level of physicality and helped the Barons take control for the win.
“They came out and really did some good stuff early, really attacked us,” Ripley said. “We didn’t shoot the ball great, but we only made one three, so really not shooting the ball great, but we were able to take it to them inside a little bit. Shawn Michael had an unbelievable game, especially in the second half.
“We were able to just survive early and made our run at the right time at the beginning of the fourth quarter, and we were able to pull away.”
Ripley was impressed by the way his defense stepped up, especially as the game wore on. After outlasting Laurence Manning 47-44 on Friday with strong defense, they held Camden Military to 29 on Monday. That defense continued to be their strength on Tuesday. The key was some adjustments made throughout the game, as Ripley remained committed to their zone defense, which perfectly fits their mix of length in the paint and aggressive guards.
“One of our mantras this year is, ‘We do what we do, and we do it together.’ We have wrinkles and we have things we do, but we’re going to play our game and do what we do,” Ripley said. “They showed some good stuff early. They came out and drew up some things against our zone that had some good looks. We saw it and were able to adjust to how they tried to attack us.
The Barons were truly anchored by Humphries and Matthews, who both finished with 22 points. Humphries added seven rebounds, two steals and a block. Matthews scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half, earning tournament MVP honors in the process. He made the Barons’ only three and added three assists and two steals in the victory.
“He attacked the basket, got to the rim, really scored from all levels, made his free throws. I thought he did a really good job,” Ripley said of Matthews. “I kinda had to get into him a little bit, and he really responded to it, which is encouraging to see.
“Hugh was able to be steady for us. His energy was kinda back, and he played really strong. He helped us weather that storm early when we weren’t hitting shots. He was getting rebound putbacks and moving through their zone really effectively.”
Daniel Burton added to the offense with 11 points, including six big free throws late. He also had five rebounds, a steal and a block as he battled some foul trouble. While they didn’t find the basket, Ripley was also impressed by the defensive efforts of Jones DesChamps and Ford Wilder.
“I thought their ball pressure and off-ball pressure late was huge,” Ripley said. “Ford created a few turnovers late. Jones did a great job denying off the ball on some of their better shooters. That added pressure was something we’ve been trying to do this year. We did a really good job of that late.”
While it wasn’t the perfect victory, Ripley was proud of the way his team was able to grind out the win, especially after needing to win in similar fashion on Friday. The ability to win without your fastball is critical in the postseason, which begins on Saturday for the Barons. They’ll face Northwood at Sumter County Civic Center at 3 p.m. to kick things off.
“I think it’s a good confidence-builder because if we get down early or things don’t go our way early, we’ll be OK,” Ripley said. “Obviously, we’d love to come out and jump on them and stay on them, but being able to weather that storm when things aren’t necessarily going your way, whether it be shots or foul calls or things happening, you can have the confidence early on to keep following the course, and hopefully things will fall eventually.”
LAURENCE MANNING GIRLS FALL TO TRINITY
The night of varsity action opened with a matchup between Laurence Manning and Trinity. While the Lady Swampcats fell 55-34, head coach Will Epps was thrilled with his young team.
After a sluggish loss to Wilson Hall on Friday, the Lady ‘Cats locked in during the region tournament, beating the Lady Barons before falling to the Lady Titans. Even in the loss, Epps could see his team executing the game plan, taking a huge step in the right direction as the playoffs draw near.
“I’ve never seen a group of athletes play as poorly as we did on Friday — we didn’t execute anything properly — and then come in the next two games we played, execute between 80% and 90% every defensive possession,” Epps said. “It was very rewarding.”
LMA matched Trinity blow for blow early. They led 12-9 at the end of the first quarter before struggling in the second with just four points. It was still only a four-point game heading into the fourth, but the Lady ‘Cats were running on fumes by that point. They managed just two in the fourth as Trinity broke away.
“I know it’s cliché, but we ran completely out of gas in that fourth quarter,” Epps admitted. “That’s to be expected because it was a war with Wilson Hall the night before. You could just tell we were getting slower because we were tired.”
Ashley Rae Hodge led the charge with 13 points. Audrey Coker scored five, and both Lyza Prickelmyer and Karly Bjork chipped in with three.
Now the Lady Swampcats have a second to catch their breath before the playoffs begin Friday, though they have to head to Cathedral for the opening round against Porter-Gaud.
“We hope to build on these two performances,” Epps said. “I told them that my goal for any team I coach is for them to come out and fight and compete, regardless of who they’re playing. Just play hard and play with confidence and give it everything you have. We did that the last two games. I don’t care what the scores are. When my team’s playing like that, I’m satisfied.”
The LMA boys, who are also coached by Epps, lost to Trinity on Monday in the region tournament. They’ll face Heathwood Hall at the civic center on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Epps hopes to see a bounce-back performance.
“It was the best of times and the worst of times. Our boys played as poorly as we’ve played; we just didn’t have it in any regard,” Epps said of the loss Monday. “Hopefully we can get back on track and play some good basketball on Saturday. We beat Heathwood by two points in the Baron Classic, and that was a back-and-forth war. I’m sure it will be again.”
LEE DROPS REGION CHAMPIONSHIP WITH TKA
The Lee Academy girls basketball team faced The King’s Academy in their region championship on Tuesday, falling 49-35.
The Lady Cavaliers got a great performance from Mazie Tomlinson, who finished with 14 points and 18 rebounds, but struggled to find other consistent offense. Alleigh Brown added 11, while Julee Saverance chipped in with seven.
Tomlinson and Brown also both earned spots on the all-tournament team.
The Lady Cavs earned a No. 3 seed in the SCISA 2A playoffs and will face St. John’s Christian in the first round on Friday at Wilson Hall. That game will be played at 7 p.m. in the B Gym.