After wild finish, area basketball teams prep for playoffs

The race is finally over, and a new season is on the brink.

Whew!

The Class AAA boys basketball race had seedings and tiebreaker scenarios on the line as late as Thursday, the final day of the regular season. Now, with all the jockeying over and the brackets released, the coaches can focus on their playoff opponents.

“I think our region prepared us very well for the playoffs,” said Socastee coach Tommy Johnson, whose fourth-seeded Braves will take on top-seeded Bluffton in a first-round matchup. “I don’t remember top to bottom being in a tougher region. When you’ve got the top half of the region being defeated by the bottom half of the region it just shows the strength of the region.

“North Myrtle Beach beat Wilson and they don’t make the playoffs. And Georgetown (which also missed the postseason) was a tough out. … All six of our teams were capable of making the playoffs.”

Only four could get in, though. Wilson took the top seed, Myrtle Beach – which hosts Hilton Head Island on Tuesday – took second and St. James – which heads to Lake Marion – was third.

It wasn’t long ago that the Sharks looked like they were going to win the region. Now, they’re headed to the road.

“In every region throughout the state teams are trying to get a better playoff seeding. Every coach knows they’re important,” St. James coach Monty Carr said. “I had a young group in the driver’s seat and some very good teams knew how important those playoff berths were and played great games late in the season.

“It’s just about players recognizing the value of playoff positioning and catching that momentum as you go into the playoffs.”

Carr is hoping his team can have postseason success despite slipping late in the season.

“The beautiful thing about playoffs is regardless of seed and where you play at, every team is in the same pressure situation,” he said. “You lose this game, your season is done. Every team is in the same situation.”

The girls race in Class AAA was also very competitive. St. James clinched the region on the final day and will host Cane Bay on Monday. Second-seeded Myrtle Beach will host Battery Creek, third seed North Myrtle Beach heads to Bluffton and fourth seed Socastee will be at Hilton Head Island.

Chiefs coach Jude Hunt expects a deep run from at least one team coming out of the region. Which one? That’s a tough question.

“I’ll put it this way: I’ll be very surprised if one of us doesn’t make it to the Lower State [final],” he said. “St. James is a really good, solid group of girls that work really well together. Myrtle Beach, of course, has Khadijah Sessions. When she turns it on, I don’t know if anybody can beat them. I don’t think it’s out of the question for us to make it that far either.”

The coaches hope the whirlwind of a regular season plays to their advantage. Several teams will be traveling several hours for their game and don’t want to leave empty-handed.

“We’re going to be playing right down the road from Tallahassee (Fla.),” Johnson quipped Saturday ahead of his team’s looming approximately four-hour trip to Bluffton. “We’re leaving tomorrow [so we get there on time].”

Class AAAA

In Class AAAA, the Carolina Forest boys are the lone team in the playoffs.

The Panthers clinched Region VI on Friday night and will host Spring Valley on Wednesday.

Class AA

In Class AA, the Andrews boys are the lone team hosting a playoff game.

The second-seeded Yellow Jackets square off against third seed Dillon on Tuesday.

“We’re happy to have a home playoff game. Homecourt advantage, we hope, will be helpful to us,” Andrews coach Kevin Branham said. “As far as going into the game, we just want to kind of just keep playing the same type of ball we’ve been playing and stick to kind of the principles we implemented at the beginning of the season. And hopefully [it will pay off].”

Branham expects a challenge from the Wildcats.

“I know they finished third. I know they’re very athletic. I know that they will be a challenge,” he said. “Any time it’s playoffs, a 2 and 3 seed and a matter of one or two wins in the region, it’s tough. I think we both match up very well. I think it’s the team that makes the least amount of mistakes will win.”

Both Waccamaw squads got in as No. 4 seeds. The girls will be at Lake City on Tuesday and the boys travel to Timberland on Wednesday.

Class A

The Carvers Bay boys played a brutal non-region schedule this year, a slate that included mostly teams that are in the playoffs, Bears coach Jeff Mezzatesta said.

Mezzatesta hopes the bumps and bruises pay off as his team finished third in a competitive region. They play Monday against Timmonsville, which lost to Carvers Bay in the first round last year.

“Every team we played [in non-region play] – with the exception of maybe two teams – made playoffs this year,” Mezzatesta said. “… That nonconference schedule was just brutal. We played some really good talent this year, even in our scrimmages. We played [only] one single-A school nonconference. You play those AA and AAAs because they have depth. … I can show the kids [after playing that schedule that] if you can compete at this level, there really shouldn’t be anything you should be scared of [in playoffs].”

Health will be a concern for the Bears. Mezzatesta said point guard Walter Linnen and key reserves Mikey Morris and Rayshad Dorsey are questionable for the game.

“When you get in playoffs depth is huge,” Mezzatesta said. “We’re going to go over and do what we can do. We’re nursing a lot of injuries. The good news is our top three scorers are healthy and have their heads screwed on straight. We’ll just see if the other kids are healthy and can do their thing.”

“Bottom line, we’re in the playoffs. Only 32 teams are in the playoffs. If we can get a little luck, [who knows?]”