Lexington boys take control in second-half to topple River Bluff

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA – Lexington high school scored 43 points in the second half of Tuesday night’s game to overcome a four-point halftime deficit and defeat the River Bluff Gators, 61-43, in boys basketball action.

Guard Cam Scott scored a game-high 23 points, including in the 17 second half to guide his team to victory. Smith was effective at getting past the defense to take high-efficient shots.

Scott set the tone early when he flushed home a dunk less than a minute into the game and gave his team a 4-0 lead. River Bluff took a 9-7 lead a few minutes later, but the Wildcats took it back when guard Kaleb Evans broke his defender and hit a step-back three.

River Bluff regained the lead in the final minute of the opening period after guard Nicholas Renner hit a three of his own.

The Gators slowed their pace on offense in the second quarter, passing the ball along the perimeter multiple times before looking inside for a bucket. This strategy was risky, sometimes leading to turnovers, but overall paid off as River Bluff grew its lead slightly to four before halftime.

“They rebounded the ball incredibly well. I think they were 17 to 11 out-rebounding us. They were seven to one on the offensive boards. They were 11 to two on second-chance points,” Wildcat head coach Elliott Pope said. ”When you give a team like River Buff the opportunity to do that. They're gonna win ball games and we were just fortunate that we were able to hit some shots in the second half.”

Lexington started the second half with some extra tempo. The Wildcats tied the game at 22 less than 3 minutes into the half, and on the next possession, they took the lead with a coroner three.

The third quarter was Scott’s most productive. His team went to him almost every time, scoring 11 of the team’s 20 points in the quarter. River Bluff was held to just nine points and the Wildcats held the lead heading to the game’s last quarter.

“I don't know that anything necessarily changed. I just think they settled down a little bit and they got comfortable with where they needed to be and what they needed to do,” Pope said.

The Gators started the fourth quarter with a bang after forward Ahrick Wright slammed in a bucket to give his team a bit of momentum.

That momentum did not last long, and three minutes into the quarter, the Wildcats took the game’s first double-digit lead. River Bluff eventually cut the Lexington lead to under 10 near the end of the game, but by then it was too late.

The Gators started playing the foul game with two minutes of game time left, but Lexington went 9-12 from the line in the quarter to seal the win.

This victory marked the third time this season Lexington beat River Bluff. The two teams first met Dec. 30 in the Chick-Fil-A when the Wildcats won 65-50 in a game that doesn’t count towards region play. The second matchup was at Lexington and the Wildcats won 71-52.

The win increases Lexington’s win streak to nine and its record to (15-6) overall and (7-0) in region play. River Bluff falls to (10-13) overall and (4-2) in region play.

Both teams have just two games left, both regional games. Lexington’s next outing will be Friday when the team travels to White Knoll. River Bluff will have a week before its next game when it will travel to Dutch Fork.

“If we execute the game plan, we're gonna be okay,” Pope said. “We've got a team that's extremely aggressive, but you gotta understand, hey, it's not the best time to take a shot, or maybe you need to make that extra pass, or maybe you do need to take that shot, so that's all. of it and all part of learning and getting better.”