Orangeburg-Wilkinson boys defeat Dreher to spoil Blue Devil senior night

Orangeburg-Wilkinson came into Dreher’s gym and played spoiler in the final home game for the Blue Devils' seniors, winning 48-35.

It was a low-scoring defensive contest between Dreher and the Bruins. Turnovers and missed shots often occurred for both teams.

“Got outside of what we are supposed to be doing, and that's what happens,” Willie Thomas said. “Until we learn how to win games, when we get ahead, we’re going to continue to struggle.”

Center Maurion Gordon and guard Horaces Jaques combined for 30 points to lead their team to victory. Jaques scored 16 points while Gordon added 14 of his own.

Gordon started the game with a bang, scoring the Bruins’ first four points on lobs, one for a layup and one for a dunk.

“Off the first two lobs, I just felt good,” Gordon said. “I tried to help my teammates get the win.”

It was a low-scoring first quarter with both teams combining for less than 20 points. Orangeburg-Wilkinson held a five-point lead heading into the second period.

The Bruins had their most productive offensive quarter in the second period. They scored 15 points holding Dreher to seven to grow their lead to 13 at halftime.

During the midway break, the two sides' supporters started heckling each other back and forth, leading to an incident that caused a slight delay in starting the second half. With the energy radiating through the gym, Dreher found a way to keep up.

Dreher scored 13 points in the quarter and cut the lead down by a possession before the fourth. The Blue Devils cut it to under 10 45 seconds into the fourth.

“When we did things the way we practiced, we were successful. When we got outside of that, they were successful,” Thomas said.

Orangeburg-Wilkinson used a full-court press in an attempt to slow down the Blue Devils. While sometimes it led to easy buckets for Dreher, overall it allowed the Bruins to maintain a multiple-possession lead.

Coach always tells us, just keep our composure,” Gordon said. “When you come in here, it's going to be a hostile environment, so when we keep our composure, it'll be alright.”

Dreher did not have enough to fight all the way back in the game, and in the final minutes, Orangeburg-Wilkinson was once again up more than 10.

The Bruins have now won nine games in a row and 14 of their last 15. They remain undefeated in region play at (8-0) and improve their overall record to (17-6).

Dreher picked up its second loss to Orangeburg-Wilkinson this year after losing the previous matchup 68-44 on Jan. 17. The loss drops its record to .500 in region play at (4-4) and (8-13) overall.

Both teams will play their next game Tuesday to start the final week of the regular season. Dreher will travel to Gilbert, and Orangeburg-Wilkinson will play its final home game of the season against Lower Richland.