River Bluff rides second-half comeback into 5A lower state semifinals

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA – River Bluff punched its ticket into the South Carolina 5A lower state semifinal Saturday after beating the St. James Sharks in a 50-46 thriller.

Gator guard Omari Caldwell led a balanced scoring effort for his team with 15 points, including six made free throws. Eight players scored for River Bluff and five had at least five points.

The game came down to the final few possessions. The Gators ultimately took the lead with just over two minutes left and never looked back, despite a strong effort from St. James.

St. James took the lead early in the game. The Sharks held a 10-point lead three minutes into the second quarter after catching the Gators off guard.

“They came out and just punched us in the face,” said River Bluff head coach Benjamin Lee. “They made it very clear that they were not here to mess around.”

The Sharks went into halftime with a seven-point lead, up 25-18.

Most of St. James’ scoring came from two players. Forward Connor Schwalm led the team with 12 points and forward Jr Young had nine to score all but four of the Sharks’ first-half points.

Things started to turn around for River Bluff in the third quarter. The Gators outscored the Sharks 19-10 in the quarter to lead for the first time all game.

The Gators cut the lead to one less than three minutes into the third quarter. They eventually tied the game midway through the period before taking the lead on the next possession.

“We switched our matchups a little bit, got out of our zone and played a different rotation,” Lee said. “You've got guys that are sitting over here watching a lot of the games, and there might be an opportunity for them to help. That's kind of what happened today.”

St. James appeared like it was going to take a one-point lead into the fourth quarter after guard Jassan Faulkner hit a pull-up jump shot with under 10 seconds on the clock.

However, the Gators quickly inbounded the ball and got down to court. With time expiring, Caldwell hit a three-pointer to give his team the lead.

The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth affair. River Bluff started on a 6-1 run, growing its lead to seven. St. James responded with its own run and tied the game up midway through the fourth.

River Bluff regained the lead, but it stayed within two possessions the rest of the way. River Bluff would score and St. James would respond.

With under a minute left, down three, the Sharks started fouling to save time.

The Gators held a six-point lead with 20 seconds left, but a quick three and two missed free throws allowed St. James to tie the game.

The Sharks' last shot fell short after River Bluff forced a contested corner three. The Gators hit one of their two free throws, but it was enough to make it a two-possession game and the clock hit zero.

“Our guys are gritty and tough,” Lee said. “The defensive energy in the second half was massively better than the first half.”

After upsetting a two-seed West Ashley team in the first round, St. James fails to duplicate its success and ends its 2022-23 season 13-13 on the year.

River Bluff has won four games in a row and seven of its last eight to improve to 14-13 on the year.

The Gators will travel to Conway for the lower state semifinal Wednesday.

“Definitely better than the alternative where you're in the locker room saying goodbye to your seniors and talking about offseason plans,” Lee said. “ It's always fun to keep your team together for as long as possible.”