Braves spear Warriors twice in region play

Indian Land High School had a tough night on the hardwood Friday, Jan. 27, dropping a pair of Region IV-AA home games to Cheraw High School.
The Braves capped the league sweep with a 75-66 win after the IL girls fell to the Lady Braves, 46-30.
In the girls’ game, Cheraw, ranked ninth in the Class AA girls state poll, opened an early lead and rolled to a 16-point victory.

The Lady Braves, on top 13-5 after one period of play, built a 23-12 halftime lead.

Cheraw, 11-6, 6-0, forged a 35-22 lead after three periods on the way to the league win.

Sha Crosland and Alexus Pitts each paced Cheraw with 14 points.

Khadijah Sistare scored 11 points for the Lady Warriors, who fell to 2-19, 0-6 in region play. Shalyn Daugherty scored six and Jessica Floyd scored four.

Kelsey Young and Selena Stroble each supplied three points.

Taylor Payne had two and Toi Lathan added one for the IL girls, 2-16, 0-6.

Cheraw Braves chew up Warriors, 75-66

In the nightcap, Cheraw, 13-3, 4-2, took control in the second half, rallying from a 29-all draw at the break.

The Braves, with a 23-16 run, held a 52-45 lead before posting the nine-point win.

Cheraw held IL’s top scorer Hayden Sawyer to five points, 17 points below his 22-point average.

The Braves’ D.J. Quick was the spark for the visitors, netting 28 points – 18 in the second half. He drilled three treys.

“In the second half, we missed on some second shots and didn’t rebound,” IL coach Nate Smith said. “We lost our composure when we got in some foul trouble, which hurt us down the stretch.”

Demetrius Holiday scored 16 and grabbed 12 rebounds. Justin Chapman added 11 for the Braves.

Indian Land was led by Chris Barnes’ 13 points, which included three treys. Rashid McGriff and Tyler Watson, who connected on three treys, each scored 11 points.

Marty Cauthen, who had a pair of treys, tallied eight points. Lee McCall and Connor Butler each scored  seven points.

Cameron Davis and Quran McMillan each had two points.

“It was a tough game and a tough loss, but we have to regroup because we have another challenge on Tuesday at Andrew Jackson,” Smith said. “Each league game is a battle.”

The Warriors hit the road Tuesday when they traveled to Andrew Jackson High School.

The Volunteers are coming off a region road sweep of Buford. The Volunteers rallied for a 45-41 win over Buford and the Lady Vols downed the Lady Jackets, 59-44, at BHS.