The Williston-Elko High varsity girls class 1A playoff run ended Feb. 18 in a 61-53 road loss to McCormick High School during the second round.

Williston-Elko High, coming off an opening round victory over Great Falls High ,played toe-to-toe with McCormick High in the first quarter.

The teams battled to a 14-14 tie in the first quarter. However, in the second stanza, the Lady Blue Devils fell a step behind the Lady Chiefs.

Behind an eight points effort from Lil-Kedia Brown, McCormick outscored Williston-Elko 19-7 for a 33-21 halftime lead.

The Jefferson Davis Academy boys varsity basketball team had a good run this season. The Raiders turned in their most productive outing in more than 10 years with 19 victories.

However, the journey came to an end Feb. 23 with JDA losing to Covenant Academy 50-39 in the second round of the SCISA 1A playoffs at Orangeburg Preparatory Academy.

The loss closes out JDA's season at 19-3 overall, including a perfect 10-0 record in region play.

JDA coach Clint Inman said the team played as good as they could.

The Williston-Elko High boys varsity basketball team took over the role as this season Class 1A Cinderella team.

After finishing third in its region, the Blue Devils stormed into the playoffs with three straight wins, including victories over top seeds SouthSide High and McCormick High.

However, the Blue Devils deepest run into the playoffs in more than 10 years ended Saturday at the BI-LO Center in Greenville. In a battle of Devils, Blue Devils fell to the top ranked Red Devils of Great Falls High by a score of 46-39.

The Jefferson Davis Academy boys varsity basketball team entered the playoffs with a splash Saturday evening at Orangeburg Prep Academy.

Behind the play of Nic Jamison and Edward Givens, the Raiders made easy work of Wardlaw Academy of Edgefield by a score of 65-43.

Jamison and Givens led the charge as the Raiders raced to a 28-16 halftime lead.

From there, the Raiders broke the game wide open at the start of the third quarter with a 15-3 run for a 43-19 lead.

By sinking a free throw with no time remaining in the clock, senior point guard Quantel Mack sealed the fate of SouthSide Christian High Feb. 19 in the second round of the class 1A playoffs.

Mack's shot kept the Blue Devils playoff run intact as it gave Williston-Elko High a 47-46 victory.

With the game tied at 46-46, Mack was fouled as he drove to the basket on a layup attempt as the buzzer sounded to end regulation.

Although he had two hits because he was fouled in the act of shooting, Mack needed only the first attempt to seal the deal.

The Blackville-Hilda High Hawks had reason to be confident as they began the class 1A state basketball playoffs.

Blackville-Hilda overcame a couple of pluzzling late season home losses to win four of its last five games, including back-to-back victories over Williston-Elko High.

The team recent resurgence has coach Blackville-Hilda High coach Michael Beasley felling good about this team chances in the post season.

The Jefferson Davis Academy varsity girls basketball team fell short of its title quest Feb. 15 in the SCISA Region 1 tournament championship game.

Despite solid performances by Darcey Hollday and Lauren Neeley, the Lady Raiders faltered down the stretch, losing to Clarendon Hall Academy by a score of 40-35.

Holladay and Neeley, who accounted for 63 percent of the team's scoring, kept the game close for three and a half quarters.

However, in the last four minutes of play, Clarendon Hall amassed a 8-2 scoring run for the win.

In the battle for bragging rights between in-county rivals Blackville-Hilda High and Williston-Elko High, the Lady Blue Devils had the last word Thursday night in the Hawks Nest.

For Williston-Elko High, senior guard Charnica Williams turned in a superb performance with 16 points and 10 steals in a 40-24 victory.

Williams finished the game going five-of-seven from the floor and six-of-seven from the line. She also had six assists and five rebounds.

The Jefferson Davis Academy varsity girls basketball team pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat Andrew Jackson Academy 42-30 Thursday in the sem finals of the SCISA class 1A tournament.

The region rivals played hard all the way through three quarters with six lead changes and four ties.

However, during the last six minutes of the game, the Lady Raiders made the most of their opportunities.

Gabby Bates shoulder the scoring for JDA down the stretch.

Despite not scoring a field goal for nearly three minutes in the final quarter, the Blackville-Hilda High varsity boys basketball team had enough firepower at the end to overtake Williston-Elko High. The final score was 43-37 Feb. 13 in Norway.

With the win, Blackville-Hilda finishes second place in the region with a record of 16-7 overall.

For the first four minutes of the fourth quarter, Williston-Elko High prevented Blackville-Hilda from playing its shoot-and-crash-the-board style of game.