4 area basketball teams to see playoff action Tuesday
Ridgeland-Hardeeville head girls basketball coach Frederick Toomer admits he really doesn’t know much about Academic Magnet this season.
“I don’t really know a whole lot about them,” Toomer said. “In the past, they’ve been strong. But they might be having a down year.”
The top-seeded Jaguars (18-2, 10-0 Region 5-AA) host the Raptors at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the opening round of the Class 2-A girls basketball playoffs.
“Were just going to do what we normally do,” Toomer said, “and try to play aggressive defense and make sure we execute offensively.”
We’re just going to do what we normally do and try to play aggressive defense and make sure we execute offensively.
Ridgeland-Hardeeville girls basketball coach Frederick Toomer
Ridgeland-Hardeeville, led by senior guard Jayme Chisholm, usually plays an uptempo offensive game with a stifling defense.
The Jaguars are looking to get another shot at Bishop England (20-2, 10-0 Region 6-AA), which knocked Ridgeland-Hardeeville out of the playoffs last year in the third round, 56-34, on its way to a state championship.
Toomer thinks the Jaguars can make that happen if they play their game.
“Obviously, we lost two games this year, so there were at least two teams that got the best of us,” Toomer said. “Hopefully, we’ll do what we do better than they do what they do.”
Class 2-A girls — Edisto at Battery Creek
The top-seeded Dolphins (17-9, 6-2 Region 6-AA) host Edisto, the fourth-place team from Region 5-AA.
Battery Creek, which has just one senior, is led by sophomore Taquasha Lampkin, who averages 10.1 points and 4.5 rebounds a game. Junior Brianna Tolbert averages 9.7 points, and sophomore Jayden Thompson averages 8.5 points.
Class 2-A girls — Whale Branch at Wade Hampton
The Warriors (10-13, 6-4), led by seniors Jonae Riley and Nichole Smalls, hit the road to face second-seeded Wade Hampton.
Class 3-A boys — Aiken at Beaufort
Aiken (6-15, 4-6), the fourth-seeded team from Region 5-AAA, travels to Beaufort to take on the Region 8-AAA champions.
The Eagles (12-9, 7-3) are led by region player of the year Matt Garay and fellow all-region players Kameron Jenkins and Dajour Cleveland.
“They are young and talented. They are athletic and they shoot a lot of 3s,” said Eagles head coach and Region 8-AAA coach of the year Nate Livesay. “The keys to the game for us are always going to be valuing the basketball, defending and rebounding.”
Mike McCombs: 843-706-8120, @IPBGsports
Area playoff basketball schedule
Admission for all games is $6
Tuesday
Boys
Class 3-A: (4) Aiken at (1) Beaufort, 7 p.m.
Girls
Class 2-A: (4) Academic Magnet at (1) Ridgeland-Hardeeville, 7 p.m.
Class 2-A: (4) Edisto at (1 Battery Creek, 7 p.m.
Class 2-A: (3) Whale Branch at Wade Hampton, 7 p.m.
Wednesday
Boys
Class 4-A: (3) Bluffton at Carolina Forest, 7 p.m.
Class 2-A: (4) Whale Branch at (1) Ridgeland-Hardeeville, 7 p.m.
Class 2-A: (4) Wade Hampton at (1) Battery Creek, 7 p.m.
This story was originally published February 15, 2016 at 7:00 PM with the headline "4 area basketball teams to see playoff action Tuesday."