CHESNEE, SC - The Chesnee boys' basketball team rebounded quickly from a tough loss on Tuesday night to come back and grab a 65-50 victory over county rival Woodruff at home on Wednesday night.
"We have a very young group, and we saw a little glimpse tonight of how good we can be tonight," said Chesnee head coach Andy Pitt. "Noah Mvula started in place of an injured starter and answered the call for us early. We had several players step up big for us tonight." Woodruff jumped out to an early 9-3 lead just over two minutes into the first quarter, but the Eagles clawed back to end the first quarter in a 13-13 tie thanks to eight first quarter points from Noah Mvula. "We kept fighting to get back in it," said Chesnee guard Kaylob Blanton. "Daniel (Wease) helped keep our heads in the game by telling us to just keep fighting." The second quarter continued the back-and-forth battle and saw the Wolverines build a 23-17 lead with just over five and a half minutes to play in the half. The Eagles responded quickly thanks to back-to-back buckets from KJ Proctor and some big baskets from Daniel Wease and Kaylob Blanton as they helped the Eagles end the half on a 14-4 run to seize momentum with a 31-27 lead. The run continued into the second half as the Eagles opened the third quarter on an 11-1 run to stretch the lead to 42-28. Chesnee got a big run to open the fourth as well as Kaylob Blanton scored all seven points of a 7-1 run to stretch the lead to twenty points over the Wolverines. "This is two straight nights of having strong third quarters, but we couldn't finish it last night," said Pitt. "We talked at halftime about really setting the tone early in the third quarter, and they went out and answered the call." Woodruff tried to battle back, but the Eagles closed the game going six of six from the free throw line to help ice the game. Both teams were playing for the second night in a row and the Eagles gave credit to the bench energy for being a key to the win. "With the emotional game we had last night we could have easily had a letdown tonight," said Pitt. "The guys on the bench brought the energy and several times the referees asked them to sit down. I. as a coach, would rather have to ask them to sit down rather than try to get them excited as that type of energy is contagious." Blanton agreed with his coach about the energy they were getting from the bench throughout the game. "When the guys on the bench are into the game it gets the players on the floor hyped up and gets the fans more involved," said Blanton. "It helps us play better." Kaylob Blanton and Daniel Wease each finished with a game high 17 points while KJ Proctor joined them in double figures with 12 points of his own. Nick McConnell led the Wolverines with 14 points as Happy Lea and Lake Smith each added 11 points each. GIRLS GAME In the girls' game, Woodruff jumped out to a 16-2 lead at the end of the first quarter and built on it from there on their way to a 56-20 win over the Eagles. Tiana Herbert of the Wolverines led all scorers with 16 points and Kylie Hitchcock added 12 points for the Wolverines. Carlee Turner led the Eagles with six points while Pearl Holloway added five points of her own. The Eagles will travel to Boiling Springs on Friday night for a matchup of the two District Two schools as the girls' game will tip at 6:00 PM and the boy's game will follow. CHESNEE, SC - The Chesnee boys' basketball team officially opened their 2022-23 season on Tuesday night with a matchup against 3A Broome that saw the two teams battle throughout before the Centurions nabbed an 87-78 victory over the Eagles.
From the atmosphere in the Chesnee arena, you could have easily mistaken the matchup for a first-round playoff game as both schools had a large number of supporters filling up most of the seats, including student sections that was engaged throughout the entire contest. "I told our guys after the game that if we come with that type of heart and passion in each game, we're going to be okay moving forward," said Chesnee head coach Andy Pitt. "After the game I told the guys that the great thing about a tough loss like this is you get a chance tomorrow to make up for it, which is a great thing about basketball. Also, I can't thank our fans and the students enough for the great atmosphere they brought tonight for the first matchup of the season." At the four-minute mark of the fourth quarter the Eagles held a 68-67 lead before Broome went on an 11-3 run with two big three pointers coming from Xavier Hill, who scored 19 points on Tuesday night, as the Centurions took a 79-70 lead. The Eagles battled back as though as they scored six straight points including a three-point play from Kaylob Blanton and a three-pointer from Daniel Wease to cut the Broome lead to three points with just a minute to go in the game. The Centurions used strong free-throw shooting down the stretch to seal the victory as the three-point deficit was as close as the Eagles would get over the final minute. The closeness of the game was a trait that started from the tipoff though as the Eagles trailed Broome 19-15 at the end of the first quarter. Chesnee was led by Carson Williamson (6) and Daniel Wease (5) in the first quarter as both combined to score eleven of the Eagles 15 points in the quarter. Both teams stayed pretty even through the second quarter as the Eagles got a big quarter from Dawson Pruitt who led the Eagles charge with ten points as they only trailed Broome 39-34 at halftime. Chesnee made another run at Broome in the third quarter as they were able to erase the Centurions' lead to tie the game at 57-57 when the buzzer sounded to end the quarter. Kaylob Blanton (9) and Daniel Wease (7) combined to score sixteen points in the quarter. The Eagles were led in scoring by Kaylob Blanton who scored 26 points while also adding six rebounds and five steals. Daniel Wease added a double-double performance for the Eagles as he scored 15 points to go with 10 rebounds along with a block and a steal. "I think Kaylob really built a confidence in the tournament last week," said Pitt. "He has built a chemistry with the guys and is fitting in quite nice. Daniel is one of our vocal leaders but also walks the walk in the game and has really come into his own this year." Dawson Pruitt also finished in double figures for the Eagles as he scored 10 points along with four rebounds and two steals. Brady Poole led Broome in scoring with 32 points and was joined in double-figures by Xavier Hill (19 points) and DT Thompson (14 points). GIRLS GAME In the girls game it was all Broome as the Centurions defeated the Lady Eagles 55-20 on Tuesday night to open their regular season. Broome was led by Destiny West who led all scorers with 20 points to go along with four rebounds and five steals. She was joined in double figures by Chelsea Fleming, who scored 12 points, and Shamya Wilkins who scored 10 points for the Centurions. Pearl Holloway led the way for the Eagles as she scored six points and added 10 rebounds and a steal. Both Chesnee teams will be back in action on Wednesday night as they host Woodruff for their second game in three nights this week. CHESNEE, SC - Chesnee played a familiar opponent on Day 3 of the Rippy’s Tip-off at Union County and fell to Blacksburg 54-53 in overtime.
After taking an early lead, Chesnee fell behind the Wildcats 22-15 at half. The third quarter was played even at 10 points apiece with Blacksburg leading 32-25. The Eagles managed to force Blacksburg into some turnovers and capitalize on the offense end. Down 44-42, junior Dawson Pruitt drilled a 12 foot jumper to send the game to overtime. In the overtime period, Chesnee found itself down five until a Kaylob Blanton three and KJ Proctor bucket tied the game. Dawson Pruitt nailed two free throws with 27 seconds left in OT to push the Eagles in front. 51-49. Jacob Gilfillan made a three for Blacksburg, giving the Wildcats the lead by one. Dawson Pruitt answered with another 12 foot jumper to give Chesnee the 53-52 lead. With 0.1 seconds a foul was called on Chesnee and Ayden Ham knocked down two free throws for Blacksburg to seal the win. Coach Pitt said, “We have to use this as a learning experience moving forward. Our team is young and we are still figuring some things out. I’m optimistic I’m my guys ability, we just have to clean some things up and be ready to take advantage of our chances when they present themselves.” Chesnee was led by Kaylob Blanton with 17 points, 10 deflections, 9 steals, and 8 rebounds. Dawson Pruitt added 14 points, Carson Williamson 7. Daniel Wease had 5 points and 12 rebounds. Kaylob Blanton was selected to the All-Tournament team. Chesnee will be back in action on Tuesday at home against Broome. Girls at 6:00, Boys 7:30. CHESNEE, SC - A holiday tournament that started out as any other, turned in the Lady Eagles playing two nail biting games back-to-back to win the 2022 Turkey Tip-Off tournament on their home court on Tuesday night.
After a team didn't show up on Monday night, it forced the Lady Eagles to play a doubleheader on Tuesday that saw them defeat both Spartanburg Christian Academy 32-29 and CHASE High School (NC) 24-22 to win the tournament. "I think the situation with playing two games effected the mindset of the girls some and I wasn't pleased with some of the things we executed," said Chesnee head coach Derek Byars. "With that being said I was very pleased with our effort and how they kept fighting even though things weren't going well at times, I was proud of that." In the championship game it seemed every time the Eagles were able to put some separation between themselves and CHASE, the Trojans went on a run of their own to close the distance. The first half was a low scoring contest as the Eagles held a 9-7 halftime lead after leading 5-2 at the end of the first quarter. The second half started with Chesnee going on a 4-0 run with all four of those points coming from Nykerria Proctor, who scored six of the Eagles eight points in the quarter. Proctor led the Eagles in points against CHASE with 10 points along with two rebounds, a block, and a steal. "NyNy can get a shot any time she wants, it's just a matter of her getting her opportunities," said Byars. "Tonight, she had opportunities to drive, and she made some big shots for us." CHASE went on a run of their own scoring ten points over the final four minutes of the third quarter from Lexi Dickey (4), Cameron Hamrick (4), and Morgan McDaniel (2) to tie the game at 17-17 going into the final quarter of play. Hamrick led the Trojans with eight points along with four rebounds while Kinsley King added seven points and eight rebounds of her own. The Eagles went on a 6-0 run to start the fourth quarter getting baskets from Perrin Wood, Pearl Holloway, and Jayla Dunn. They also got a free throw from Haley Edmunds down the stretch to seal the victory for the Eagles. CHASE made a run to close down the lead, but Chesnee was able to keep the ball out of their hands for the last minute of the game with the horn sounding with Pearl Holloway holding the basketball for the Eagles at midcourt. Holloway scored four points for the Eagles on Tuesday night against CHASE, but her biggest impact was not with points as she came away with 14 rebounds and five steals. "Pearl gives us her best every time on the court," said Byars. "Some of her fouls come because of aggression and it's hard to be mad at a kid about that. She kept battling and kept us in the ballgame." In the first game the Eagles defeated Spartanburg Christian Academy as they played a group of younger players against the Warriors who eventually came away with a 32-29 victory. Chesnee got a big game from Maliyah Mackerson in the game against the Warriors as she scored five points with ten rebounds, eight blocks, and a steal. The Warriors got big games from Lauren Burnette who had 13 points, six rebounds, and three steals while teammate Tayte Calvert scored 10 points with three rebounds and four steals. Byars said while the games were closer than he may have liked, he couldn't be happier to be starting the season 2-0 and a tournament victory. "You can't be better than 2-0 in a two-game tournament," said Byars with a laugh. "It was our goal and that's what we got. We're a young team and we'll get better with more experience. I think we grew up some tonight and we just got to get back to enjoying playing basketball." In the only game played on Monday night, it was CHASE coming away with a 36-9 victory over Spartanburg Christian Academy. CHASE had two players score in double figures a Montana Honeycutt scored 16 points and Lexi Dickey added 10 points of her own. Tayte Calvert led the Warriors with three points. Chesnee will start their regular season on Tuesday after Thanksgiving in a home game against Broome before hosting Woodruff on Wednesday. Chesnee Boys BasketballThe new season will be a learning experience for the Chesnee boys' basketball team as they return only three players and one starter from last year's team and will look to build as the season goes along and into the future to help strengthen the Eagles program. "This will be a big learning experience for our guys this season," said Chesnee head coach Andy Pitt. "One thing I can guarantee is that our guys will work hard. Our preseason workouts have been encouraging from a work ethic perspective and I look to carry the momentum of hard work into the season." The lone senior returning from last year's team is senior guard Carson Williamson who averaged 8.1 points, 2.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and two steals a game last year. Williamson will be joined by junior forward Daniel Wease and junior guard Dawson Pruitt as they look to exceed preseason expectations to return the Eagles to the playoffs this season. After finishing third in the region last year, the Eagles were selected to finish fifth out of six teams in the preseason poll this year. The Eagles will also look to get key contributions from sophomore forward KJay Proctor this season as he spent most of last year on the JV squad before being called up for the Eagles first round playoff game at Abbeville last year. With the Eagles selected to finish fifth in their region, they're picked just ahead of Greenville Tech Charter while Landrum was picked to win the region, just ahead of Greer Middle College, Liberty, and Blacksburg. Chesnee will also once again host their annual Chesnee Roundball Classic just before the Christmas break from December 20-22. The tournament will include fellow district school Boiling Springs along with numerous other teams from around the area. The field will include Hillcrest, Broome, Union County, Fort Mill, Chesnee, Boiling Springs, Catawba Ridge, and Blacksburg. With such a young team the Chesnee boys' basketball team may not be best measured this season by the wins and losses but by the growth of the team as the season goes along and for the future of the program. Chesnee will kick off their season at the Rippy's Tipoff Classic in Union from November 18-22 starting with a matchup against Mid-Carolina before hosting their home opener on November 29th against Broome. Chesnee Girls BasketballThe Chesnee girls look to improve on a fourth-place finish from last year and look to do that with a young team that they expect to see growth from throughout the season. "We expect to see some improvement throughout the season with our young and inexperienced team," said Chesnee head girls basketball coach Derek Byars. "We are excited to compete and work hard throughout the season." The Eagles will look to improve on their six-win season from last year that saw them finish fourth in the region and fall in the first round of the 2A playoffs to a very good Christ Church team. With a young team the Eagles will rely heavily on their experienced players as the they return All-Region player junior Pearl Holloway. She will be joined by fellow starter from last year in senior Haley Edmonds. They will also look to get key contributions from two sophomores in Jayla Dunn and Carlee Turner to lead the young group of Eagle players. Chesnee will also be joining a new region this season as they'll face Blacksburg, Greer Middle College, Greenville Tech, Landrum, and Liberty. The Eagles will kick off their home schedule with a matchup against Broome on November 29th. Chesnee WrestlingThe Chesnee wrestling team has a lot of high hopes this season with a lot of young talent joining a pretty experienced group that won the region championship last season.
The Eagles finished last year pretty strong coming away with a region championship after finishing the season with a 14-4 record against some very strong competition. "We have a lot of rising talent coming up from the middle school and mixing that talent with the veterans we have high hopes for this season," said Chesnee head coach Jon Rentz. "The room is full of a lot of young athletes trying the sport for the first time which is great for our future. We have a great coaching staff, great support from the principal, AD, and the district as well. All I ask is that these guys give their all, be good student athletes, and support one another." Chesnee will return eight starters from last year headlined by All-State players Ricky Henderson and Garrett Williams. They will be joined by Noah Henderson, Aedan Mendoza (All-Region), Kyle Cozby, Jesse Cozby (All-Region), Gunther Gertenacker, Ezekiel Lazarin-Chavez (All-Region), Nick Hofer (All-Region), and Aiden Allen. They will also look to other returners from last year in Jace Wallace, Jaiden Mitchell, Jonathan Newman, Brenton Suddeth, Wes Wilkie, and Noah Wise. The group of newcomers that the Eagles will look to get key contributions from include Wyatt Hawk, Quinton Gerstenacker, Thadeus Gerstenacker, Timmy Reznichenko, and Davis Matthews. Chesnee will kick off their regular season in a quad match against Byrnes, Traveler's Rest, Greer, and Laurens at Byrnes on November 29th at 5:00 PM. The Eagles first home match will be December 7th against Chapman and Fountain Inn starting at 7:00 PM. |
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