BY LOU BEZJAK
Ibezjak@thestate.com

Trent Robinson had more on his mind than the matchup with his alma mater and No. 1-ranked Ridge View on Monday night.

Robinson was thinking of Tacauma Lettsome, who died Jan. 1 at age 51 after a battle with ALS. Lettsome was a resource officer and assistant basketball coach at Ridge View when Robinson attended there. Lettsome was diagnosed with ALS in 2023 and his battle with the disease was well-documented locally.

Robinson and his Westwood squad honored Lettsome’s memory with a stunning, come-from-behind 64-61 over Ridge View on Monday night.

“My heart is out to the Ridge View community and Lettsome family.” Robinson said moments after the big victory. “He was a coach that impacted so many lives at Ridge View. So this game was a little more emotional because we were playing Ridge View, and it happened last week. But credit to my guys for competing tonight and getting this win.”

Lettsome was an assistant coach on sub-varsity and varsity teams when Robinson played there a decade or so ago. Robinson even still has a picture of him in the locker room at Westwood to honor him. Ridge View inducted him into the school’s hall of fame last year.

“He was just a great guy and guy who cared about the community,” Robinson said of Lett-some. “That is why today was emotional for me.”

It was Robinson’s second win over his alma mater in three seasons and was similar to the 66-64 win in 2024. A few weeks before that game, Ridge View was coming off winning the prestigious Chick-fil-A national high school basketball tournament at River Bluff High School.

This time around, the Blazers were coming off a win in the Arby’s Classic in Virginia, against some of the top programs in the Southeast. RV coach Joshua Staley said he was worried about a possible letdown after the big tournament win last week.

Ridge View used that momentum to jump out to a 12-0 lead to start the game and were up 38-27 in the third quarter. But behind guard D’Marcus Thomas, the Redhawks came back.

Thomas hit a 3-pointer to end the third quarter and then start the fourth quarter and was part of a Redhawk 11-0 run to lead 52-46 with 5:38 left. The senior finished with 27 points and hit five 3-pointers.

“That was big,” Thomas said of the run. “We were down coming out of half. We hit threes, stayed solid and played defense. That’s all it was.”

RV answered and Talan Staley’s layup tied it at 54-54 with 2:39. But AJ Veal’s basket put Westwood up 57-55 and then Thomas and Jayden Crews each hit a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 61-55 with 49.2 seconds left.

RV’s RJ Davis hit a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute but wasn’t enough as the Redhawks (13-1) moved to 2-0 in Region 5-5A with wins over RV and Blythewood, last year’s last 5A Division I finalists.

Cylan McLeod added 14 points for Westwood and Crews had 10.

Davis led RV (12-3, 0-1) with 24 points. Staley added 15 and DJ Wiley had 11. The two teams will meet again at RV on Jan. 27.

“They wanted it more,” RV coach Joshua Staley said. “It came down to a game of grit, and they wanted it more. They made a few more plays down the stretch. We got real stagnant in the third quarter. … We tried to finish strong, but they were the better team tonight.”

RIDGE VIEW 59, WESTWOOD 52 (GIRLS)

Reagan Ferguson scored 12 points and Kallie Robertson added 11 in the Blazers’ win.

Ridge View used a 9-0 run in the fourth quarter to take a 52-39 lead.

Lyric Rogers led Westwood with 17 points. Si’Nya Curry added 12.

MONDAY’S SCORES

Boys
AC Flora 65, York 55
Camden 70, Dreher 54
Columbia 74, Gilbert 29
Darlington 52, Lower Richland 38
Lancaster 67, Richland Northeast 57
Lugoff-Elgin 57, Sumter 44
Spring Valley 76, Blythewood 71
B: Elijah Major 23, Asa McQuaker 17, Gavin Reeves 12. SV: Aquil Lake 16, Dwayne Patterson Jr 15, Kensley Parks 12, Chris McClenic 12, Hassan Lake 12

Girls
AC Flora 64, York 19
ACF: Teonna Draughn 17, Naja Gray 17, Skylar McCray 14
Blythewood 86, Spring Valley 46
B: Chase Thomas 22, India Williams 24, Kirsten Fulton 17. SV: Mariah Moody 14, Zy’Keyia Halley 13
Camden 76, Dreher 28
C: Braylin Mungo 19, Shanaryah Wright 13, Jillian Rush 12, Lakiara Ayona Alexander 11, La-kiara Ayona Alexander 12.
Darlington 64, Lower Richland 56
Richland Northeast 43, Lancaster 42
Sumter 42, Lugoff-Elgin 39