An emotional week ended in thrilling fashion for the White Knoll boys basketball team.
Sophomore guard Cylan McLeod’s layup as time expired gave the Timberwolves a 52-50 victory on Friday night.
The victory came two days after White Knoll head coach Willie Thomas
suffered a heart attack shortly after a workout on Wednesday. Thomas, a member of the SC Basketball Coaches and SC Athletic Coaches Hall of Fame , was rushed to the hospital where he underwent triple bypass surgery, according to school officials.
Thomas, 64, had another procedure on Friday and is expected to make a full recovery but will miss the remainder of the season. Assistant coach Cal Pearson
will be the team’s interim coach.
“These last 72 hours have been a whirlwind,” Pearson said. “Going from sitting next to him (on the bench) to sitting in his seat. We have held it together, and I am so proud of the way we finished tonight.”
During his post-game speech to his team, Pearson mentioned how proud Coach Thomas
would have been of the team’s persistence at the end.
McLeod said his coach was on his mind throughout the game, and the team has dedicated the rest of their season to Thomas.
“Everything is for Coach Thomas
. Every play, every possession,” McLeod said. “We made some mistakes tonight, but he would have loved our energy and our effort.”
The win snapped a three-game losing streak and gave the Timberwolves their first region win.
White Knoll (9-9 overall, 1-2 region) let a lead slip away on Tuesday in the 61-57 loss to Dutch Fork
and nearly had it happen again.
The Timberwolves led by as many as 10 in the second half and were up 44-37 going into the fourth quarter. But the Yellow Jackets’ defense got them back in the game.
Jeremy Anderson
, who had a game-high 16 points, scored five straight points in the fourth quarter and put the Yellow Jackets up 48-47.
But Peyton Jennings’ 3-pointer put the Wolves back on top, 50-48, before Matthew Hopkins
tied it at 50-50 with 38 seconds left.
Irmo got the ball back and was going to hold for the final shot. But Jennings stole it from a driving Hopkins, took a few dribbles and found McLeod for the game-winner.
“I was just in go mode, saw the basket and went up,” said McLeod, who finished with eight points. “I saw it go in and then saw my teammates around me. I was happy, excited. A good moment.”
Jennings led White Knoll with 14 points. Bryson Schofield
had 11, and Jackson Lorick
had 10.
Friday’s Starting Five
Morgan Champion
, Camden: Senior had 26 points in Bulldogs’ win over Lancaster .
Korie Corbett
, Ridge View
: Junior had 23 points and 10 rebounds in top-ranked Blazers’ 68-60 win over Sumter.
Yasir Cromer
, River Bluff : Senior guard had 25 points and 10 assists in Gators’ 73-44 win over Chapin.
Jaleya Lytes, Lexington : Junior banked the game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Wildcat girls a 68-66 win over Dutch Fork
.
Cylan McLeod, White Knoll: Sophomore hit the game-winning shot in White Knoll’s 52-50 win over Irmo.
Girls Basketball Scores
-Friday-
White Knoll 46, Irmo 24
Spring Valley 84, Lugoff-Elgin 31
Lexington 68, Dutch Fork
66
Westwood 67, West Florence 25
Chapin 64, River Bluff 55
C: Reagan Haggard
19. RB: Meghan Tucker
19, Jenna Johnson
16
Ridge View
58, Sumter 42
Hammond 42, Cardinal Newman
38
H: Arrington Earle
19, Hailey Inman
13, Miller 5, Campbell 5. CN: Zaria Thompson
12, Reyes 8, Bocanegra Garcia 6, Moye 6, Laubacker 3, Carlson 2, Detreville 1
Camden 93, Lancaster 47
C: Morgan Champion
26, Harmony Jefferson
25, Braylin Mungo
17, Jillian Rush
12, Wright 9, Seegars 4
Lower Richland
58, South Florence 31
LR: Chi’Nya Isaac 16, Jhnai Sumter 14, Taelor Hiller
12
Gray Collegiate 58, Aiken 29
Saluda 58, Pelion 27
S: Ja’Bria Brunson 17; Amaya Abney
10, Tamia Daniels
10, Ceddrianna Springs 14. P: Kalani Tolen
13
South Pointe 92, Dreher 23
-Thursday-
Heathwood Hall 76, Augusta Christian
31
Boys Basketball Scores
-Friday-
Hammond 55, Cardinal Newman
36
H: Jaiden Haltiwanger
14, Jackson Ross
10, Daylin Haltiwanger
10, Tyler 9, Starks 4, Smith-Brown 3, Saunders 3, Boston 2. CN: Luis Echevarria
20, Wade Marsh
12, Cottingham 2, MacMurdo 2
River Bluff 73, Chapin 44
Avery 8, Barezak 2, Simmons Yasir Cromer
25, Stellard 2, Henson 3, Jones 3, Young 9, Powell 7, Wilson 4, Smoak 2, Pitts 1.
Ridge View
68, Sumter 60
RV: Korie Corbett
23, Yale Davis 10, Mack 8, RJ Davis 9, Cooper 7, Staley 6, Moore 4.
North Augusta 69, Brookland-Cayce 51
South Pointe 47, Dreher 32
SP: RJ Hill 24, Tre Raymon
16, Stevenson 5. D: Glasscho 9, Howard 8
Dutch Fork
86, Lexington 32
DF: Justus Bell
22, Jake Bogan
12, Caleb Garner
10
York 56, Richland Northeast 43
Gray Collegiate 85, Aiken 37
GC: Tyquan McDuffie
13, Hunter McGraw
15, LJ Britt 13, Levi Ball
13
Lancaster 93, Camden 57
L: Will Haunert
22, Meagley 8, Spitler 8, Loney 8, Cooke 7 Lee 3 Jones 1. L: Jordan Watford
21
Westwood 68, West Florence 34
South Florence 56, Lower Richland
42
-Thursday-
Ben Lippen
82, PAC 59
BL: Braysen Stockman 41, Peter Essig
20
Augusta Christian
74, Heathwood Hall 64
Pearson tweet
January 17, 2025 | State, The: Web Edition Articles (Columbia, SC)
Author/Byline: Lou Bezjak, The State | Section: high_school