The official start of region competition begins this week for boys and girls basketball teams around Lexington County. Teams that struggled early will get a new chance to make a playoff push, while those that had success will have the chance to prove it was legitimate. 

Here are two boys and two girls games to keep an eye on this week.

Boys games

Brookland-Cayce vs. Lower Richland, Jan. 9, 7:30 p.m.

Brookland-Cayce opens region competition at home Tuesday when Lower Richland comes to town. 

The Bearcats finished their out-of-region schedule 8-5 and experienced both hot and cold stretches along the way. The team got off to a 6-2 start this season but has since gone 2-3. 

Lower Richland enters the contest having faced a similar out-of-region schedule. The two teams have identical 8-5 records, but the Diamond Hornets are entering the match as winners of four of their last five games. 

This game will be a prove-it opportunity for both teams. A 1-0 start to region play would be a confidence booster and give the winner an edge before the two meet again at Lower Richland. 

A key for Brookland-Cayce will be holding the Diamond Hornets to under 50 points. The Bearcats held their opponents under that threshold in every win this season and are undefeated when doing so. But in all five losses, their opponents have scored more than 50. 

Holding Lower Richland to under 50 points is possible, but won’t be easy. The Diamond Hornets have failed to reach 50 in six of their games, but in the last two games, the team eclipsed that mark with no problems. 

(Editor's note: All Brookland-Cayce athletics events Tuesday were canceled due to a severe weather threat.  The Chronicle will provide updates for any scheduling changes.)

River Bluff vs. Lexington, Jan. 12, 7:30 p.m.

River Bluff will host the No. 1 ranked 5A team in the state, Lexington, Friday for its second region contest of the season. 

This game is a potential matchup between the top two teams in the region, with both squads entering the contest having seen success in the out-of-region schedule. River Bluff and Lexington will play one region contest on Tuesday before meeting at the end of this week. 

Lexington enters the week 13-2 and will face Chapin at home before traveling to River Bluff. The team remains undefeated against teams from South Carolina with both of the Wildcats’ losses coming to teams from Kentucky during the holiday tournament season. 

The Gators begin region play 11-5 and will host White Knoll before welcoming Lexington. River Bluff started the season 9-2 but struggled against holiday tournament competition, going 2-3. 

River Bluff hosted the 2023 Chick-fil-A classic, which put the Gators against some of the top teams in all of South Carolina. The team went 1-2 in those games, beating Lancaster but losing to nationally ranked Ridge View and Keenan. 

Both teams will need to lean on their stars to deliver a victory. 

Lexington’s senior duo Cam Scott and Jaxon Prunty have had strong starts and will look to solidify themselves as a top pairing in the state. On the other side, River Bluff’s Luke Chapman and Yasir Cromer have put up big performances and will need to lock in to knock off top-rankled Lexington. 

Girls games

Lexington vs. Chapin, Jan. 9, 6 p.m.

Lexington and Chapin are set to meet Tuesday for both team’s first game of regional contests. 

The Wildcats have ruled the region the previous five seasons, but a shaky start to this campaign means the team needs to impress the rest of the way, if the team wants to make a deep postseason run. 

The team is 5-7 in a season that has been streaky to start. Lexington began the season 0-4 before going on a five-game winning streak. But since then the Wildcats have dropped three games in a row. 

Chapin begins region play 8-5 with impressive wins and a couple of close losses under its belt. The team knocked off the 3A No. 1 ranked team in Gray Collegiate and the 2023 4A state runnerup Westwood earlier this season. 

The Eagles have also struggled as of late though, losing two games in a row entering this contest. A win here for either team would not just mean a 1-0 region start, but it could also be a get-right game that begins a new win streak. 

(Editor's note: All Lexington and Chapin athletics events Tuesday were canceled due to a severe weather threat.  The Chronicle will provide updates for any scheduling changes.)

Irmo vs. A.C. Flora, Jan. 12, 6 p.m.

Irmo is one of the few teams in Lexington County that has already played a region contest before this week, having beat Richland Northeast in a 40-38 nailbiter. 

If the Yellow Jackets thought things would get easier this week, they were wrong because they will be welcoming a highly-ranked A.C. Flora team to their gymnasium on Friday. That game will be the second of the week for Irmo, after traveling to Ridge View on Tuesday. 

The Yellow Jackets sit at 7-5 on the season but enter the week on a four-game victory streak. The team had benefited from an overall better defensive effort, holding their opponents to under 40 points in three of its four wins during the streak. 

This week’s contest appears to be one of the biggest tests for the Yellow Jackets this season. A.C. Flora begins this week 12-4 and averages 54 points per game. The Falcons also enter 1-0 in region play after beating Westwood last week. 

This is not a game Irmo will be expected to win, but a victory would continue the positive momentum the team has built in recent weeks and make the team a real contender in its region.