HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL

The Brookland-Cayce boys basketball team was riding a 4-game winning streak heading into a Christmas tournament in Raleigh, N.C. Head coach Robert Wells was liking what he saw as the Bearcats prepared to open its inaugural Cayce Roundball Classic starting Thursday. “We’re young but very talented,” Well said. The 3-day tournament at the new gymnasium will feature Chronicle Country schools along with the host team include 2nd-ranked Dutch Fork, Gilbert and 2-time defending Class 2A champion Gray Collegiate. Ranked boys basketball teams A.C. Flora, Westwood and Lower Richland, along with Conway, Lugoff-Elgin, Fairfield Central, Hammond, C.A. Johnson and South Aiken round out the Palmetto State representation. Lakeside and Westside high schools out of Georgia and Flemming Island (Fla.) are the out-of-state teams. Wells described his team as fast and quick which they have utilize to compensate for a lack of height. “We’re a guard-heavy team,” Wells said. “We’re very deep at that position. We will have 3 or 4 guards on the court at a time.” Brookland-Cayce’s guards are ChaMar Martin, Jahmari Kennerly, Skylar King, Zack McCoy and Christian Ferguson. The Bearcats’ post players are Aurbrey Richardson and London Tillman. Wells called Richardson a team leader and said his team will rely on defense to win. “Our goal is to win a region championship and a state championship,” Wells said. The Bearcats were 1 game away from a Class 3A state championship appearance before losing out to Dillon in 2017. After moving up to Class 4A last year, Wells’ team defeated Bluffton on the road in round 1 of the playoffs before losing at Darlington. He said Region 5-4A is a tough conference with the likes of North Augusta, South Aiken and Aiken on the region schedule. “We have been to the playoffs every year since I came,” said Wells, who is in his 8th year at Brookland-Cayce. “It’s expected that we will go to the playoffs. We have raised the standard to that level.

CAYCE ROUNDBALL CLASSIC

THURSDAY’S GAMES (American Bracket)

Brookland-Cayce vs. C.A. Johnson 10 am Lakeside vs. Hammond 1 pm Conway vs. Bamberg-Ehrhardt 4 pm A.C. Flora vs. Fairfield Central 7 pm

(National Bracket)

Dutch Fork vs. Gilbert 11:30 am Lower Richland vs. South Aiken 2:30 pm Lugoff-Elgin vs. Flemming Island 5:30 pm Westwood vs. Westside 8:30 pm