The 2023 Cayce Round Ball classic brought some of the best high school basketball teams from South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia to Lexington County for a four-day holiday hoops tournament. 

16 teams were split into two brackets, the American and the National. 

Lancaster defeated Hiram for the National title and the school's second consecutive Roundball championship. Lexington's own Gray Collegiate beat Providence Day in the American championship. 

Both championship games were closely contested, but in the end Lancaster and Gray came away victorious to conclude a dominant tournament for both teams. 

The Bruins and War Eagles went 3-0 in Roundball play. Lancaster won each of its first two games by 15-plus points before meeting Hiram in the final game. 

Hiram gave the Bruins some trouble, causing the game to go down to the wire. Hiram even managed to hold a two-point halftime advantage. 

Lancaster would not stay down long, as the team flipped the score in the third quarter to hold a two-point advantage in the fourth. 

The Bruins kept their advantage in the final period and won the game by four. Jordan Watford won his second consecutive Roundball MVP after claiming the honor last season. 

Gray met the host team and cross-town foe, Brookland-Cayce, in the final game of the opening round.  The War Eagles' defense overwhelmed the Bearcats early, allowing Gray to pull and stay ahead early, winning by 43 points.

The team faced North Augusta in the second round and escaped with a five-point win. Trey Maddox hit a clutch three late to help seal the game and move on to the American championship game.

Cross Creek and Sumter opened tournament play. Cross Creek jumped out to a quick advantage and won 69-52 after an 18-point game from Jaden Priester, nine of which came from free throws. 

North Augusta defeated Marion 68-53 to conclude a short opening day of action. 

The other 12 teams had their first games on the tournament's second day. Greer and Oceanside opened things up with a double-overtime thriller. 

Greer carried a seven-point lead into halftime, but Oceanside managed to pull within two points by the end of the third quarter. Oceanside had the lead late in the first overtime, but Zayn Valentine hit a three-pointer at the buzzer for Greer to send the game into an extra period. 

A.C. Flora and Providence Day was another day-two game that came down to the wire. It was close the entire game, with the Falcons holding a one-point lead at halftime. Trajan Thomas hit a clutch go-ahead three in the game’s final seconds to swing the game Providence Day’s way.

Brookland-Cayce won its second game to kick off the tournament’s third day, defeating Marion by three points. A.J. Edwards led the team with 16 points in the win. 

Oceanside’s second game was not nearly as high-scoring as the first. The Landsharks once again could not come away with a close win, falling to Spring Valley 53-49. 

A.C. Flora beat Sumter in the following game. The Falcons trailed by four at halftime, 32-28, but outscored the Gamecocks 31-15 in the second half to take the win. 

Hiram beat Greer 72-63, Providence Day beat Cross Creek 65-49, Lancaster beat New Hempstead 77-59 and Gray Collegiate beat North Augusta 52-47 to set up the championship day contests. 

All-Tournament selections

American 

Braylhan Thomas - Gray Collegiate (MVP)

Trey Maddox - Gray Collegiate

Trajan Thompson - Providence Day 

Nick Hailey - Providence Day

Daron Dunbar - North Augusta 

Kylen Clark - Cross Creek

B.J. Brown - Sumter

National

Jordan Watford - Lancaster (MVP)

Malik Tinsley - Lancaster

Chase Tyler - Hiram

Ryan Williams - Hiram

Mikey Williams - Greer

Amare Anderson - Greer

Travis Stickney - Oceanside

Five big performances 

Amare Anderson had 31 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals in Greer’s double-overtime win over Oceanside 

Chase Tyler had a double-double with 24 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and four steals in Hiram’s win over Spring Valley. 

Jordan Watford had 31 points for Lancaster in its win over Camden.

Alex Atkinson recorded a double-double for Lower Richland in the team’s win over Camden, finishing with 25 points and 11 rebounds.

Malik Tinsley scored 25 points for Lancaster in the team’s second tournament game. 

Cayce Roundball scoreboard 

Day: 1

Cross Creek: 69, Sumter: 52

North Augusta: 68, Marion: 53

Day: 2

Greer: 92, Oceanside: 88

Hiram: 52, Spring Valley: 48

New Hempstead: 45, Lower Richland: 39

Providence Day: 61, A.C. Flora: 57

Lancaster: 95, Camden: 68

Gray Collegiate: 84, Brookland-Cayce: 41

Day: 3 

Brookland-Cayce: 43, Marion: 40

Lower Richland: 59, Camden: 53

Spring Valley: 53, Oceanside: 49

A.C. Flora: 59, Sumter: 47

Hiram: 72, Greer: 63

Providence Day: 65, Cross Creek: 49

Lancaster: 77, New Hempstead: 59

Gray Collegiate: 52, North Augusta: 47

Day: 4

Marion: 59, vs. Sumter: 53

Oceanside: 92, Camden: 66

A.C. Flora: 56, Brookland-Cayce:48

Spring Valley: 44, Lower Richland: 39

Greer: 61, New Hampstead: 59 (National third-place game)

North Augusta: 61,  Cross Creek: 59 (American third-place game)

Lancaster: 69, Hiram: 65 (National Championship)

Gray Collegiate: 48, Providence Day: 43 (American Championship)