Sprint to the playoffs heating up for prep hoops

Jan. 28—The playoff chase is heating up on the hardwood in high school basketball, as South Carolina High School League teams have begun the second half of their respective region schedules.

Now is the time to get into position to peak in the postseason, and there's a lot of work for teams to do over the next two weeks to ensure themselves the best possible route to a state championship.

The top four teams in each region advance to the playoffs, and the top two seed host first-round games. There are some at-large berths set aside in Class AAAAA and the Lower State of Class AAAA, but neither of those affect teams in the Aiken Standard coverage area. Here's a look at where everyone stands entering the stretch run:

Region 4-AAAA

The North Augusta boys, undefeated at 23-0 and ranked No. 1 in the state in Class AAAA, currently lead Region 4-AAAA at 6-0. The Jackets have a non-region matchup Tuesday at home against Keenan and visit Airport next Friday before the rematch everyone will have their eyes on — Feb. 7 at Midland Valley, which sits second in the region at 4-1 with the lone loss coming Jan. 20 to North Augusta.

Aiken High's boys are in third at 2-4, with South Aiken (1-4) and Airport (1-5) rounding out the region. The Feb. 7 regular-season finale with South Aiken visiting Aiken may determine who gets the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds, or it could be a win-and-you're-in situation.

On the girls' side, North Augusta is in familiar territory on top of the region at 6-0. The second-ranked Jackets (19-2) have won 67 consecutive region games, and Friday night's win over Aiken (4-2, both losses to North Augusta) means the Jackets have a two-game lead with two games to play.

Midland Valley and South Aiken are tied for fourth at 1-4, with South Aiken having won the teams' previous meeting. They will play again Feb. 3 at Midland Valley, and before that South Aiken will host Airport (2-4) with a chance to improve its positioning.

Region 3-AA

Friday night was a huge one in the Region 3-AA race, with eighth-ranked Strom Thurmond routing Batesburg-Leesville to move to 5-0 in region play.

Friday's other key matchup, Silver Bluff at Fox Creek, would determine spots 2 and 3 in the region plus how much cushion Strom Thurmond would have in the No. 1 spot. Silver Bluff won another thriller over Fox Creek, 44-42 thanks to a D'Amari Gaines bucket with 3.5 seconds to go, to remain a game back at 4-1 while Fox Creek is another two full games behind in third at 2-3.

There's still a lot of basketball left to be played in the region, but right now the game of the season is set for Feb. 7 as Silver Bluff visits Strom Thurmond.

"I told these guys we've got to take this a game at a time in this region. The region is up for grabs," Silver Bluff head coach Aaron Stewart said following Friday's win. "We've got to take care of Fox Creek, and I've got to give credit to Coach (Andrew) Peckham and Fox Creek. I knew this was going to be a dogfight, but I never thought it would be this way. It's a great team to go against. Honestly, after seeing this tonight I feel like we have a shot at region."

The girls' side of the region will also be set that same night. Fourth-ranked Silver Bluff is 13-3 overall and 5-0 in Region 3-AA play, and the Bulldogs once again have their sights set on goals far beyond a region title.

"I feel good. We've got a good chance again," said head coach Chasen Redd. "We're going to face some difficult teams. This year it's going to be totally different (in the Upper State part of the bracket)." "... It'll be a whole different way. We'll prepare harder, be mentally ready. I'm excited. I'm ready. I know they're ready."

Redd said the Bulldogs have no shortage of motivation hanging on the walls in their locker room. The playoff bracket, their stats, memories of last year's loss in the Lower State championship game — it's all there to remind them of their end goal. Their average margin of victory so far in region play is 42 points per game, but they'll still have to be ready to take care of business Feb. 7 against second-place Strom Thurmond (4-1).

Fox Creek (0-5) is fifth in the region and would need at least a win over fourth-place Batesburg-Leesville on Feb. 3 to enter the playoff discussion.

Region 6-AA

Barnwell's boys are currently tied for fourth in Region 6-AA with Edisto at 1-4, with the teams already having split the regular-season meetings. Ridgeland-Hardeeville is in third at 2-3, and Barnwell is set to face the Jaguars on Feb. 3.

That matchup will also be an important one for the girls, as Barnwell and Ridgeland-Hardeeville are tied for third at 2-3 following Barnwell's win Friday over Edisto. The Warhorses will then close out the regular season against Woodland and No. 10 Wade Hampton, the top two teams in the region.

Region 4-A

The boys' race in Region 4-A was looking very much like a three-team chase before Wagener-Salley picked up a huge win Friday over eighth-ranked North to bring the War Eagles to 6-4 in region play and in good shape for a postseason bid in fourth place with four games remaining. They're a game behind North, with No. 4 Denmark-Olar leading the way at 9-0 and Calhoun County in second at 8-2.

Williston-Elko and Blackville-Hilda are tied for sixth at 3-7, with Ridge Spring-Monetta in eighth at 0-10.

The girls' portion of the region looks similar at the top, with No. 2 Denmark-Olar out front at 9-0 with Calhoun County right behind at 9-1.

Williston-Elko currently sits in fourth at 5-5, a game behind Hunter-Kinard-Tyler with the teams scheduled to face one another Feb. 7

Wagener-Salley is in sixth at 3-7, with Blackville-Hilda (2-8) and Ridge Spring-Monetta (1-9) rounding out the region.