CHARLESTON—The Westwood boys basketball team got off to a great start in its third-round matchup with James Island Thursday night, but the Trojans erased a double-digit deficit early in the fourth quarter.
The Trojans defense slowed down the Redhawks attack, forced overtime, and R.J. Simmons’ 3-pointer with 36 seconds left gave them a 71-70 edge. Simmons added a free throw and James Island got two more foul shots from Gavin Ward to claim a 75-72 victory over the Redhawks.
James Island (17-10) plays Ridge View (25-2), 56-53 winners over Wilson Thursday night, for the lower state championship Wednesday night at the Florence Center. For the Trojans, who last won the 4A state championship in 1992, it’s their first lower state final since 2014.
Westwood got off to a 22-8 lead going into the second quarter and kept that 14-point margin by the half, leading 36-22. The Redhawks even held a 40-22 lead before James Island’s defense began closing in.
Led by Braxton Scott, the quarterback who led James Island to a 12-1 record and a third-round showing in the 4A playoffs in November, the Trojans found their scoring stride as well. James Island cut Westwood’s lead to 50-42 heading into the fourth quarter.
Both teams battled it out, with Scott’s steal and layup tying the game at 53 with 4:30 left.
Despite losing its early lead, Westwood had a 63-61 lead in the closing seconds of regulation, but once again Simmons found a way into the lane and put up a layup at the buzzer to force overtime.
“It feels great that we stuck together and never stopped playing,” Simmons told The Post and Courier. “I felt all along that if we stayed together we could come back. Just had to stay together.”
Scott led the Trojans with 18 points, Simmons had 17 points and Ward added 15 points.
For Westwood, it was the last game for its seven seniors, including 4A Player of the Year Tavaris Bell, T.K. Roberts, Zion Brown, Nate Thompson, Mike Balkman, Dontae Walters, and Jaylen Hannah.