CLOVER—All year Easley fans have contended that basketball in Region 1-AAAA is among the best in the state. Last Wednesday night, the Green Wave helped prove it.

The four Region 1-AAAA teams finished 3-1 against opponents from Region 2-AAAA, with fourth-seeded Easley upsetting Dorman.

The Green Wave was unable to follow up Saturday night, falling to Clover in the second round of the state AAAA playoffs.

Meanwhile, Daniel, the only other local boys basketball squad to advance to the state playoffs, breezed through games with Riverside and Lower Richland to reach the state quarter finals Tuesday night. The Lions faced Greer Tuesday night at Easley’s McKelvey Gymnasium, with the winner earning the right to play for the Upstate title Saturday in the Bi-Lo Center in Greenville.

Results of that game were not available at press time.

Dorman, the Region 2-AAAA champions, led Easley 22-14 at the end of the first period. By halftime, Easley had cut the lead to 35-31. In the third period, Easley gained another point, then outscored the Cavaliers 21-15 in the final quarter to take the upset win.

Spencer Collins led Easley with 21 points. Joel Cook added 17. McKenzie Blandin and Joe McNeely each scored 11. Andrew Payne scored 4 points and Joe Graver had two

points.

Saturday Easley fell to Clover 57-54. The Blue Eagles hit 9 three-point shots in the game. Easley answered with six three-pointers of its own.

Center Joel Cook led Easley with 19 points.

The Green Wave trailed 12-9 at the end of the first quarter, and 23-16 at halftime.

Clover held a 43-30 lead with less than two minutes remaining in the contest. The Green Wave refused to give up, scoring 7 straight points, including a 3-pointer by Andrew Payne.

The Green Wave cut the lead to 45-42, but pressure defense by Clover created Green

Wave turnovers and the Blue Eagles gained a 51-42 advantage. Cook added a basket for Easley, and McNeely hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead back to 51-47, but the Blue Eagles hit six of eight free throw attempts down the stretch to earn the victory.

Clover played Northwestern Tuesday night, with the winner earning a spot in the Upstate title game. Gaffney and Hillcrest faced each other Tuesday night for the other birth in the Upstate title game. Results of those contests were not available at press time.

Daniel wins two

The Daniel Lions opened the AAA state playoffs with a 75-59 win over Riverside last

Tuesday night.

The Lions got off to a slow start, leading 12-11 at the end of the first half and 28-22 at halftime. But in the second half scoring picked up and Riverside just could not keep pace with the Lions.

Shaq Lawson led Daniel with 17 points. D’Andre Hopkins, who played sparingly due to foul trouble added 16. Antonio Cannon scored 14 and Freddie Williams had 10 points.

Also scoring for the Lions were Marcus Greenlee 7, Justin Dotson 6 and Cedrick Smith 5.

Friday night the Lions defeated Lower Richland 77-69 in a game that was a lot closer than the final score would suggest. In fact, Daniel trailed by 13 points midway through the third quarter. But a 30-8 rally by the Lions led Daniel to a 68-56 advantage halfway through the final period.

D’Andre Hopkins and Marcus Greenlee led Daniel with 16 points each. Shaq Lawson added 15. Antonio Cannon scored 12, Justin Dotson added 11 and Freddie Williams had 7 points.

If Daniel defeated Greer Tuesday night, the Lions will play the winner of the Fairfield-Central vs. J.L. Mann game in Saturday’s Upstate title game at the Bi-Lo Center in Greenville.

Daniel, Greer, Fairfield Central and J.L. Mann were all top seeds in the tournament due to winning their regular-season conference titles. The Low-country portion of the AAA state tourney still includes three of the four top seeds.

The state title game will be March 7 at the Colonial Center in Columbia.

Daniel remains the number one team in the coaches’ state AAA poll.