The Blythewood boys basketball team scored a solid 95-48 win over J.L. Mann in the first round of the 5A playoffs, but a late Dorman rally Saturday night sent the Bengals down to a 63-58 defeat in the second round.
Blythewood finishes the season 21-7.
Against J.L. Mann, Zeke Washington’s game plan for the Blythewood wasn’t working out.
The Bengals head coach figured a zone defense would best counter the Patriots’ scoring capability in their first-round game at The Jungle. The Patriots paid it no mind, and took an 18-15 lead into the second quarter.
So, Washington gathered the team together, gave them man-to-man assignments, and off the Bengals ran to a 95-48 victory.
“We prepared us to zone for most of the game, but it just didn’t work,” Washington said. “I didn’t think we would do that well in man, but we switched to man, so I’m just like, whatever works. You just can’t be stubborn.”
From then on, it was man-to-man all the way, and Blythewood ran J.L. Mann up and down the floor at ease. The Bengals blasted the Patriots 27-11 in the second quarter, held a 42-29 lead at the half, then outscored Mann 30-9 in the third to go up 72-38 for the final period. Most of the bench players took the floor in the fourth and outscored the Patriots 23-10 to close out the rout.
Four Bengals reached double figures. Will Olden led all scorers with 25 points and Tyler Stephens had 12 points. T.J. Lewis scored 11 and Austin Coker chipped in 10 points for Blythewood.
Dontez Walker had 17 points for J.L. Mann (10-16).
Blythewood’s win set the stage for a huge matchup Saturday. Defending 5A state champion beat White Knoll 53-38 Wednesday.
Blythewood faced Dorman for the 5A state championship in 2017, falling 54-53 to the Cavaliers in that game. This year’s Dorman team may not have as many top 100 players, Washington said, but the Cavaliers, who finished second to Byrnes in Region 2, still pack a big punch.
“They don’t have the kids that they’ve had in the past, but they’ve still got an all-state player in Christian Andrews,” Washington said about Dorman, which has won five state titles since 2017. “They are still very solid, very well-coached.”
Andrews showed how he earned All-State honors Saturday night, scoring 35 points.
Even with Andrews’ scoring prowess, Blythewood held a 26-23 lead at halftime and survived a wild third-quarter shootout with a 49-45 lead going into the fourth quarter.
But the wildness continued six minutes into the fourth, and with 1:59 left to play Grant Aiken Ross drained a 3-pointer that gave Dorman its first lead of the night, 57-56.
Zavier Washington’s foul shot tied the game at 57 with 1:20 to go, but Keenan Arcega-Whiteside’s basket with some 50 seconds left and Andrews’ foul shot seconds later put Dorman up 60-57.
Christian Gentry hit one of two foul shots shortly after, and while T.J. Lewis made one of two free throws to make it 61-58, Andrews hit both of his to give Dorman a 5-point lead with 12 seconds left.
The Cavaliers (21-7) take on Mauldin (16-11) Tuesday.
Feb. 14
J.L. Mann – 18-11- 9-10 — 48
Blythewood – 15-27-30-23 — 95
J.L. Mann: Dontez Walker 17, Williams 7, Davidson 6, Scales 6, Cook 5, Blueford 3, Peterson 2, Hack 2
Blythewood: Will Olden 25, Tyler Stephens 12, T.J. Lewis 11, Austin Coker 10, Chung 9, Mazyck 6, Mason 5, Wyche 5, Jones 5, Sims 3, Little 2
Feb. 17
Dorman – 14-9-22-18 — 63
Blythewood – 17-9-23-9 – 58
Dorman: Christian Andrews 35, Gentry 9, Arcega-Whiteside 8, Aiken-Ross 6, Burns 3, Brezeale 2,
Blythewood: Will Olden 17, Austin Coker 14, Stephens 7, Lewis 6, Wyche 5, Jones 3, Chung 3, Little 2, Washington 1.
