Two senior stalwarts guided the Cane Bay High School boys basketball team to a hard-fought victory Tuesday, Jan. 30, at Goose Creek High School.
Isaac Smalls paced the Cobras with 22 points, and classmate C.J. Dixon added 18 points as Cane Bay rallied from a dozen points down in the second half to clip the Gators 61-54. The Cobras improved to 16-8 overall and 5-1 against Region 6-5A foes and can secure their second region crown in three seasons Tuesday, Feb. 6, with a win at home against Berkeley.
“I didn’t expect it to be easy,” said Cobras coach Shawn McKeen. “That’s for sure. We went on a run, they went on a run, and we went on a run. Luckily, we were able to sustain it and close it out. I knew it would be close. They’re a good team.”
Smalls and Dixon combined for 26 of Cane Bay’s 37 points in the second half, and the Cobras overcame their largest second-half deficit this season, McKeen said. The Gators led 40-28 midway through the third quarter, but the Cobras scored 13 straight to regain a short-lived lead.
Goose Creek got a pair of free throws from Ja’Quell Brown to take a 42-41 lead after three quarters, but the Cobras outscored the home team 20-12 over the final eight minutes, including 13-6 down the stretch.
“We needed some stops and to make a few buckets to get back in the ballgame,” McKeen said about the comeback. “We rode that momentum all the way to the end. I give the kids all the credit. They didn’t sulk. They very well could have. The third quarter is an important quarter.”
Sophomore Jarvis Roper and senior Landon Davis chipped in six points each for the Cobras.
Goose Creek dropped to 11-10 overall and 2-3 in the region. Sophomore Taveion Scott paced the Gators with 13 points, while freshman Reggie Dozier and junior Shane Potts contributed 12 points. Goose Creek is at Wando Friday, Feb. 2 (after press time).
McKeen expects the Stags to come out swinging in the rematch with Berkeley. Cane Bay clamped down on the Stags 51-37 in Moncks Corner on Friday, Jan. 19, to hand Berkeley its first home loss this season. Also, the 37 points is the least productive night by Berkeley this winter.
The Stags are 15-7 overall and 4-2 in the league heading into a matchup Friday, Feb. 2, at home against Stratford (7-17, 0-6 region).
“I know Berkeley is going to play us hard,” McKeen said. “We played a great game against them there. I don’t know if we can duplicate that, but it’s at our place. I know coach (Matt) Mullins will have them coming after us. He’s a great guy and a great coach.”
While he appreciates a good matchup on the court, McKeen wants to avoid a tie-breaker game for the region’s top seed before the Class 5A playoffs begin Wednesday, Feb. 14.
“It’s good to play competitive basketball,” McKeen said, “but if I had my way, we would go ahead and get it done against Berkeley. I don’t want to get into a winner-take-all game after the (regular) season.”
If McKeen’s team falls to Berkeley, it must also get past Goose Creek Thursday, Feb. 8.
