One for the thumb: Ridge View wins 5th boys basketball state championship
After a rough first year, Joshua Staley has Ridge View basketball back on top.
Korie Corbett scored 18 points and Jayden Pretty added 15 as the Blazers defeated Riverside, 58-52, to win the Class 4A boys basketball state championship on Saturday at the Florence Center.
It was the fifth state title in program history but first under Staley, who is in his second season as coach after replacing Yerrick Stoneman.
Stoneman led Ridge View to four state championships before leaving to become the head coach at national powerhouse Oak Hill. Staley went to Ridge View after a run at A.C. Flora, where he led the Falcons to a state title and two appearances. He also made it to three girls championship games as a coach at Orangeburg-Wilkinson.
Last year was tough for the Blazers, who went 15-13 and lost in the second round of the playoffs. Future NBA player GG Jackson decided to graduate a year early and go to the University of South Carolina, and much of the Blazers’ roster was filled with young and unproven talent.
“The buy-in was big,” Staley said. “The kids that were here were bought in the whole time. It just takes time to develop. Most people call it growing pains. That is exactly what it is. We had to learn to love each other and accept each other for who we were. And I knew we could get to that point.”
Staley talked about those growing pains and the sacrifices the team made this season during his post-game speech to his players Saturday. He talked about the work in the weight room, the scout team players and also putting aside egos and roles during the season.
“We had to really trust Coach Staley,” Pretty said. “He really put the platform out for us, and we really had to buy in. We did that today and we came out as state champions.”
Ridge View’s growing pains weren’t limited to just last year. The Blazers had highs and lows this season.
The team won three games at The Bash in December, a showcase event it hosts annually. The Blazers also defeated two nationally ranked teams on their way to winning the Chick-fil-A Classic tournament and moved into the national rankings in late December.
But Ridge View lost twice — finishing 27-2 overall — and missed its chance at winning a region championship. The Blazers refocused for the playoffs and knocked off a talented Wilson squad in the third round, then blew out James Island in the semifinals to advance to the school’s sixth championship game.
Ridge View jumped out fast against Riverside on Saturday, taking a 20-6 lead on Robert Wylie’s 3-pointer with 1:01 left in the first quarter. The Warriors answered with a 10-0 run over the next two minutes, sparked by Drew Cannon’s four-point play that cut the lead to 20-16 with 6:25 left in the second quarter.
Ridge View never gave up the lead and was ahead by as many as nine points late in the third quarter. The Warriors cut the deficit to 52-48 with 3:32 left on another Cannon 3-pointer.
Riverside had a chance to get even closer but had a crucial turnover on its next possession. The Warriors had 17 turnovers in the game, while the Blazers turned it over just eight times.
Pretty and Corbett hit a couple of free throws in the final minute to seal it.
“Before the game, and it is no slight to Riverside, I had tears of joy because I knew they were going to pull it out,” Staley said. “These guys put in a lot of work, so I knew they were going to pull it out.
“... These games are won in the offseason, the skill development, the weight room and the grind. That is where you win games like this. You don’t win them on the night of.”
Senior Julen Iturbe led Riverside with 12 points. The Warriors were looking for their first state championship since 1988 and trying to sweep the Class 4A titles this year. The Riverside girls defeated A.C. Flora earlier in the day for their first championship in program history.
The Blazers’ season in South Carolina is done but they’ll get a chance, pending S.C. High School League approval, to play in The Throne postseason event in New Jersey later this month. The Throne is a single-elimination tournament and features some of the top public high schools in the country.
SCHSL basketball championship scores
At Florence Center
——Friday, March 1——
▪ Class 2A girls: Andrew Jackson 78, Landrum 60
▪ Class 2A boys: Gray Collegiate 44, Oceanside Collegiate 40
▪ Class 5A girls: Sumter 60, Rock Hill 42
▪ Class 5A boys: Lexington 67, Byrnes 48
——Saturday, March 2——
▪ Class A girls: Lake View 49, Denmark-Olar 46
▪ Class A boys: Christ Church 53, Bethune Bowman 32
▪ Class 3A girls: Camden 44, Wren 22
▪ Class 3A boys: Powdersville 53, Darlington 47
▪ Class 4A girls championship: Riverside 62, AC Flora 32
▪ Class 4A boys championship: Ridge View 58, Riverside, 52
