AC Flora’s upset of No. 1 Ridge View paves way for Westwood to make school history

AC Flora boys basketball got the signature win it was looking for and ended Ridge View’s region title hopes in the process.

Will Willard scored 18 points as the Falcons defeated the top-ranked Blazers 46-45 on Friday in front of a raucous crowd at AC Flora.

With the loss and Westwood’s overtime win over Richland Northeast, the Blazers finished second in Region 5-4A. Westwood is the region champ and Flora will be the No. 3 seed from the region when the playoffs begin next week.

The loss also is the second for Ridge View coach Joshua Staley against his former team, with both losses at AC Flora.

With Westwood and Ridge View both ranked No. 1 in Class 4A polls at times this year., AC Flora got lost in the background but definitely showed it is among the state’s best and will be a dangerous opponent in the playoffs.

“We had a great year but no one took notice of it because of the way the region was set up,” AC Flora coach Ed Scott said. “We lost to Westwood twice and Ridge View early. But we won 19 games this year and it is all to those guys. … They finally got one of those big wins.”

AC Flora started strong, jumping out to a 20-9 lead after the first quarter. The Falcons never trailed but were challenged by the Blazers, who came into the game ranked in the top 10 in USA Today and MaxPreps national high school rankings.

Ridge View cut the lead to 41-39 late in the game on Talan Staley’s 3-pointer. The Blazers were down 43-41 but Joshua Smith got a steal and then Korrie Corbett was fouled with 47 seconds left.. Corbett missed both free throws and AC Flora got the rebound.

The Falcons’ Cooper Wiley hit two free throws to make it 45-41 with 33 seconds left. Wiley finished with 10 points.

Down 46-43 with less than 10 seconds left, Ridge View had a chance to tie but Jayden Pretty went in for a layup instead of finding someone open for a 3-pointer. The Blazers didn’t have a timeout left and the Falcons ran off the court as students attempted to rush the floor.

“Just wasn’t what we needed for the situation and AC Flora came out with the win,” RV coach Joshua Staley said. “We are going to have to refocus if we want to make a run in the playoffs. ... We got to get back playing for each other, believing in the coaches and get ready for the playoffs.”

Westwood boys win first region title

While Ridge View and Flora were battling it out, Westwood had its hands full with Richland Northeast, which tied the game 43-43 with three seconds left to force overtime.

But the Redhawks pulled away for the 52-49 overtime victory and the school’s first region championship in boys basketball.

By winning the region, the Redhawks will be at home at least for the first two rounds of the playoffs. Zion Brown led Westwood with 21 points and 12 rebounds. TJ Bell added 11.

Despite the loss, RNE clinched the fourth spot in the region after Irmo lost to Lugoff-Elgin, 52-47.

Ridge View girls dominate to win region

The fifth-ranked Ridge View girls jumped out to a 20-3 lead and defeated AC Flora to win the Region 5-4A championship.

It was the Blazers’ first region championship since 2017. Ridge View went 10-0 in region play including two wins over the Falcons, who finished second in the region.

Anasia Harvey led the way for Ridge View with 18 points, Destiny Drakeford had 14 and Lucia Bailey chipped in with 11.

CA Johnson wins on the road for region title

Lamont Jackson scored 28 points as CA Johnson went on the road to defeat Great Falls, 63-57, to win the Class 3-A region championship.

Jayden Guess and Anthony Brooks each had 10 points for the Green Hornets, who won their first region championship since 2015.

Friday’s scores

Girls Scores

Gray Collegiate 58, Cardinal Newman 14

Heathwood Hall 55, Hammond 37

Ridge View 64, A.C. Flora 47

RV: Anasia Harvey 18, Destiny Drakeford 14, Lucia Bailey 11, Johnson 6, Smith 5, Banks 4, Carter 3, Waters 3. ACF: Terriana Gray 17, McCray 9, Delaney 7, Mickens 5, Curnell 4, McDonald-Craft 3, Mason 2

Saluda 33, Mid-Carolina 26

Spring Valley 77, Blythewood 68, OT

Westwood 44, Richland Northeast 33

W: Makiah Thompson 20, Morgan Williams 12, Cummings 3, Entzminger 2, Chatman 2, Clarke 3. Davis 2.

Cambridge Academy 32, Richard Winn Academy 28

Boys Scores

AC Flora 46, Ridge View 45

ACF: Will Willard 18, Cooper Wiley 10, Maxwell 7, Johnson 4, Gray 3, Con. Wiley 2, West 2RV: Jayden Pretty 15, Talan Staley 11, Davis 9, Smith 3, Cooper 3, Corbett 2, Mack 2

Augusta Christian 88, Ben Lippen 61

BL: Stephen Nichols 29, Braysen Stockman 10. AC: Braylen Smith 25, Khaleel Pratt 21

Blythewood 71, Spring Valley 42

B: Will Olden 22, Austin Coker 10, TJ Lewis 10. SV: Nelson 20, Burgess 13

CA Johnson 63, Great Falls 57

CAJ: Lamont Jackson 28, jayden Guess 10, Anthony Brooks 10, Pearson 9, Bamberg 6

Gray Collegiate 59, Cardinal Newman 37

GCA: Braylhn Thomas 17, Darius Carr 10, Pauling 7, Maddox 7

Hammond 63, Heathwood Hall 49

H: Jaiden Haltiwanger 13, Makhi Smith-Brown 13, Daylin Haltiwanger 10, Tyler 9, Goddard 8, Ross 7, Saunders 2, Stokes 1. HH: Nic Nichols 19, Morris 9, Hunter 3, Chip Ravenell 12, Claxton 1, Hughes 3

Lugoff-Elgin 52, Irmo 49

Richard Winn 72, Wardlaw 37

RW: Drew Spires 19, Bennett Nicholson 14, JAutry 9, Steward 8, Bonds 8, Tyndall 6. Smith 5, Stuck 3

Westwood 52, Richland Northeast 49 (OT)

W: Zion Brown 25, TJ Bell 11, Thompson 4. RNE: Will Wilson 20, David Wine 12, Asuzu 8, Haliburton 5.