Lexington’s quest for state championship ends with semifinal loss to Dorman

Elliott Pope wasn’t looking for excuses after emerging from Lexington High’s locker room Monday night.

The Wildcats head coach emerged with a towel over his T-shirt following the team’s 60-52 loss to Dorman in the Class 5A Upper State title game at Bob Jones University.

The loss ended Lexington’s bid for its first state championship appearance since 2012.

“You can’t cry over spilled milk,” Pope said. “Keenan coach Zach Norris said it the other day. It is a heck of a job that our seniors did. We got better every year that they have been involved in the program.”

With the win, Dorman advanced to its sixth championship appearance in the last seven years. The Cavaliers will play Goose Creek on Saturday at USC Aiken.

Cavs coach Thomas Ryan, a former Lexington player and assistant, said Monday’s matchup was the toughest state semifinal game of his program’s recent stretch of success.

Ryan also called this year’s Lexington team the most talented one he’s seen as a player and coach. Lexington was ranked No. 1 in the preseason and began the playoffs at No. 3 while Dorman was No. 1.

The Wildcats have several Division I prospects, including Class of 2024 guard Cam Scott, who scored 17 points in the loss. And they featured a bigger lineup than Dorman.

“I told you and I meant it. That’s the best Lexington team I have seen, and I have seen them for 30-something years when I played,” Ryan said. “They will get their time. They will be back.

“I thought it helped that they were a little inexperienced in this situation. But our guards competed so hard and we rebounded the ball. We knew we had to do that and we hit some big perimeter shots.”

The Cavs’ guards and Dorman’s rebounding were two of the differences in the game. Dorman was 7-of-22 from 3-point range and out-rebounded the Wildcats, 35-25.

Dorman guard Terry Leonard had a game-high 20 points for the Cavs. The senior wasn’t inserted into the starting lineup until December but has been a key contributor. Christian Andrews added 11 and hit three 3-pointers.

Leonard’s 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter gave the Cavs a 16-14 lead. Dorman didn’t trail the rest of the game despite numerous runs by Lexington, who switched from its zone to man-to-man defense for much of the second half.

The Wildcats trailed 43-33 going into the fourth and got within five three different times, but they couldn’t get over the hump.

Jaxon Prunty added 13 points and Jose Figueroa had 10 for the Wildcats.

“Credit to Dorman. They did a heck of a job making shots and free throws that kept their lead,” Pope said. “I knew we were going to make a run but had some turnovers. That is something we can learn from and get better.”

L: Evans 8, Jose Figueroa 10, Bell 2, Jaxon Prunty 13, Jose Figueroa 10, Campbell 2. D: Harris 9, Miller 5, Lindsey 5, Terry Leonard 20, Christian Andrews 11, Wilkins 4, Arcega-Whiteside 6.