Category Archives: Sports
Liberty survives Chesnee
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
LIBERTY — After leading for almost 18 minutes of game time, the Liberty High School girls’ basketball team was on the verge of collapse in the fourth quarter of last 
week’s game against the Chesnee Eagles.
The Red Devils led by as many as six points early in the quarter before the Eagles stormed back, and after trading baskets, Chesnee led 27-26 with just less than four minutes left.
With a crucial region win in the balance, the Red Devils went down the court passing the ball around
You must be logged in to view this content.
Subscribe Today or Login
Green Wave top Pickens for first region win
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — For struggling boys’ basketball county rivals Easley and Pickens, Friday night’s contest was an opportunity for both sides to pick up a first region win and 
get back into the playoff hunt.
With such crucial stakes, both teams struggled on the offensive end, but some sharpshooting on the Easley side made the difference in a 40-30 Green Wave win.
“It’s therapeutic,” interim Easley head coach Brian Smith said of the win. Smith, who has served as an assistant under Easley coach Michael Jones, led the team while Jones was out for undisclosed reasons. “We’ve had a lot of noise around us and we lost some focus in our first couple of games, but we got it back in this one. We grew up tonight.”
The Green Wave were forced to grow up quick as Pickens started strong, with Coley Gillian, C.J. Martin
You must be logged in to view this content.
Subscribe Today or Login
Undermanned Red Devils blown out by Eagles at home
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
LIBERTY — 2023 has been a year to forget for the Liberty High School boys’ basketball team, but the Red Devils still had to like their chances last week against a 
Chesnee team that also struggled to start off region play.
However, playing with only six players for much of night, Liberty just couldn’t keep up with the Eagles from the start in a 73-45 loss.
“We knew tonight was big one for playoff implications,” Liberty head coach Jonathan Dilworth said. “They just got out to a great start in the first half and they shot the ball really well, while we just got off to a slow start offensively. Still, I thought the boys battled in the second half and really played hard.”
Without starting guards Dre Paul and Weston Cobb for the Jan. 17 game, the Red Devils managed to score
You must be logged in to view this content.
Subscribe Today or Login
Blue Flame girls drop two-time defending champion Westside
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — Holding a five-point lead with a little more than a minute left, Pickens freshman guard Ava Owens knew her team needed just one more push last week to defeat two-time defending state champion Westside.
“We work so hard in practice, and I knew all that hard work couldn’t just get thrown away,” Owens said after the Jan. 10 game. “I knew I couldn’t give up on my
You must be logged in to view this content.
Subscribe Today or Login
Pickens boys fall against Westside
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — Taking on seventh-ranked Westside on Jan. 10, the Pickens High School boys’ basketball team knew it would need an almost perfect effort, and after building a 12-6 lead early, it seemed like the Flame might get it.
However, the Blue Flame just couldn’t match the firepower of the Rams, with Westside pulling ahead in the second quarter and never looking back in a 65-49 win.
“We didn’t repeat the first quarter,” Pickens head coach Jeff Harrelson said. “We fell into playing their game and started
You must be logged in to view this content.
Subscribe Today or Login
Red Devils taken down by seventh-ranked Landrum
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
LIBERTY — After picking up their first win of the season two days earlier against Crescent, the Liberty High School boys’ basketball team knew they would have their 
work cut out for them against the seventh-ranked Landrum Cardinals on Thursday night.
The Red Devils (1-13, 0-1 Region I-2A) seemed ready for the challenge early on, but the lengthy, athletic Cardinals (14-3, 1-0) outmatched them on the boards and wore them down in the second half as Liberty dropped its region opener, 75-50.
All told, the Cardinals outrebounded Liberty 43-18 on the night, with 13 offensive rebounds alone, leading to second and third chance opportunities that the Red Devils were unable to keep up with.
“We knew coming into it that rebounding was going to have to be a point of emphasis,” Liberty head
You must be logged in to view this content.
Subscribe Today or Login
Liberty girls fall to Cardinals
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
LIBERTY — Opening up region play against arguably the toughest team in their conference, the Liberty Red Devil girls’ basketball team didn’t seem fazed early on as 
they trailed just 13-8 after one quarter against the Landrum Cardinals on Thursday night.
However, missed opportunities at the charity stripe and an overall lack of offensive production were too much for Liberty to overcome despite a solid effort in a 35-19 loss.
“We had a few lapses, but I thought our girls played really well,” Liberty head coach Gregg Thomas said.
You must be logged in to view this content.
Subscribe Today or Login
Green Wave drop close game to Wildcats
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — Battling back from an eight-point deficit, the Easley Green Wave entered the fourth quarter with all the momentum on their side tied at 49-49 against the Woodmont Wildcats last Tuesday before letting the lead slip back to eight with less than two minutes to go.
Having done it once before, Easley went to work on the comeback, getting two baskets from senior forward Jayvion Leavell, including a huge putback with 17 seconds left to keep the Green Wave alive. Easley quickly fouled Woodmont’s Dre Huff, and despite making almost every basket to that point in a 30-point effort, Huff missed the front end of the one-and-one to give Easley a chance, but a crucial Leavell turnover on the ensuing possession ended Easley’s chances in a 62-58 loss.
“I told the guys we’re not good enough to overcome a lot of errors,” Easley coach Michael Jones said. “We did some things that obviously hurt ourselves. We had a stretch where we had four straight pretty bad turnovers in the first half, and we gave up too many offensive rebounds.”
After an opening basket from Carson Freeze, the Green Wave quickly fell behind as they struggled to contain Huff. Huff scored 10 points in the opening quarter to start his electric night, but Easley kept things close enough behind baskets from Leavell and senior guard Todd Williams.
Trailing 16-10, Easley used the sharpshooting skills of Ethan Crews and Kaleb Owens to tie the game at 18-18. A technical foul on leading scorer Kristian Chapman threatened Easley’s momentum, but Williams hit an and-one layup on the ensuing possession to give Easley its first lead of the night, 21-19. The Green Wave were unable to lead for long, though, with Huff scoring seven more points down the stretch in the quarter as Easley struggled with possession and rebounding, allowing the Wildcats to retake control with a 37-31 lead at the half.
Coming out of the break, the Green Wave cut into the deficit with ease as an 8-0 run bolstered by three-pointers from Owens and Chapman tied the game before Huff went on another scoring tear. This time, though, the Green Wave matched him, with Chapman hitting two huge shots and Crews nailing a couple of free throws to tie things at 49-49 heading to
the fourth.
Woodmont refused to go down easy as they opened the fourth on a 10-3 run, but Easley was as resilient as ever. Leavell carried the Easley offense down the stretch scoring seven of his team-high 17 points in the final quarter cutting the lead to four, but five missed free throws and the final, crucial turnover clouded his impact on the game as Easley fell 62-58.
“He’ll be fine,” Jones said of Leavell. “He is a competitor and he really wants to win. I know he is frustrated right now, but he is going to come back to work tomorrow.”
Despite the loss and disappointing start to the season, Jones was happy with the effort for his team in the loss especially after their prior play against the Wildcats and he feels good about his team as they head into region play.
“I’m really very proud of the guys,” Jones said. “We’re talking going to the wire with a team that beat us in the J.L. Mann Christmas tournament by 30. It’d be nice to have some of the games we lost this year back, but we our main focus is region play and we think we can be competitive.”
Woodmont 62, Easley 58
WHS 16 21 12 13 — 62
EHS 10 21 18 9 — 58
Easley (58) — Leavell 17, Owens 11, Williams 10, Chapman 8, Crews 8, Freeze 3.
Woodmont (62) — Huff 30, Kellett 9, Stewart 9, Ainslie 4, Bentley 4, Parry 4, Streetman 2.
Easley girls can’t keep up against second-ranked Woodmont
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — Falling behind 9-0 at the start of a matchup with Class 5A’s second-ranked Woodmont Wildcats last week, the Easley Green Wave girls’ basketball team needed to defend at its highest level and stop turning the ball over.
The Green Wave were able to do that for the rest of the first half, cutting the Wildcat lead to 20-19 at the break, but just couldn’t keep up for the full 32 minutes in a 50-35 loss on Jan. 3.
“My concern was they started the game on a 9-0 run because of turnovers,” Easley head coach Ivan Raymond said. “We were able to get back in the game because we
cleaned it up, but we got much worse with it in the second half, and it caught up with us.”
On the night, the Green Wave committed 26 turnovers, with the lion’s share coming in the second half, leaving Raymond pleading with his team to take care of the basketball.
“The kids just have to understand that they have to be comfortable with the ball,” Raymond said. “Too many times turnovers get the best of us, and until we put the time in to get better with it, it will continue to be an issue.”
Turnovers were a major factor in Easley falling behind 9-0 at the start, but the Green Wave showed a lot of fight, battling back with a 13-4 run over the final five minutes of the quarter aided by baskets from forwards Olivia Gramblin and Reagan Horn to head to the second quarter tied at 13-13.
The game slowed in the second quarter, with neither side gaining much traction offensively. Easley led for much of the quarter, with baskets by Horn, Anaya Sligh and Mattison Hayes keeping the Wave ahead until Woodmont’s Anaya Muhammad hit a three-pointer just before the break to give the Wildcats a 20-19 halftime lead.
Early baskets from Hayes and Gramblin gave Easley life to start the second half, but the turnovers and a lack of offensive cohesion allowed the Wildcats to regain control and take a 36-29 lead into the fourth. Things didn’t improve for Easley in the final frame, as the Green Wave managed just six points in the quarter, while the Wildcats continued to roll on the way to the win.
While disappointed with the loss, Raymond still believes his team has the potential for a memorable season as it prepares for region play.
“Right now I think we’re at a crossroads where the girls have to think about what they actually want,” Raymond said. “I’ve said before that they have a chance to do something special this year, but you have to be willing to do the work. My challenge to them all year has been, ‘Are you going to put the time in so that you don’t get uncomfortable when someone gets in your face?’”
The 8-5 Green Wave opened region play on Tuesday against Greenwood, with results unavailable at press time.
Woodmont 50, Easley 35
WHS 13 7 16 14 — 50
EHS 13 6 10 6 — 35
Easley (35) — Horn 12, Gramblin 7, Hayes 4, Leach 4, McKinney 4, Eron 2, Sligh 2.
Woodmont (50) — Muhammad 18, Nesbitt 12, Stewart 9, Chambers 4, Earle 4, Pullman 2, Thurman 1.
Brawl of the Wild
Four-legged foes go blow for blow in an incredible boxing bout
By Dr. Thomas Cloer, Jr.
Special to The Courier
y wife and I love to hike and film wildlife. It is one of our favorite things to do. A pandemic that has someone dying every 30 seconds in the U.S. from COVID-19 will send one away from crowds and into the wild outdoors. It certainly did so to my wife and me.
We have spent many hours observing wildlife in the wild. I have done so now into my eighth decade. I started seriously observing wildlife in the 1950s. As the ball dropped and 2021 became a reality, I realized I had just entered into my eighth decade of serious wildlife viewing. I have published many stories about encounters
You must be logged in to view this content.
Subscribe Today or Login
