Category Archives: Sports
Daniel girls open region with win
By John Robert Ayers
Courier Sports
news@thepccourier.com
CENTRAL — Following an up-and-down early-season trek, the Daniel High School girls’ basketball team needed a win in the worst way against the Palmetto Mustangs to begin region 
play on Jan. 14.
Sitting at 7-7 entering the game, the Lions looked poised to start with a leg up in region play before allowing Palmetto to cut slowly into their lead, whittling it down to four points with 6:48 remaining in the game.
With their advantage dwindling, the Lions stepped up their game with a couple of three-pointers from Sincere Hicks and Jasmine
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Lions fall to Palmetto
By John Robert Ayers
Courier Sports
news@thepccourier.com
CENTRAL — Riding a four-game winning streak, the Daniel High School boys’ basketball team 
had plenty of confidence heading into its game against the Palmetto Mustangs on Jan. 14.
The Mustangs, no slouches themselves, as they entered the game at 12-5 on the season, went punch for punch with the Lions as both teams struggled in desire of a region-opening win.
With his team down two with less than 30 seconds remaining, Daniel’s Bobby Taylor was fouled on a shot attempt by Jaden Young. Taylor hit both of the free throws to tie the game up at 53-53, but Young, making up for the foul, put the dagger in the Lions’ heart with a deep three in the final seconds to secure
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Pickens looks to rebound
PICKENS — The Pickens High School women’s basketball team dropped two games to region foes at home last week, and the Lady Blue Flame will seek to rebound this week in region games against Daniel and Palmetto.
On the regular season, the Lady Blue Flame stand at 5-6 overall and 0-2 in the region. The Pickens girls dropped a Jan. 14 home game to Wren, 57-37, then lost at home Friday to Walhalla, 43-36.
“I believe that we learn and keep getting better every game individually and as a team,” Blue Flame coach Rikki Owens said. “We are going to focus on our energy on the court and continue
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Burrow, LSU too much for defending champs
By Alex Maminakis
Courtesy The Journal
alex@upstatetoday.com
NEW ORLEANS — In the end, there was no slowing down Joe Burrow and LSU’s prolific offense.
No. 1 LSU stormed back from an early 17-7 deficit on Monday night and proved to the college football world what it may have already known — that it was the best team in the nation this year — beating Clemson 42-25 to win the College Football Playoff National Championship Game and complete a perfect 15-0 season.
The loss brought an end to Clemson’s 29-game winning streak — a streak that began after the Tigers lost to Alabama in the same building two years ago.
“Obviously a disappointing night for us, not the way we envisioned it going,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “I’m thankful for our team. I’m thankful for God’s grace, for allowing me to be part of such a special group of
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Short-handed Wave fall to Greenwood
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — Facing any opponent without your starting point guard is a tough proposition, but the Easley Green Wave boys’ basketball team seemed up to the challenge without sophomore guard Princeton Rhodes early on in 
Friday night’s region matchup against the Greenwood Eagles.
Rhodes’ absence proved too much, though, as turnovers and sloppy play plagued Easley down the stretch in a 64-50 loss.
“When Princeton is out, we have to play guys at different positions,” Easley coach Mike Jones said. “Then, when you play a team that is so athletic and so defensive-minded like Greenwood, it really exploited some of the areas that we are normally stronger at.”
With Rhodes out with injury, sophomore Kain James picked up the slack and had a strong game, scoring 15 points and keeping Easley afloat in a game that always seemed within reach, even though the Green Wave were unable to close the gap.
“Every time we started to make a push, I felt like they upped the pressure defensively,” Jones said. “Some bad turnovers at those critical points just never allowed us to get over the hump.”
The Wave started off in a hole, letting Greenwood go on an 8-1 run
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Easley girls drop heartbreaker
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — The Easley Green Wave girls’ basketball team faced an emotional rollercoaster against the 
Greenwood Eagles on Friday night.
The Wave used an 18-4 run to take their first lead in the fourth quarter, but after another Eagles run, the Wave were in dire straits in the final seconds, trailing by two points.
The Green Wave got their chance for the victory after a miss by Eagle guard Kendahl Spearman on a one-and-one opportunity, as Elizabeth Goodwin launched a half-court heave for the win.
Goodwin misfired on the attempt and a subsequent miss on a putback as time expired doomed Easley to a 44-42 loss.
“We’ve struggled a lot lately, and part of that is lack of confidence while on the floor,” Easley coach Ivan Raymond said. “Tonight we saw them be patient and play good basketball, but we didn’t get the desired outcome. Still, I couldn’t be more proud of this group.”
The Wave got off to a rough start offensively, making no field goals
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Lady Blue Flame split two games
PICKENS — The Pickens High School girls’ basketball team last week split two games with area rivals, losing to 
Seneca at home and defeating Greer Middle College in an away game.
On the regular season, the Lady Blue Flame stand at 5-4 as they begin region play this week. The Pickens girls dropped a Jan. 8 home game to Seneca, 67-35, then rebounded the following against Greer Middle College, defeating the Lady Blazers 46-35 in a game played at Eastside High School in Greenville.
“Last week’s games got us mentally and physically prepared to start region games this week,” Pickens coach Rikki Owens said. “It has
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Pickens boys snap 69-game losing streak
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
SALEM — A lot has changed for the Pickens Blue Flame under first-year head coach Jeff Harrelson.
The Flame were a rudderless program that had gone three years without a win, but after some close calls early in the season, the Flame emerged victorious for the first time in nearly 70 games with a 53-26 win over the Eagle Ridge Eagles on Monday night.
“We’ve been so close this year,” Harrelson said after the victory. “I’ve told the guys since the beginning of the year, they just have to learn how it feels to win, and we finally got
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Pickens High honors Dean at tournament
PICKENS — Melissa Dean was named the tournament honoree at the first-ever Festival of Flames Girls’ Basketball Tournament established by Pickens High School head coach Rikki Owens.
Dean was presented the honor after a breakfast held for all participating teams and prior to team play on Dec. 21 in the Peggy Harden Anthony Gymnasium by her lifetime friend and college teammate, Peggy Anthony.
Dean played basketball at Daniel High School from 1968-72 before becoming a star three-sport athlete at the University of South Carolina, playing basketball, softball and tennis. She participated in the 1973 AAU National Women’s Basketball Tournament in New York City and twice participated in the Women’s College World Series in Omaha, Neb. She was a teacher, basketball and tennis coach at Estill and South Aiken high schools for 13 years.
For 50 years, however, Dean has endured a staggering number of health issues. She has suffered torn knee cartilage; epilepsy; Wolf-Parkinson-White Syndrome; four brain surgeries; a stroke; a 30-day coma; permanent paralysis of her left side; Achilles tendon surgery; two bouts of breast cancer; kidney stone surgery; gall bladder
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SCHSL realignment to affect local schools
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
COUNTY — As Pickens County enters the new year, there are plenty of changes to be expected for the decade ahead, and for the four local high school athletic departments, major changes are scheduled to begin in the fall.
The South Carolina High School League recently announced its proposed realignment for the 2020-2022 school years, with those changes seeing three county teams move down a classification.
The Easley Green Wave will move back down to Class 4A and will join Region I alongside county rival Pickens
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