Newberry Boys Basketball Advances To District Championship Game

The No. 1 seed Newberry Panthers defeated the No. 4 seed Union County Tigers, 69-39, in the semifinals of the 1A-District 6 tournament Thursday.

Newberry Dominates First Half

Newberry (15-7) showed why it’s the No.1 seed immediately, outscoring Union County, 23-8, in the first quarter.

The Panthers remained hot in the second quarter. Multiple steals fueled a six-minute 26-point run.

Juwan Scippio, who led the Panthers in scoring with 22 points, spearheaded Newberry’s run with 10 straight points at the start of the second quarter.

Stout defense from the Panthers, coupled with sloppy and slow play from the Tigers (12-11), kept Union County to just three points in the second quarter, setting the score to 51-11 at half.

Union County Fights Back

The game seemed out of reach for Union County at halftime, but Newberry fell out of sync and the Tigers took advantage. More specifically, Thomas Williams took advantage.

Williams put up 22 of the 24 points scored by Union County in the third. With each made shot, the Union County crowd grew more and more loud. The crowd’s energy seemed to give Williams confidence. He couldn’t miss a shot, hitting six 3-pointers and going 4-4 on free throws in the quarter.

Late into the third, Newberry turned the ball over and Williams made a fast break across the court. The Union County crowd buzzed with excitement, expecting Williams to score once again, only for him to pass it to teammate Gavin Jenkins, who violently dunked the ball. The crowd erupted in cheer, and it was clear the energy had quickly turned to Union County’s side.

But Newberry still controlled the issue entering the fourth quarter with th 60-35 lead.

Too Little, Too Late

Despite a promising third quarter, Union County couldn’t come back from the 40-point deficit it amassed in the first half.

The Tigers turned from red hot to ice cold. The Panthers fixed their third-quarter troubles for a sharper fourth quarter to settle the outcome.

Up Next

Newberry plays the two seed Hawthorne Hornets (15-4) for the district tournament championship at Fort White High School at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. The Hornets defeated three seed Fort White (16-7) in Thursday’s other semifinal, 69-57.