Crestwood outlasts Camden with smothering defense

By J. SCOTT SEWELL jscott@theitem.com

CAMDEN – So that’s how first-year Crestwood High School boys basketball head coach Aric Samuel won three state championships in his previous stops at Hartsville and Hunter-Kinard-Tyler.

Crestwood pulled out a 66-63 victory over Camden on Wednesday at the Camden gymnasium, displaying a dogged, relentless full-court press that left a previously undefeated Camden team searching for answers all night long.

“The defense is what got me where I’m at today, and that’s our trademark right now,” said Samuel. “You can see our offense is not there yet because we’ve been working only on defense.”

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Gamecocks work to continue strong start in highly touted Bojangles’ Bash

By J. SCOTT SEWELL
jscott@theitem.com

Sumter High School’s boys basketball team entered the season with a bit of uncertainty. The Gamecocks had a new coach, new system and a roster full of young players that possessed promising talent, but were thus far unproven.

Seven games into the season and it’s hard to imagine the Gamecocks not being very pleased with how the team is coming together.

Sumter’s record now sits at 5-2 after the Gamecocks beat No. 6 South Florence 34-28 on Tuesday night. Sophomore guard Joseph Durant led the Gamecocks with eight points, and junior forward Jaiven Lowery-Isaac and junior center Justus Boone added seven points each.

“Last night’s game was huge for us,” said Sumter head coach Bryan Brown. “We’ve been talking about our team being young all season and maturing, and playing at the level that we expect our guys to play at. They answered to it last night. They came out ready to play, and the coaching staff is extremely proud of their effort and believing in our system and running it well like they did last night.”

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