Photo by Thomas Grant Jr.
By Thomas Grant Jr.
The opening schedule for 2026 has both Chapin basketball teams playing three straight road games to start Region 4-5A play.
Up first was a visit to Dutch Fork to face the defending region champions.
The Lady Eagles entered last Friday’s matchup at a disadvantage. Top scorer and rebounder Reagan Haggard remained sidelined with a sprained ankle suffered Dec. 29 against Clover.
The Lady Silver Foxes stormed out to a 13-3 lead in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Chapin used a 6-0 run to cut the deficit led by freshman guard Alaya Douglas.
She was the lone Lady Eagle to finish in double figures with 11 points. Senior forward Sami Stephenson also did her part in the post without Haggard by contributing 12 rebounds and seven blocked shots to go with seven points.
Despite their efforts, Chapin had the game taken away late in the third quarter. After getting within 31-27, the Lady Eagles were outscored 17-1 the rest of the way in the 48-28 loss.
Avani Adams led Dutch Fork with 16 points and Jamia Gerald added 11 points. It was the 19th straight win over the Lady Eagles, who have yet to defeat the Lady Silver Foxes.
The boys game saw Chapin use its 3-point marksmanship to erase an early deficit. In the second quarter, the Eagles connected on four straight from behind the arc, three by Carter Coggins, to take a 26-21 lead.
A driving layup by Justus Bell kicked off a 19-0 run by Dutch Fork that stretched into the third quarter. A 3-point play by Braydyn Francis ended the run with 5:32 left and left the Eagles down 40-26.
The second half saw Dutch Fork turn the contest into a series of steals leading to fastbreak points. Both Bell and guard K.J. Dupree had a pair of slam dunks to ignite the crowd.
Chapin was outscored 60-12 after taking the lead in the 81-38 loss. Bell finished with 20 points, Dupree had 18 and Samajee Govan finished with 16.
On Tuesday, Chapin looked to rebound at Wildcat Gymnasium against Lexington. It was a near similar outcome for the Lady Eagles who fell 48-26 to the Lady Wildcats.
It was a different story for the boys’ basketball team. The Eagles jumped out to a 25-16 halftime lead, then held off a Lexington run that tied the game at 39-39 with 7 minutes left in the game.
Chapin answered with 10 straight points, including two straight 3-pointers, to push its lead to double digits. The Wildcats rallied back to tie the game at 56-56 to force overtime.
The Eagles outscored Lexington 16-5 in overtime for the 72-61 victory.
