By Thomas Grant Jr.
Both the Chapin girls and boys basketball teams had strong showings in holiday tournaments.
The Eagles finished second at the Hoop for Hope Holiday Tournament at Batesburg-Leesville High School. A few days later, the Lady Eagles made a strong first impression in their first Beachball Classic appearance by winning the Kay Yow Division.
CHAPIN GIRLS
The Lady Eagles began play at the Beachball by defeating the host school Lady Seahawks 55-29.
After beating Lake City 52-36, they faced St. James in Monday’s final.
Chapin (8-3) led from start to finish, jumping out to a 14-4 lead at the end of the first quarter. It stretched the lead as many as 20 points in the third quarter, scoring 28 points off turnovers.
A 19-9 fourth quarter by the Sharks was not enough to close the gap. The Lady Eagles came away with the 44-37 win, led by Reagan Haggard with 22 points.
She also added to her total of 500 career rebounds reached last week with seven boards. Sami Stephenson had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
“Proud of how hard my ladies are competing so far this season,” head coach Terrance Jones posted on social media. “We are currently 6-3 and starting to play some of our best basketball this season. The three games we have lost are from so very talented teams Goose Creek, Camden and defending state champions Blythewood.
“We have one of the toughest schedules in the state this season. We embrace the tough schedule and challenges to make us better as a team and prepare us for region.”
The Chapin junior varsity girls basketball team also earned a first-place holiday tournament trophy. The JV Lady Eagles edged Dutch Fork 27-25 to win the Red Championship at the Christmas Classic at Lexington High School.
It improved to 11-0 on the season.
CHAPIN BOYS
In Game One, it defeated Richland Northeast 56-41 as Braydyn Francis had 21 points, Adam Vandegrift finished with 11 points and Mason Polk posted 10 points.
Chapin then defeated the host school Panthers 74-70 led by Francis’ 28 points and 15 points from Vandegrift.
The final against Aiken went into overtime before the Eagles lost 76-70.
