Rebels’ backcourt pushes them past Columbia in region win

PROSPERITY, S.C. — The Rebels varsity boys’ basketball season has been a roller coaster ride, but they picked up a huge region on Tuesday night. Mid-Carolina(4-13, 2-3 region 3-AA) defeated Columbia(4-15, 1-4 region 3-AA) 51-50 at home to get a much needed win.

The Rebels found themselves in a fight with the visiting Capitals at home on Tuesday, Jan. 28th. Senior guard Kaden Myers came out hot for the three-point in the first quarter. He went three-of-four in the first quarter and scored nine of the team’s total 14 points. Mid-Carolina led 14-6 at the end of the first quarter.

The visiting Capitals battled back in the second quarter and outscored the Rebels to cut down their deficit. Columbia went on a 12-4 run after the Rebels held their biggest lead of the game, 20-6, in the opening minutes of the second quarter.

Junior guard Jay Gallman came off the bench for Mid-Carolina in the second quarter and provided a big spark. He two huge back-to-back buckets to help their struggling offense in the period, including a buzzer beater.

The Rebels led 24-18 at halftime.

Gallman continued his outstanding play off the bench in the third quarter, which really was a boost since the Capitals’ defense began to key in on Myers. Columbia outscored Mid-Carolina again in the third quarter and only trailed 32-31 going into the fourth quarter.

The two teams went back-and-forth for majority of the fourth quarter until Columbia went on a small run to tie the game at 37-37 with about three minutes left in regulation.

Myers began to heat back up after being quiet for most of the second half. He knocked down a huge three-pointer to give the Rebels the lead again. Then, senior guard Ryan Crooks knock down a three-pointer of his own on the next possession to put Mid-Carolina in control and give them a six point lead. The Capitals struggled down the stretch and had to resort to fouling to keep their hopes alive.

Mid-Carolina was able to knock down enough free-throws and closed out the game to get their second region win. Myers had a team-high 17 points and Gallman had 13 points off the bench.

“I just told my guys to keep fighting. Execute and finish the game, execute and finish the game. Ultimately, we did that. It took us a little longer than I wanted it to, but our guys showed a lot of toughness, a lot of heart and a lot of fight. It was a battle and I knew it was going to be a battle going into it. It’s going to be a battle again tomorrow night going to their place. That’s region basketball for you,” said Rebels’ head coach Kevin Winch.

Mid-Carolina and Columbia faced off again on Wednesday, Jan. 29th in Columbia, S.C. The Capitals took part two of the region showdown by a score of 62-50. Mid-Carolina will be on the road to face Chester for the second time this season on Friday, Jan. 31st.