Wolverines late comeback falls short against Ware Shoals

WHITMIRE, S.C. — The Wolverines varsity boys’ basketball team was looking to shake off the rust from the end of 2025 and not have it carry over into 2026. Whitmire(2-10, 1-6 region 1-A) fell 53-43 in a tight region battle against Ware Shoals(5-7, 4-2 region 1-A) on Tuesday, Jan. 5th.

The Tuesday evening region showdown on the campus of Whitmire was an intense battle. The Wolverines are young, but are showing a lot of promise. They entered the game currently on a three-game losing streak.

The first quarter was a three-point shooting contest as they kept going back-and-forth trading long range shots. Wolverines freshman guard Braylen Sartor and Hornets sophomore guard Charles Callaham both put on a scoring clinic in the first quarter. Sartor hit two deep three-pointers from the parking lot in the opening minutes to start the game. Callaham had six of his 13 total points in the opening quarter. The two teams were tied 12-12 at the end of the opening quarter.

The away team began to build a lead in the second quarter by clamping down on the defensive end. The Hornets outscored the Wolverines 17-8 in the second quarter closed out the quarter on a 6-0 run. Senior guard Tyrell Cunningham began to knock down a few three-pointers to help build the Hornets lead. He also finished in double figures with a team-high 15 points.

The turnovers and missing easy shots killed Whitmire’s momentum from early on in the game. They also continued their struggles from the free-throw line in the second quarter. The home team trailed 29-20 at halftime.

The third quarter wasn’t kind to the Wolverines either as they continued to get in the paint but couldn’t convert the easy attempts into points. Whitmire only scored four points for the entire quarter. They trailed by as many as 20 points in the third quarter and went into the fourth quarter down by 16 points, 40-24.

The young Wolverines has shown that never give up attitude all season, and did the same thing in the fourth quarter against Ware Shoals. Junior forward Z’Keadon Ruff started the second half for the Wolverines and he provided a huge spark in the fourth quarter. He had two big blocks, knocked down a huge three-pointer and was able to fight through contact to make a tough layup and draw the foul in the midst of Whitmire’s 9-2 run to cut the deficit down to single digits.

Sartor also began to pick his scoring back up in the fourth quarter after being held scoreless in the third quarter. He scored six points in the final quarter to help fuel the comeback.

Also, freshman forward Ayden Hopp began to make his presence felt. He made a tough layup through contact to draw a foul, but showed a little much emotion by screaming in the opposing big man’s face and was granted a technical foul. Unfortunately, that backfired because the Hornets went back to a double digits lead and was able to close the game in the last two minutes.

Hopp finished with 11 points and Sartor finished with a game-high 17 points. Junior point guard Kaden Malpass struggled in this game with only four points. The Wolverines losing streak was extended to four games. They will be off for a week and then will be on the road to face Thornwell on Jan. 13th.