101 reasons to smile
Gaffney turns rare game against 'Cats into blowout victory
By LARRY HILLIARD Ledger Sports Editor larry@gaffneyledger.com

Ledger photo by LARRY HILLIARD Blacksburg guard Ken Littlejohn shoots over the outstretched arm of Gaffney's Jared Teague in a rare regular-season matchup of the intracounty high schools on Saturday.

In Saturday's matchup between neighbors Gaffney and Blacksburg, the only drama was whether the Indians would top the 100-point mark.

David Dewberry ended the suspense by swishing a 3 as the clock ticked to zero to give the Indians a 101-31 victory.

Jeff Brown had 18 points and Josh Corry and Dewberry each had 17 points for the 13-2 Indians.

It marked the first regular-season matchup between the schools in decades. The teams have met twice recently in the Substation II Invitational.

About the only positive for the Wildcats (1- 12) is that they trailed by a respectful 19-10 margin at the end of the first quarter.

But the Indians turned in a dominating performance the rest of the way, shooting 48 percent and holding a 59-20 rebounding advantage.

The Wildcats shot just 23 percent for the game, making only 12 of their 52 field goal attempts.

Gaffney coach Mark Huff did his best not to run up the score by calling off his press at the start of the second half.

"As a coach I don't like games like these," Huff said. "I feel like you are in a no-win situation. But our kids played hard and that's what we want them to do. We won't have any of these points on Tuesday (against regionleading Hillcrest). We better come ready to play."

The Indians were ready to play in the second quarter when they went on a 23-4 run to lead 46-17 at the half. Ty Dawkins was big during the stretch, scoring on offensive rebounds on consecutive possessions.

Things got bleaker for Blacksburg in the third quarter. Four minutes into the third quarter, the Wildcats still had 17 points. The Wildcats still had 17 points at the three minute mark, the two-minute mark and as the clock read 0:00 to end the third quarter.

Ken Littlejohn, who led the Wildcats with 18 points, finally broke the 8-plus minute scoring drought with a basket at the 7:25 mark of the fourth quarter.

Littlejohn also was the Wildcats' leading scorer in a 64-43 loss to region-rival Chesnee on Friday. The Eagles led 15-6 at the end of the first quarter and extended their lead to 32-16 at halftime. Blacksburg returns to action Friday against visiting Chapman.