Hillcrest escapes Indians
By LARRY HILLIARD Ledger Sports Editor larry@gaffneyledger.com

Ledger photo by LARRY HILLIARD Gaffney's Jazz Palmer goes in for a layup against a Hillcrest player during first-quarter action on Tuesday. The region-leading Rams topped the Indians, 76-75.

The Gaffney Indians learned Tuesday they can play with the region's best team. They'll have to wait a little longer to prove they can beat them.

The undefeated Hillcrest Rams made the big plays down the stretch, rallying from as many as 15 points down, taking their first lead with 1:15 to go and holding off the homestanding Indians for a nailbiting 76-75 victory.

The Rams improve to 18-0 overall and 6-0 in the region - two games ahead of the Indians, who fall to 4-2 in the competitive Region II-4A standings.

The Rams trailed the entire game until Squad Garner's basket gave them a 74-73 lead. The Rams appeared in control after Steadman Short extended their lead to 76-73 and the Indians turned the ball over on their next possession.

But Jeff Brown, who paced the Indians with 21 points, stole the ball and raced downcourt for a layup to trim the Rams' lead to 76-75 with :7.5 remaining. The Indians regained possession after forcing a jump ball on the Rams' inbounds pass.

After a timeout, the Indians inbounded from underneath their own basket. After the first inbounds pass was knocked out of bounds, Gaffney's Robert Butler found himself with the ball about 10 feet from the basket. However, his jumper in the lane wouldn't drop. Brown got the rebound underneath the basket, but his stickback was blocked as time expired.

Several frustrated Indians argued that a foul should have been called on the play, but it was unclear if any player was ejected.

"I thought the kids played with great effort," Gaffney coach Mark Huff said. "We had two point blank shots, but couldn't knock them down. We left ourselves in a position to win. We played to the end. I just wish we had two points more."

Huff said the last play was scripted to get Josh Corry the shot.

"We were trying to sneak Josh in the back door, but the guy knocked the ball," Huff said.

The Rams shot a torrid 58 percent from the field but trailed by double-digits for most of the game.

Gaffney scored the game's first 11 points and led 24-15 at the end of the first quarter.

The Rams went on a spurt to tie the game at 26. But the Indians responded with a 22-10 run to take a 48-36 lead into halftime.

Brown stretched the Indians' lead to 15 early in the third quarter before the Rams cut the deficit to 65-57 at the end of the third quarter.

Jazz Palmer had 13 points for the Indians, who travel to Byrnes on Friday.