'We just don't quit'
The Philip Simmons High School boys’ basketball team rallied for a 62-60 home court victory over Pageland Central High School in a third-round Class AA playoff game on Monday, Feb. 23.
The Iron Horses advanced to the Lower State Championship for the first time in school history. They will play Mullins on Saturday, Feb. 28, at the Florence Civic Center with a berth in the state championship at stake.
The thrilling victory gave the Iron Horses their 10th straight victory and improved to 19-7.
“We were down, but never out,” Iron Horse coach Garrett Campbell said. "We just don’t quit. This is a special group. I keep telling the team they are a special group in a special year.”
Central took a 15-12 lead at the end of the first period. The Eagles held the ball for nearly four and a half minutes in a low-scoring second quarter and led 22-17 at halftime.
But the Iron Horses outscored the Eagles by seven points in the third quarter to take a 42-40 lead.
Palmer Driggers and Jack Mevold were a potent one-two punch for the Iron Horses, scoring 20 and 18 points, respectively.
Driggers scored on a goaltending call with just under a minute left in the game to give the Iron Horses a 61-59 lead.
Central converted a free throw to make it 61-60. The Iron Horses’ Alex Tchoryk hit a free throw for the final point of the game.
The Lower State victor will play either High Point High Academy or the American Leadership Academy. The pair will compete in the Upper State Championship this weekend. High Point advanced with a victory over Andrew Jackson, while American Leadership topped Clinton.
The Class AA state championship will be held at 4 p.m. March 5 at the Colonial Life Center in Columbia.
Meanwhile, the Iron Horse girls' team lost to Atlantic Collegiate Academy in the second round of the Class AA playoffs as the Armada posted a 44-23 victory.
The Iron Horses finished with a 13-8 record in Allen Gethers' second year as coach.
BE GIRLS' SEASON ENDS
The 2025-26 campaign ended for Bishop England girls' basketball as Beaufort High School scored its third victory over the Bishops this season, winning 70-57 in a second-round Class AAAA playoff game.
The Eagles won their 15th consecutive game to improve to 21-4. They were undefeated in Region 6-AAAA playing, handing the Bishops two region setbacks.
It marked the first time since 2004 that the Bishops didn’t make it past the second round, as they closed with an 18-10 record.
Seniors Hadley Irvine and Hayden Seay both had strong efforts in their final game at BE. Irvine scored 14 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, while Seay collected 15 points and four steals.
Junior Olivia Allen chipped in with 12 points, nine rebounds, and four assists.
Bishop England coach Paul Runey could have a date with history during the 2026-27 season. He will enter the campaign with a career record of 847-237.
Runey needs 15 victories to pass Anne Long as the winningest girls’ coach in South Carolina history. Long coached at Wilson, Boiling Springs, Union, Lower Richland, Dutch Fork, and Spring Valley from 1974 to 2015 and recorded 861 victories.