By Rick Ryan, For the Gazette-Mail
Say this about Josh Daniel: When he takes a team to the state tournament, it’s a memorable moment.
Sophomore guard Wayne Harris tallied 11 of his game-high 28 points in the fourth quarter Wednesday evening as South Charleston made it back to the big show for the first time since 2014 with a 64-49 win against Princeton in the Class AAAA Region 3 co-finals at the SC Community Center.
It’s the first state tournament trip for SC since 2014 when Vic Herbert was coach. Princeton (14-7) was trying to end an even-longer dry spell, since it hasn’t qualified since capturing the 1981 Class AAA title under coach Ralph Ball.
“It means a lot,’’ said Daniel, SC’s third-year coach. “We weren’t in a good place a few years ago with our basketball program. And in three years, to see what these kids have done, just trying to buy in and do the right things. This is a testament to them for us to be able to get back to the state tournament. That’s where South Charleston belongs. So, extremely proud of them and can’t wait to get to the Civic Center.’’
The Black Eagles (20-5) picked up the No. 4 seed and get a rematch with neighboring rival George Washington in the state tournament quarterfinals at 9 p.m. next Thursday.
This won’t be Daniel’s first visit to the state tournament, however. In 2017, he took Herbert Hoover to the Class AAA event, which was the initial trip for a school that opened in 1963. But now he gets to take his alma mater. Daniel, who led the state in scoring in 2006, ended his SC career with the most points in program history and made two state tournament trips as a player.
On Wednesday, the elusive Harris willed his team to victory with three straight three-point plays in the fourth quarter as SC broke open what had been a tight game, leading just 44-43 entering the final eight minutes. The 5-foot-9 Harris was fearless driving to the basket against much taller defenders.
“It feels real good,’’ Harris said as his teammates cut down the nets. “Coach has been talking to us about SC being so close to getting there the last couple years, and he told us we were the team that was going to get over the mountain. So I just wanted to be a leader and lead my team to the Civic Center. Now I’m going to work hard to try and win a state championship.’’
Princeton came out with a lot of confidence, shooting its way into a quick 7-0 lead and even though it fell behind by as many as 11 points in the second quarter, it rallied into a 43-39 advantage near the end of the third quarter.
But at that point, SC burst into a 20-2 run that sealed the verdict. Harris personally accounted for 13 of those points. Princeton ended with 17 turnovers, 15 of those coming in the final three quarters.
“Their point guard just ended up taking over,’’ said Tigers coach Robb Williams. “My backcourt has some young guys and they make some mistakes, but hats off to [SC]. It’s a tall order coming in here. I’m proud of the effort, to be honest with you. It doesn’t look as close as it was, but it was a battle. A couple turnovers here, a couple bad decisions there makes the difference in a game.’’
Mondrell Dean turned in another double-double for the Black Eagles with 12 points and 15 rebounds and Cayden Faucett scored 11 points. Princeton was led by Chase Hancock (15 points, five rebounds) and Jonathan Wellman (14 points, seven rebounds).
South Charleston 64, Princeton 49
Princeton;10;10;23;6;–;49
South Charleston;11;16;17;20;–;64
Princeton (14-7)
Hancock 5-11 2-3 15, Cochran 1-5 7-8 9, Joyce 3-12 0-0 6, Washington 0-3 0-0 0, Sartin 0-0 0-0 0, Watson 0-0 0-0 0, Ash 0-0 0-0 0, Edwards 0-1 0-0 0, Wellman 5-12 3-4 13, Hurte 2-7 0-1 5, Stover 0-0 0-0 0, totals 16-51 12-16 49
South Charleston (20-5)
Harris 10-15 7-9 28, Smith 2-8 0-0 4, Faucett 4-12 1-2 11, Dean 4-9 4-6 12, Bausley 3-4 0-2 6, Murray 1-2 0-0 2, Tubbs 0-0 0-0 0, Goebel 0-3 0-0 0, Kellum 0-0 0-0 0, Motley 0-0 0-0 0, Hughes 0-0 1-2 1, Given 0-0 0-0 0, totals 24-53 13-21 64
3-point goals: Princeton 5-18 (Hancock 3-5, Joyce 0-4, Washington 0-2, Edwards 0-1, Wellman 1-2, Hurte 1-4), SC 3-15 (Harris 1-3, Smith 0-2, Faucett 2-7, Goebel 0-3)
