The 1-seeded Cavaliers, after a dominant 2nd half performance in a 71-46 Wednesday night in round 1, hosted the Woodmont Wildcats in part 2 of their quest for the 5A state title.
The Cavaliers have an established “brand” of basketball that clearly works. Four state titles in 5 years attests to that. That brand consists of aggressive and physical defense that creates turnovers and forces a lot of bad shots, and an offense that has the ability to score from anywhere on the floor. Not only that, but with the speed and scoring ability that can make you pay big time when they get unforced turnovers.
That “brand” was on full display Saturday night at Cavalier arena. The one thing the Cavaliers did not do that is usually par for the course for them was get off to a fast start. Both teams struggled and played at what felt like a snail’s pace over the opening minute and some change of this game. The Cavaliers did strike first on a Jamarcus Wilkins layup that Woodmont went right down the floor and answered before the Cavs offense managed to shift into first gear, going on a 4-0 burst that forced the Wildcats to take their first timeout.
From there, the Dorman brand took hold enough for them to build and maintain a lead. Sparked by Jamarcus Wilkins and Christian Andrews, who combined for 9 points throughout the rest of the first stanza, the Cavaliers pulled to a 21-14 advantage, and continued to build on it in the 2nd frame.
The Cavaliers had a few miscues that allowed Woodmont to hang around in the first 8 minutes. They shored them up in the 2nd by getting back to playing “their game” and creating several turnovers through steals, and taking advantage of Woodmont’s unforced errors. The combination of good defense and bad shooting led to the Cats being limited to just 9 points in the 2nd quarter, allowing Dorman to pull out to a 42-23 lead at the intermission with another 21 point frame.
The game nearly flipped in the 3rd quarter when Woodmont came out swinging while Dorman struggled. For the better part of about 4 minutes, the Cavaliers could not come up with a basket nor could they pull down offensive rebounds – until Keenan Arcega-Whiteside laid one in around the 4 minute mark. The Wildcats, behind a 13 point outburst from their leading scorer, senior shooting guard/forward West Kellett, outscored Dorman 23-15, making for an 11 point game heading to the fourth quarter.
Neither team shot very well in the 4th quarter, but the difference came via Dorman winning the battle on the defensive rebounding category. The Cavaliers managed to hold Woodmont at bay, outscoring them 18-14 to win it by a final of 75 to 60.
The Cavaliers were led by Jamarcus Wilkins with 18 points. Christian Andrews was not far behind with 16. Jordan Miller tallied 11 while Terry Leonard had 10. Chase Harris just missed out on double figures with 8 points to his credit while Sean Lindsay logged 6.
Dorman will now turn their eyes to a tough battle in the Upperstate quarterfinals on the road at Fort Mill on Wednesday night.
