It was a battle of two teams on similar footing in the region 2-5A opener between the Boiling Springs Bulldogs and Dorman Cavaliers Tuesday night. Both squads said goodbye to seniors that were significant contributors – Dorman to Christian Andrews, Christian Gentry, and Cason Gilliam; Boiling Springs to Landon Sprouse. Both teams return some key talent such as Keenan Arcega-Whiteside and Peden Breazeale as well as Isaiah Atkins, Jeremiah Favorite, and Reese Walter. Perhaps the most striking similarity between the 2 is that of all their returnees, only a few have seen significant/meaningful minutes.
All of those factors were glaringly evident in an early-season region game that, frankly, can only be described as a sloppy defensive struggle – which is to be expected from two teams that have only played a handful of games and are suddenly thrust into a huge region rivalry battle. The fact they are even playing region games this early is somewhat baffling to Dorman Head Coach Thomas Ryan.
“When it is this early in the season, I don’t like playing region games. We have only played four games now, and it is hard to believe that after three, we already had a meaningful region game.”
The Cavaliers quickly jumped in front with a three pointer from one of the more impressive newcomers to their roster– junior Power Forward Will Bush. Boiling Springs struggled out of the gate offensively, allowing Dorman to build on their lead, thanks to a hot start from the other impactful newcomer – sophomore transfer guard Jaden Johnson, who comes from Southside. Johnson tallied 8 points in the first quarter, which ended in a 15-13 advantage for the Cavaliers despite the Bulldogs taking a brief lead at the 1:45 mark on their first three point make of the night from Reese Walter.
“Jaden is only a sophomore and is going to be one of the best players in our area over the next three years”, said Ryan. “I think that showed tonight with him playing in a big game atmosphere on the road. He made some mistakes down the stretch, but Jaden has a unique ability to score the basketball and he is gonna be a big force for us this year.”
The second stanza of the game was marked by very little scoring, tons of misses, and lots of defense. The Cavs hit on just 3 of their shots in the frame while Boiling Springs made 4 layups to outscore Dorman 8-7, making for a 1-point Cavalier lead at the break (22-21).
Ryan’s squad looked to take control of the game in the 2nd half, building a lead as large as 9 points behind an outburst from Will Bush, tallying 9 points in the frame – enough to propel him to the team lead in points scored for the game with 20.
“Will is an offensive threat”, said Coach Ryan. “He doesn’t rebound very well. But he has good touch on his shots and can score from anywhere on the floor.”
Despite Bush’s efforts, the game was decided in the final two minutes. Dorman held their lead between 6 and 9 points for most of the frame. But, entering the home stretch, the Cavaliers’ inexperience and youth led to several turnovers and fouls. Fortunately for them, that was also an issue for the Bulldogs, which added to their inability to make shots, kept them from being able to capitalize on those Cavalier mistakes. Although Boiling Springs managed to outscore Dorman 15-10 in the final 8 minutes, the Cavs held on for the 48-46 victory to remain undefeated on the young season and move to 1-0 in region 2-5A.
“The word self-destruct comes to mind for me in the 4th”, said Thomas Ryan. We have a lot of inexperienced kids. They are talented, but aside from Keenan {Arcega-Whiteside} and Peden {Breazeale}, nobody has played any meaningful minutes. It definitely showed in the last two and a half minutes. We were very fortunate. They {Boiling Springs} got three good looks in the last 5 or 6 seconds. If any of those go in, we lose. I will always be happy to go on the road and get a win in the region, but we have to get better in some areas.”
Aside from Will Bush’s 20 points, Dorman got one other shooter in double figures as Jaden Johnson logged 12. Keenan Arcega-Whiteside tallied 8, while Peden Breazeale ended up with 5. On the Boiling Springs side of things, Reese Walter logged 16 points and Isaiah Atkins had 10. Jymire Wright added 8 and Jeremiah Favorite scored 5.
The Cavaliers’ next contest will come on Friday night as they take on the Riverside Warriors in yet another region game at home while the Bulldogs will travel to take on Spartanburg. Tip off for both games is tentatively set for 7:30 PM.
