One might have a hard time saying that it is just a ‘start to the season’ to be sitting at 18-0 as the season nears the halfway point of region play. Regardless of the semantics of what to call it, one would also be hard-pressed to find a team better than the James F Byrnes ‘Runnin’ Rebels’, not just in Spartanburg County or in region 2-5A, but arguably in the state of South Carolina as a whole.
The Rebels are no strangers to success lately. Last season, they ran the table through the region and the upperstate playoffs en route to a trip to Florence for the 5A state championship game, where they ultimately fell to Lexington. As is typical of young teams that lose a championship game, the narrative surrounding the following season is “unfinished business.”
That may not be the mindset of this team, but whatever the case may be for Layne Fowler’s 2024-2025 squad, one fact can’t be denied. This team, for as good as they were down the stretch last year, is even better now – which is terrifying if you find yourself seeing them coming up on your schedule. But what is it that makes them so good? Well, for starters, they are all unselfish in how they play, which goes a long way when it comes to team chemistry.
“I love this team and how they share the ball”, said Fowler. “We have a roster full of guys that can score and when Colt {Fowler} looks for guys to distribute the ball to, it makes us even better. We believe in our full roster and we are extremely fortunate to coach kids that believe in ‘team first basketball’ and play the right way. They play hard, unselfish, and together.”
All of his statements about the team could not have been more evident in the Rebels’ convincing 59-43 road win over Boiling Springs in Bulldog Arena on Friday night.
Things got off to a very slow start for both squads. For perspective – the Bulldogs took the lead for what would be the only time in the game at the 4:15 mark of the first quarter on an Isaiah Atkins three from the right wing. The score afterwards? Five to 4. Halfway through the first quarter, neither team had scored over 5 points.
That lead was short-lived, as on the Rebels’ ensuing possession, Evan Enos pulled up from the left corner for a triple to put Byrnes back in front for good. The Rebels’ speed and aggressiveness on defense kept the Bulldogs from being able to get many open looks. In essence, this game was never going to be close. It was a total mismatch – which is going to be the case in virtually every game left on the Rebels’ schedule.
While the story of the season to date for the Rebs has so often seemed to involve Colt Fowler as the main character, it was not quite the case in this game. It was not that Boiling Springs did anything special to contain him. In fact, Fowler found himself driving the lane and getting down the court in transition so quickly he could have almost taken every shot himself. But that is not the way he plays – which may be a good thing since the basket had a lid on it for him for much of Friday’s contest. He didn’t hit his first basket until midway through the final stanza, with just 4 free throws to account for his scoring up to that point. Instead, the spotlight fell on sophomore small forward Fabian McClintock – who was practically automatic in the paint for Byrnes with a team-leading 20 points.
“Fabian has been huge for us all season. His versatility is what sets him apart from a lot of players. He is very skilled and has great hands. He can guard multiple positions and he has an extremely high basketball IQ”, said Coach Fowler.
That isn’t to say Colt Fowler still didn’t put up some numbers. Once he got going in the 2nd half, he ended up the 2nd leading scorer with 14 points. Sukhi Singh continued his strong season with 7 points while Evan Enos and Jake Degler added 6 each.
Boiling Springs has leaned heavily on the duo of Reese Walter and Isaiah Atkins to provide their spark on offense. But, only one of the two had an impact in this game. Atkins was the biggest bright spot, leading all Bulldog scorers with 12 points. Jymire Wright tallied 7 while Luke Underwood, Walter, and Braylin Gilliam each added 6.
“I thought we played very connected on defense. That made it hard on Boiling Springs at times tonight”, said Fowler of his team’s dominant effort. “Boiling Springs is much improved and they play as hard as any team out there. Coach {Craig} Martin has done a great job and he is building a great program at BSHS.”
Byrnes, now 18-0 and 6-0 in region 2-5A, has a big test coming on Tuesday as they face Riverside at home with a 7:30 tip. They will follow that with a trip to Taylors to take on Eastside on Friday, also with a 7:30 tentative tip off.
Boiling Springs (10-6, 2-3) hosts the Gaffney Indians on Tuesday before another tough road battle with Dorman, who they fell to 48-46 back in early December, on Friday. Tip-off is tentatively 7:30 PM for both games.
