Porter-Gaud turns back First Baptist

Porter-Gaud 79, First Baptist 64

SUMTER — The Porter-Gaud Cyclones weathered a barrage of hot shooters and turned back the First Baptist Hurricanes to earn a berth in the SCISA Class AAA boys' basketball championship game.

Travis Smith scored 29 points to lead the Cyclones past the Hurricanes, 79-64, on Thursday at the Sumter County Exhibition Center. They will take on Pinewood Prep in the championship game on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in the same building.

"First Baptist has got some talent and quickness and speed, and when you couple that with making shots, it makes it difficult," Porter-Gaud coach John Pearson said. "They had a lot of second shots (in the first quarter) and we had to do a lot better job on the boards, and I think that was the key to us getting back in the game."

Josh Morissette hit a pair of 3-pointers in the first quarter to pace the Hurricanes to a 20-14 lead, but Porter-Gaud switched into a zone defense and brought Khris Middleton, one of its tallest players, out onto the perimeter to disrupt First Baptist's backcourt passing.

"Our guards are our strength on the offensive end, and when they were playing us man-to-man, we had success," First

Baptist coach Ray Mullins said. "(Porter-Gaud) switched to that zone and we couldn't solve it. When you're playing against a zone, you have to understand where the gaps are, and we didn't do that."

The Hurricanes (20-10) extended their lead to 24-14 to start the second quarter but scored only two points in the final six minutes before halftime.

The Cyclones took advantage with a 17-2 run for a 31-26 halftime lead.

While Porter-Gaud (22-7) never again lost the lead, First Baptist never went away, either. The third quarter looked more like a track meet as each team scored 20 in the period. Again, Morissette hit two 3-pointers to keep the Hurricanes within reach. He finished the game with 14 points.

"That's the one thing about them — they are scrappy and don't quit," Pearson said. "Sometimes you just have to outscore them and get a couple of defensive stops. They're difficult to prepare for."

Porter-Gaud enjoyed a size advantage in the frontcourt with Middleton and Jamal Curry snagging rebounds and preventing a lot of second-chance baskets. Porter-Gaud finally began to pull away when Dalton Benson hit a 3-pointer to put the Cyclones ahead, 60-49 with five minutes to play.

Curry finished with 14 points, and Middleton added 12.

Walter Brown led the Hurricanes with 16 points, and Jarvis Kershaw had 13.

Porter-Gaud (79): Travis Smith 29, Khris Middleton 12, Jamal Curry 14, Garber 9, Benson 9, Gangi 4, Daughtridge 1.

First Baptist (64): Walter Brown 16, Josh Morissette 14, Jarvis Kershaw 13, Randolph 9, Verner 4, Smalls 2, Stuckey 8,