Ridge View finishes late comeback to beat A.C. Flora in season finale

Despite the victory, the Blazers drop a tie-breaker for the second seed

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA – The Ridge View Blazers got a big, 50-46, win on the court, Friday, but still finished third in the 4A-5 region because of a tie-breaker scenario.

Jayden Pretty finished with 18 points, and was a catalyst both offensively and defensively for the Blazers.

“He wanted to win,” said Ridge View Head Coach Joshua Staley. “He kind of grew up tonight as far as turning into a next-tier player.”

Pretty scored nine points in the fourth quarter, being a driving force for a Ridge View 14-2 run towards the end of the game.

Ridge Views Adonis McDaniel (right) and A.C. Flora's Connor Higgins (30) / Photo by Dylan Jackson

That run helped Ridge View go from being down ten to leading with just a few minutes left.

Chris Parker had 11 points for A.C. Flora – running the offense and guarding Pretty down low – that was the main battle throughout the game between the two sides.

“Chris Parker is a South Carolina veteran,” Staley said. “He’s chiseled, he looks almost like a Greek God. (Pretty) wanted to hold CP so he stepped up to the challenge.”

Early in the fourth quarter, Ridge View guard Yale Davis had converted on an And-1 attempt, galvanizing a sold-out Blazers crowd, and igniting the 4th quarter run.

Davis finished with 16 points, eight of which came in the fourth quarter. Korie Corbett also finished with eight points, including a converted alley-oop.

“Basketball is a game of runs but we have to impose our will,” said Staley.

Ridge View trailed for the first 28 minutes of the game, and was down 15-5 after just one quarter. Still, they managed to battle back behind Pretty and Davis.

“Tonight is big because we were down to a well-coached, high-level team,” Staley said. “I knew it was going to be tough. … When we got down by like 11 or so, I knew we were gonna have to fight to get back in there.”

Photo by Dylan Jackson

Despite finishing behind Flora in the region, Ridge View is still set to host a playoff game at some point next week, and Staley doesn’t discount the momentum that tonight’s win brought.

“(A win) means everything,” Staley said. “You’d rather go into the playoffs on a win than a loss.”

The two games between Flora and Ridge View resulted in a four-point win for each side, which means second place in the region comes down to the third tie-breaker – total points allowed to in-conference opponents.

The Falcons finished with 482 points allowed to conference opponents to Ridge View’s 545, meaning Flora finishes second in the region.

Both teams will go on to host playoff games.

“We’re so prepared for the playoffs that it doesn’t matter,” Staley said. “We’re prepared. What else can we see?”

Photo by Dylan Jackson

Photo by Dylan Jackson

Photo by Dylan Jackson

Photo by Dylan Jackson

Photo by Dylan Jackson

Photo by Dylan Jackson

Photo by Dylan Jackson

Photo by Dylan Jackson

Photo by Dylan Jackson

Photo by Dylan Jackson