Wildcats Head to Round 2 in State Playoffs

Tre McLean led the West Ashley Wildcats to a first round playoff win Wednesday night with 25 points, four assists, four blocked shots and seven rebounds.

The Wildcats jumped out to an early lead against Sumter High School Fighting Gamecocks Wednesday and never really looked back.

After a tight first period the Wildcats led 18-14, and the team extended its lead heading into half-time to 12 points. West Ashley held the Gamecocks to only four points in the second period to end the period up 30-18.

The Gamecocks came out in the third period fired up and refreshed and made a game out of it, closing the scoring gap to five points by the end of the third period. The Wildcats still led 40-35.

The Wildcats woke up towards the end of the third period and carried that momentum in front of a home crowd into the final 12 minutes of play, outscoring Sumter 22-12 in the period for a final tally of 62-47.

Sumter kept the game close for most of the fourth period but West Ashley began to pull away in the final minutes as the Gamecocks started fouling the Wildcats to stop the clock. The Wildcat free throws started to pile up though and Sumter simply couldn't keep pace.

"We had moments when we played really well," West Ashley Head Coach Ronnie Dupre said after the game. "We had some shaky moments too, so we have a way to go if we want to continue in the playoffs."

Dupre said he was happy with the win, the Wildcats' 20th of the season, but the team has some issues to work on ahead of its second round game on Saturday. West Ashley will take on the winner of #1 seed Lexington and Ridgeview, who were also playing Wednesday.

"Tre McLean had a great game, he had 25 points," Dupre said. "The thing about those 25 is that they came at crucial times."

Andre Lewis went 5-6 from the field for 10 points on the night. David Brown added two points on free throws during the second half. Matthew Ealy added six points. Earnest Heywood scored 10 points for the Wildcats and led the team in rebounds with 10. Daquan Glenn had eight points on the night.

The Lady Wildcats also won their first round game Tuesday night against South Florence High School 61-34. They will play Orangeburg High School in Orangeburg on Friday.