Wade Hampton Falls In Upper State Thriller

It was the kind of game many expected Saturday between two teams that split their regular season match-ups.

However, the end result was not what Wade Hampton faithful had hoped for as they poured into the Bi-Lo Center. 

Southside High School punched its ticket to the state finals Saturday night by defeating Wade Hampton in the Upper State Basketball Finals, 66-60. 

As expected, the crowd was treated to strong performances by two dominant scoring threats in Wade Hampton's Brian Steele and Southside's Quavius Copeland, but it was ultimately a freshman who took over the game as it wound down to the final seconds. 

In a game that featured seven lead changes and numerous ties, freshman Juwan Evans dropped 28 points against the Generals, the last seven of which occurred in the last two minutes of the game to carry the Tigers to victory. 

Steele led the Generals with 20 points, while Copeland added 16 for Southside. 
Wade Hampton took a 30-28 lead into halftime, and extended its lead to five in the fourth quarter, but Evans and Copeland kept the Tigers within striking distance until they took a two-point lead with just more than four minutes left in the game.

Steele responded with a three-pointer from the corner to give Wade Hampton a brief one-point lead, only to see Copeland regain a two-point lead with a deep three-pointer of his own. 

With one minute left, the game was tied at 58. That's when Evans turned it on.

A Wade Hampton miss turned into a quick run that ended with Evans driving hard to the hoop, sinking a lay-up, and drawing a foul. He sank the free throw, and then plucked the ball from the dribble of Wade Hampton's Ish Cousar on the ensuing inbound, scoring a quick lay-up giving the Tigers a 63-58 lead with less than 30 seconds left. 

Coach Darryl Nance said after the loss that he was proud of the effort his squad had shown all year. The Generals, who returned to the Upper State Final this year despite losing four of the five starters from last year's undefeated state championship team, defied expectations, he said. 

"The first thing you do (after a tough loss like Saturday's) is praise their effort," Nance said. "They really played their hearts out tonight on the court. They just missed a few details late in the game."

"Some might look at tonight and see it as a failure because we didn't make it to state, but at the beginning of the year, I don't think anyone expected us to be in this game, or much less win 20 games this season. It's been a privilege to coach these guys." 

The Generals' unlikely return trip to the state semifinals was perhaps personified best by senior guard Shun Fulton. While last year's team consisted of mostly three-year starters, key contributions came this year from surprising sources. Fulton, who had been cut in both his freshman and junior years, became a force in his senior year in 2012, averaging 10 points per game. 

"Some people may look at him coming in and doing that and say 'well they must not be any good,'" Nance said. "No. He just worked his butt off." 

It wasn't all bad news for Wade Hampton on Saturday, as the school's girls basketball team punched their ticket to the state championship by downing Clinton.