Spartans to face Anson in boys final
Ed Cottingham
Senior forward Kendall Ratliff scored the game-winning basket with 2:10 left.
Kendall Ratliff scored the game-winning basket with 2:10 left, helping Sun Valley escape with a 33-30 win over Weddington in the semifinals of the Southern Carolina Conference tournament on Thursday.
Ratliff, a 6-5 senior forward, scored inside to put his team ahead 31-30. He finished with a game-high 13 points.
Teammate Jacquez Johnson scored on a layup with 36 seconds to play to push the lead to three, and Weddington missed two 3-point tries that could have tied it.
Sun Valley improved to 16-8 while WHS fell to 14-12.
Hakeem Polk added 10 points and eight rebounds for SV, and Isaiah Blanchett contributed six points and nine boards.
Weddington was led by Jordan Barber's nine points. Brandon Watts and Chris Trevison added eight each for WHS.
The Warriors used an 8-3 run in the third quarter to take a 22-17 lead, but Sun Valley closed by outscoring WHS 8-2 to take a 25-24 advantage into the third quarter.
Weddington trailed by five when Barber hit back-to-back threes to put his team ahead 30-29 with 2:27 to play.
The second-seeded Spartans will face fourth-seeded Anson in the boys title game tonight at 7:30.
Area conference tournaments
Rocky River Conference
(at Monroe High)
Monday’s results
Girls first round
No. 5 Piedmont 60, No. 4 North Stanly 46
No. 3 Forest Hills 45, No. 6 Central Academy 42
No. 1 Monroe 60, No. 8 Union Academy 17
No. 2 Cuthbertson 47, No. 7 West Stanly 46
Tuesday’s results
Boys first round
No. 4 Forest Hills 63, No. 5 West Stanly 62
No. 3 Monroe 69, No. 6 Central Academy 40
No. 1 Cuthbertson 98, No. 8 Union Academy 33
No. 2 Piedmont 76, No. 7 North Stanly 61
Wednesday
Girls semifinals
Monroe 72, Piedmont 59
Forest Hills 41, Cuthbertson 38
Thursday
Boys semifinals
No. 1 Cuthbertson 87, No. 4 Forest Hills 48
No. 3 Monroe 71, No. 2 Piedmont 61
Friday
Girls championship
Forest Hills at Monroe, 6 p.m.
Boys championship
No. 1 Cuthbertson vs. No. 3 Monroe, 7:30 p.m.
Southern Carolina Conference
Monday’s results
First round (at higher seed)
Girls
No. 3 Parkwood 72, No. 6 Sun Valley 34
No. 4 Anson County 55, No. 5 Marvin Ridge 41
Boys
No. 3 Weddington 50, No. 6 Parkwood 47
No. 4 Anson County 83, No. 5 Porter Ridge 81
Wednesday
Semifinals (at Sun Valley High)
No. 1 Porter Ridge girls 67, Anson 31
No. 4 Anson boys 75, No. 1 Marvin Ridge 71
Thursday
Semifinals (at Sun Valley)
No. 2 Weddington girls 58, No. 3 Parkwood 56
No. 2 Sun Valley boys 33, No. 2 WHS 30
Friday
Girls championship
Porter Ridge vs. Weddington, 6 p.m.
Boys championship
Anson County vs. Sun Valley, 7:30 p.m.