The S.C. High School League playoffs are officially scheduled to begin Monday.

For a few T&D Region teams, some regular-season issues still need to be resolved.

It was four years ago Thursday when Calhoun County edged Hunter-Kinard-Tyler 57-56 to win a one-game playoff for the Region 4-A title.

Barring a win by Allendale-Fairfax over Estill Thursday, Voorhees College will be the site at 8 p.m. tonight of a one-game playoff between the Saints and Fighting Gators.

This would be the fourth meeting between the two teams, with Calhoun County holding a 2-1 edge. Only two of the games counted toward the region standings, with the other contest (won by the Saints) taking place in the finals of the Lake Marion Invitational.

Also looking to decide matters in Region 4-A boys’ basketball play today are North and Williston-Elko. On Friday, the Eagles defeated Blackville-Hilda 70-61 as part of a three-team “playoff” with the Blue Devils as all three teams finished the regular season tied for first place.

W-E won the “bye” for today’s game against North, which will take place today at region champion Hunter-Kinard-Tyler’s gymnasium.

Speaking of H-K-T, the Lady Trojans and Bethune-Bowman each wrapped up region titles on Thursday. This allows both teams to completely focus on their quest for an all-Orangeburg County collision at the Colonial Life Arena on March 7.

Also harboring state title hopes are the Orangeburg-Wilkinson girls’ basketball teams. After routing Richland Northeast 70-22 at home Friday night, the Bruinettes learned minutes after the game that Irmo had routed archrival Dutch Fork 49-26, giving O-W the Region 5-AAAA title via a points tiebreaker.

This means the Bruinettes will have homecourt through the first two rounds, an advantage since they have won 17 consecutive postseason home games dating back to 1998.

Let the postseason begin.

Hardwood heroes

GIRLS

Janie Godley (Andrew Jackson Academy) -- 15 rebounds in win over Bowman Academy

Laquanda Williams (Bethune-Bowman) -- 22 points, 15 rebounds and eight steals in win over Calhoun County

Rhonda Hook (Bethune-Bowman) -- 16 points, 10 rebounds

Quenton Williams (Denmark-Olar) -- 26 points in win over Branchville

Raheem Holman (Denmark-Olar) -- 24 points in win over Branchville

Carla Hutto (Holly Hill Academy) -- 14 points, 12 rebounds in win over St. John’s Christian Academy

Erika Sumpter (Orangeburg-Wilkinson) -- 21 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks in win over White Knoll

BOYS

Alshon Jeffery (Calhoun County) -- 25 points in win over Bethune-Bowman

Nic Jamison (Jefferson Davis Academy) -- 23 points in loss to St. Francis School

Davonta James (North) -- 25 points, 11 steals and 11 assists in win over Ridge Spring-Monetta

Ryan Jenkins (North) -- A combined 48 points in wins over Hunter-Kinard-Tyler and Ridge Spring-Monetta

Melvin Pough (North) -- 10 points, 11 rebounds in win over Hunter-Kinard-Tyler

Kyndon Smith (Swansea) -- 20 points in loss to Midland Valley

Damien Johnson (Swansea) -- 21 points, 10 rebounds in win over South Aiken

Trenton Green (Swansea) -- 16 points, 10 rebounds in win over South Aiken

The overtime warriors

Though Tuesday’s game ended in a 61-42 loss to White Knoll, the Orangeburg-Wilkinson boys’ basketball team did not have to log extra minutes. In their previous two games against North Augusta and Aiken, the Bruins played the equivalent of an extra quarter each time in playing two overtimes. The outcomes were split as O-W defeated North Augusta 63-58 last Friday and fell to Aiken 75-69 on Tuesday.

The Alshon

streak update

The streak continues for the Saints with All-State forward Alshon Jeffery in the starting lineup. With three more victories in the past week, Calhoun County stretched its winning streak with Jeffery to 97 in a row. He also improved his record to 104-1 as a Saint, the lone loss coming Dec. 27, 2005, against Lee Central and future fellow University of South Carolina athlete Michael Holmes.

-- T&D Senior Sports Writer Thomas Grant Jr. can be reached by e-mail at tgrant@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5547. Discuss this and other stories on-line at TheTandD.com.

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