Get ready for a Jaguar double feature next Saturday in Columbia.
Both Ridgeland-Hardeeville basketball teams advanced to the Class 3A state championship games Saturday, joining Class 4A Wilson as the only schools that will have both teams playing for titles next weekend at Colonial Life Arena.
The Jaguar girls ran their win streak to eight games with a 46-40 win over Swansea, earning a date with Newberry at 2 p.m. Saturday for the title, while the boys avenged their only loss of the season with a 51-46 overtime victory over Wade Hampton, advancing to a matchup with Southside in next week’s championship game.
Quanajia Drayton scored 23 points and Jamee Mack added 14 to lead the girls, who used dominant defense down the stretch to hold off the Tigers. Ridgeland-Hardeeville allowed only three points over the final 4:30 to seal the win.
The boys’ game featured a wild finish to regulation, as the Red Devils hit a runner in the lane with five seconds left to take a 40-38 lead but fouled Rashamel Butler on a half-court heave at the buzzer to put their celebration on hold.
Butler missed the first of three free throws but hit the last two to send the game to overtime, where the Jaguars took control early on. Devin Butler led the Jags with 19 points.