Category Archives: Sports
Shooting woes doom Daniel in season-ending loss to Rams
By Eric Sprott
Courtesy The Journal
esprott@upstatetoday.com
ANDERSON — The Daniel High School girls’ basketball team unfortunately picked the wrong day to have a bad night on Wednesday at Westside.
Known for their sharpshooting ability throughout the season, the fifth-ranked Lions struggled to put the ball through the hoop in their third-round playoff matchup against the fourth-ranked Rams, leading to
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County athletes named North/South All-Stars
By Bru Nimmons
Sports Editor
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
COUNTY — Four Pickens County athletes were named North/South All-Stars in recent weeks after the 
completion of their stellar senior seasons.
Easley High School’s Ethan Crews was named a North/South All-Star in boys basketball, while Liberty High School’s Bray Cain, Isaac Reece and J.T. Spence earned the honor for their skill on the wrestling mat.
Crews, a standout shooting guard for the Green Wave basketball team, finished his senior season by leading the Wave to their first playoff victory since 2012 against Northwestern, before they ultimately fell to Indian Land in the second round of the Class 5A Division 1 playoffs.
In Crews’ final season for the Wave, the senior averaged 20 points, 4.4
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Blue Flame softball takes down Green Wave
EASLEY — With the spring sports season picking up some early steam, the Easley High School softball team hosted Pickens on Friday in a battle between county foes.
The matchup proved to be a high-scoring display with the Blue Flame coming out on top 13-9 behind an eight-run fourth inning.
Pickens took control in the first with Kylie Thornall scoring on an error by Easley, but the Green Wave were
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The Roughest and Toughest Brawl returns to Pickens
PICKENS — The Roughest and Toughest Brawl is making its way back to The Market at the Mill in 
Pickens for an adrenaline-pumping weekend of action soon. The event is set to take place on Friday, March 7, and Saturday, March 8.
This high-energy event will feature 100 local men and women, stepping straight off the streets and into the ring to battle it out for the title of Toughest in the Upstate.
Local combat sports fans are also in for a real treat, as world renowned toughman and combat sports legend Eric “Butterbean” Esch will be in attendance both nights
Jackson sends Liberty to round 3
By Bru Nimmons
Sports Editor
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
CHESNEE — Down one point with 6.7 seconds left against Chesnee in round two of the Class 2A playoffs, Liberty High School head boys’ basketball coach Brenden Marcell called a timeout.
The Red Devils had practiced for this specific late-game moment, and everyone knew the ball was going into the hands of leading scorer Kendrick Jackson.
Jackson took the ball at the top of the key, facing pressure from Chesnee defenders. The junior guard
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Liberty wrestlers win state titles
By Bru Nimmons
Sports Editor
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
FLORENCE — The Liberty High School wrestling team finished another strong season on the mats over the weekend with three Red Devil wrestlers bringing home Class 2A state championships.
J.T. Spence finished his illustrious career at Liberty with his third consecutive state championship in the 190-pound division. Spence pinned both Bryan Charles of Marion and Brody Tonon of Phillip
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Daniel girls race past Flora to advance
By Ian Taylor
Courtesy The Journal
itaylor@upstatetoday.com
CENTRAL — Seeded third in the Upper State in the Class 4A playoffs, the Daniel High School girls’ 
basketball team was playing at home in the second round on Friday night.
And while they were leading at halftime against sixth-seeded A.C. Flora, the 23-19 advantage was not the level
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Devils clinch playoff spot with win over BMC
By Bru Nimmons
Sports Editor
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
LIBERTY — Down leading scorer Kendrick Jackson, the Liberty High School boys’ basketball team hosted Brashier Middle College last Tuesday for Senior Night looking to bounce back after two 
consecutive losses and clinch a playoff spot.
While the Devils had some early issues initiating offense against the Bengal zone, senior Logan Smith (14 points) and junior Chris Mable (17 points) provided enough offense to help the Red Devils pull out a 55-49 win.
“I think we compete in the toughest region in 2A,” Liberty head coach Brenden Marcell said. “Any time you can come away with a win, no matter how many points it is, it’s a good win.”
After a tight first quarter that saw the Devils jump out to an 11-8 lead, the Bengals managed to battle back and the game with a pair of free throws from Andrew Hutchens. Mable took over from there for the Red Devils scoring seven straight points to help the Red Devils take a 24-14 lead at halftime.
“My thought process was to let the team do what they’re doing well and just play my part when they needed me to,” Mable said.
Mable and Smith continued to power the Red Devil attack keeping the Bengals at bay, but seven third quarter points from Hutchens cut the lead to 42-35 heading to the fourth quarter.
The Bengal cut the lead back down to one in the final quarter only for Mable, Smith and Zachary Welborn to lead an 8-0 that helped put enough distance between the two teams leading to a 55-49 Liberty win.
“Winning short-handed definitely speaks volumes to our bench, depth and team character,” Marcell said. “I’m super proud of our group for getting this accomplished.”
The Red Devils were set to open the Class 2A playoffs on Tuesday at Fairfield Central with results unavailable at press time.
Liberty girls fall short against BMC
By Bru Nimmons
Sports Editor
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
LIBERTY — Down nine points entering the fourth quarter, the Liberty High School girls’ basketball team looked to Natalie White to lead a furious comeback on Senior Night against Brashier Middle 
College.
White answered the call scoring nine points in the final frame, including the game-tying basket with 1:07 left in the contest. Those proved to be final points scored in the
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Red Devils fall at Upper State
By Bru Nimmons
Sports Editor
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
LIBERTY — One win away from advancing to the Class 2A state wrestling championship for the second time in three years, the Liberty High School wrestling team hosted Chester on Wednesday night.
The Red Devils fell behind early in the match but were able to make up ground with two late pins from Brian Reed and Nathan Harris cutting the deficit to 34-24. However, Eris Steele was able to secure a
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