Hannah-Pamplico's Zander Poston (1) goes up for a rebound during the Raiders' 50-47 victory over Allendale-Fairfax on Saturday in the 1A state playoffs.
PAMPLICO, S.C. − Strong defense and rebounding helped the Hannah-Pamplico boys' basketball team hold off Allendale-Fairfax 50-47 on Saturday in the opening round of the 1A state playoffs.
The Raiders are now 12-1 overall and will travel to Scott's Branch on Wednesday for the second round.
H-P nearly had a double-digit lead slip away in the fourth quarter. The Raiders were up 45-35 when A-F went on a 12-5 run to close out the contest.
Those five points were just enough, however, as a last-second 3-pointer by Shawn Jones missed its mark for the Tigers. Jones had 25 points to lead all scorers.
It was a trio of H-P players that led the way as Cyrus Ellison, Zander Poston and Davian Coaxum combined for 39 points.
Ellison had a team-high 15 and was also a key figure on the boards with 18 rebounds. Poston had 10 points and also finished with a double-double thanks to 12 rebounds.
Coaxum added 14 points for the Raiders, who used a 10-0 run in the opening stanza to take a lead they did not relinquish. HPHS' big trio combined for 21 points in the first half as the Raiders took a 25-16 advantage into the break.
The score at the end might not have been as close were it not for the fact that H-P had a tough night shooting from the free throw line. The team missed 13 of its 19 attempts from the charity stripe.
