Local Notes
Clinton HS
- Basketball up Next… The Red Devils are scheduled to travel to Columbia tonight to take on the Capitals and then on Saturday go to LDHS to take on the Raiders in makeup games starting at 5:00 pm… We do plan on brining you those games Saturday here on Real Radio WLBG
Laurens HS
- Basketball up Next… The Raiders are to host the Wren Golden Hurricanes this tonight and then host the Clinton Red Devils starting at 5:00 pm tomorrow… We do plan on brining you the games Friday with Wren and the games with the Red Devils Saturday here on Real Radio WLBG and streaming live on the internet at www.wlbg.com.
- Wrestling… Over the last couple of weeks or so second year Raider Wrestling coach Lawson Jordan and his team captures the region championship and are ranked #2 in Class AAAA in the Upper State… They will be hosting the first two rounds of the Upper State Playoffs tomorrow in the main gym at LDHS… The raiders will take to the mats against Lancaster in the first round while Dreher and AC Flora go at it on the other mats… The first-round matches should start about 11:00 am and the winners advance to the second round which will most likely start about 12:30 – 1:00 pm timeframe while the losers are eliminated… Tickets will be $8 at the door (cash or card), and you can also buy them online by clicking here to save time… Since this is a SCHSL event, the prices are set by the SCHSL and no Century Club, District IDs, or Student Athletic Passes can be accepted only SCHSL passes will be accepted…. Please come out and support the Raiders!
Laurens Academy
- Varsity Basketball… The Laurens Academy Crusaders hosted another set of Crusaders last night, the Shannon Forest Crusaders…. This was Laurens Academy’s fourth game in 6 days.
- Girls: Shannon Forest 31 – Laurens Academy 13… The Lady Crusaders had a problem getting their offense going last night against SCISA Class 3A Shannon Forest as they fell to Shannon Forest 31-13… Shannon Forest led 12-3 after one quarter of play and held the Crusaders scoreless in the third quarter… Sadie Bruyere led the Crusaders with 5 points while both Brooklyn Senn and Madisyn Graham scored 3 points… Braylee Burke rounded out the Crusaders scoring with 2 points… The Lady Crusaders are now 13-6 overall and 2-0 in region play while Shannon Forest improves to 14-4.
- Boys: Shannon Forest 50 – Laurens Academy 21… The news is also not good where the boys’ team is concerned as Shannon Forest took a 50-21 win… The Crusaders really had trouble getting their offense going in the first quarter as Shannon Forest held them scoreless while Shannon Forest scored 14 unanswered points… Garrett Murphy led the Crusaders with 6 points… Also scoring for the Crusaders Jay Brown finished with 4 points, Aiden Graddick 3, Garrison Vaughn 2, Lucas Li 2, Micha Strait 1 and Elijah Hornberger 1… If you are adding up the Crusader points they are 2 points shy of 21 and that can be explained by the fact that one of the Shannon Forest players made 2 points, shooting into the Crusader basket… The Crusaders are now 6-13 overall and 0-2 in region play.
- Basketball up Next… The Crusaders MaxPreps schedule shows them on the road tomorrow when they travel up to Greenville to take on the Greenville Tech Charter Warriors…. Girls’ action starts at 2:00 pm
Thornwell
- Up Next in Basketball…The Saints are scheduled to host the Abbeville Panthers tonight.
Middle School Basketball… All games start at 5:00 pm unless otherwise noted with girls’ game first followed by boys’ game… Note: coaches very often change schedule without telling me… To see the season master schedule click here… NOTE…Dixie and Thornwell do NOT have middle school girls teams this season so the 5:00 pm start will be for the boys’ game… Results from yesterday’s games:
- Boys: Gray Court-Owings 37 – Dixie 34 in OT… The GCO Tigers hosted the Dixie Green Hornets in boys’ action only and they had to go to overtime to do it but I am pleased to report the Tigers took a 37-34 win… Dixie led 17-12 at the half but the Tigers fought back and tied the game 27-at the end of the third quarter and fought to a 7-7 time in the fourth quarter to make the score 34-34 and send the game into overtime… There the Tigers held the Hornets scoreless while Dylan Abramowitz scored a two-point field goal and Wesley Collins hit a free throw to lift the Tigers to a thrilling 37-34 win… Collins led the Tigers in scoring with 17 points while Abramowitz was also in double Digits with 13 points… Jaylin Anderson finished with 5 points and Mason Lang 2.
- Hickory Tavern at Whitmire… The only score I had reported to me was the girls’ score and its good news for Panther fans as they won 19-16… I do not have any scoring details and also the final score in the boys’ game was not reported to me.
- Laurens Middle at Ware Shoals… No scores reported to me, please ask the coaches to do so.
- Boys: Sanders 53 – Thornwell 23… The once beaten Sanders Yellow Jacket boys’ team traveled over to Thornwell last night to take on the Saints and came home with a 53-23 win… The Saints hung in there the first quarter of play as the Yellow Jackets only led 89-8 at its end, but extended that lead to 27-13 at the half and then rolled on to the 53-23 win against the scrappy Saints… Sanders just had too much height and quickness for the Saints to overcome… Sanders’ Travion Robinson finished with 24 points while the Saints were led by Tilan Gant who finished with 9 points… Others scoring for Sanders included jay Harris with 9 points, Deaunte Hill 8, Marcus Miller 6, De’Vontay Mosley 3 and Zykius Miller 3… Also scoring for the Saints Keith Watts scored 7 points, Brayden Young 3 and both Caleb Clinkscales and Wyatt Lyman finished with 2 points each.
Local Sports Schedules: All schedules subject to change right up to game time.
- School District 55: To see the sports schedule for this week at LDHS, click here.
- School District 56: To see the sports schedule for this week at CHS and CMS, click here
- Laurens Academy: Click on each of the following to see their schedule: Basketball…. Also you can click on the following to see their schedule on MaxPreps: Varsity Girls and Varsity Boys.… You can also click here to see the master basketball schedule for the Crusade teams. .
- Thornwell: To see the Thornwell varsity basketball schedules and results click on one of the following: Varsity Girls, Boys… Also Master Schedule that includes middle school games click here.
- PC Sports Calendar… To see the PC athletics sports calendar, click here.
College Sports: For any game mentioned below, click on the score for more details if available.
College Basketball… In the polls the number in parenthesis (?) indicates their rank in the last poll if it is different from the present one… If there is a score given or game(s) click on it to see details on the game(s).
Men
- DI AP Poll… The latest AP Top 25 Poll (1-26-25) no changes in the top 5 this week… Auburn is still #1 followed by Duke, Iowa State, Alabama and Florida… There were some changes in spots 6-10 as Houston (7) now checks in at #6 followed by Michigan State (8), Tennessee (6), Marquette (10) and Purdue (11)…To see the remainder of the top 25 click here.
- DI Scores… To see the scores foe last night and also for the previous couple of days click here… You can also look ahead to the next few days to see who will be playing.
- Standings by Conference… To see the conference standings for each of the DI conferences, click here… It’s a long list so if you want to see say the SEC standings, you have to scroll down a good bit.
Women
- DI AP Poll… The latest AP Top 25 Poll (1-26-25) also had one change in the top 5…UCLA is still #1 followed by South Carolina, Notre Dame, Southern California and Texas (7) moved up to # 5… UConn is still #6 followed by LSU (5), Ohio State (12), TCU and Duke (14)… To see the remainder of the top 25 click here.
- DI Scores… To see the scores foe last night and also for the previous couple of days click here… You can also look ahead to the next few days to see who will be playing.
- Standings by Conference… To see the conference standings for each of the DI conferences, click here… It’s a long list so if you want to see say the SEC standings, you have to scroll down a good bit.
Pro Sports: For more information on the game(s) below, click on the scores at the start of the section.
NFL
- NFL Playoffs… The NFL is now starting its playoffs and if you would like to see the complete bracket leading up to the Super Bowl click here.
- Conference Championships… The AFC and the NFC Conference Championship Games were held yesterday and in case you missed them:
- AFC: Kansas City 32 – Buffalo 29…This game went back and forth with the Bills giving the Chiefs all the wanted but in the end the Chiefs took the win to keep their dream for a third Super Bowl win in as many years alive.
- NFC: Philadelphia 55 – Washington 23… The Eagles scored 21 points in the final quarter to fly away from the Commanders.
- Super Bowl… That sets up the meeting between the 15-2 Chiefs and the 14-3 Eagles on Sunday, 2-9-25 at 6:30 and it can be seen on Fox… More about this game as we get closer to the game.
NASCAR
- Schedule… January is almost over and that means that the NASCR season will be starting soon… The Cup Series will start this Sunday with the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray and the multiple races at Daytona on Thursday Feb. 13th with the Daytona 500 on Sunday Feb. 16th… If you click here it will carry you to the NASCAR website where the season schedule is posted and you can look at the Cup Series. Xfinity Series or the Craftsman Truck Series by clicking on their icon at the top of the list… In addition to the date and location, it will also give you race times and TV viewing options…
This & That:
- Laurens Little League (L3)…Registration is now open for the upcoming season of Laurens Little League also known as L3… As usual, there will be a coach’s pitch age group along with Minors and Majors all three of which cover ages 7-12… The cost is $80 per player and you must register by Friday, 2-7-25… If you click here it will carry you to a posting where you can find out how to register online… If you still have questions call the City of Laurens Parks and Recreation Headquarters at The Ridge at 86-681-7275… You can also register there in person and they are located at 301 Exchange drive in Laurens.
- Youth Baseball and softball at The Clinton YMCA… Registration is now open at the Clinton YMCA for youth baseball and softball… They have 5 different age groupings for baseball and 2 for softball… Registration will close on Friday, 2-14-25… For more information about this and to register online click here… There is also a list of frequently asked questions at this website… There is also a way to drop them a message if you still have questions on that website also… If you had rather call, phone them at 864-866-1555.
If you have any comments, suggestions, or want to report scores, please contact me via email at: sports@wlbg.com or text me at 864-981-3470.