Bradley Childers scored a team-high 11 points, Mystikal Tate and Sidarius Bowser each added 10 more, and the Gaffney Indians boys basketball team defeated Spartanburg 48-45 on Senior Night in the final home game of the regular season. The Tribe fell behind 6-0 early after a technical foul was called on the Gaffney bench but battled back to take the lead in the second quarter on a Muhsin Love fast-break layup. The Indians relied on clutch free-throw shooting from LaDarius Foster, Bradley Childers, and Sam Phillips to seal the deal and improve to 7-0 in Region 3-5A play.

The short-handed Spartanburg Vikings, who played with just eight players due to illness, held the 18-13 lead after the first quarter. The Indians would take the 23-22 advantage to halftime after a back-and-forth second quarter. Gaffney was unable to build no more than a three-point lead in the third quarter as the Indians led 32-31 heading to the final eight minutes of play after a basket by Bowser with 30 seconds left in the third. Gaffney rattled off seven straight points to begin the fourth quarter which was sparked by Sam Phillip’s three-pointer with 7:00 left in the game. LaDarius Foster made a pair of free-throws, Childers followed with a split at the line, and Spartanburg’s shot at the buzzer was no good.

“It wasn’t the prettiest of wins, but a win is a win and we will take it.” said Gaffney head coach Mark Huff.  “Now we’ve got to focus on Dorman coming up on Friday, and we want everyone to be there to cheer on our Indians.”

The Vikings were led by Uzziah Dawkins with a game-high 19 points. Talon Cooper and Demayji Foster each finished with nine points. Spartanburg will battle with Byrnes for third place in the region on Friday.

Gaffney travels to Roebuck on Friday to take on the Cavaliers of Dorman for the Reigon 3-5A crown. Gaffney topped Dorman on January 24 in double overtime 79-73 inside the Burial Ground. Tip-off for Friday’s game is set for 7:30.