The Gaffney Indians entered Greenville, South Carolina, on Saturday night as the underdogs, but the Tribe made the trip back north on I-85 with teams from around the state marveling at their accomplishment.

Junior Bradley Childers produced yet another stellar performance, scoring 17 points, seniors Mystikal Tate and Tay Kershaw each contributed 11 more, and the Gaffney Indians upset the number 3 team in the state, Wade Hampton, 55-52 to advance to the third round of the State Playoffs for the first time since 2014.

Gaffney came out of the gate ready to play with Childers drilling three-pointers and Gaffney grabbed the early lead and held the 26-22 advantage at halftime. The second half would see the Generals gain their first lead of the night mid-way through the 3rd quarter but the Indians battled back and regained the lead.

“We were up at the half and they came out and punched us in the mouth in the third quarter.” said Gaffney head coach Mark Huff. “We withstood their little run and at the end of the third quarter we were still up. We’ve been a fourth quarter team all year.”

Wade Hampton’s final hope came with 3:40 remaining in the game when the Generals had the 41-40 lead. Mystikal Tate answered on the other end for Gaffney with a three-pointer. Senior Sam Phillips knocked down a pair of free throws to push the Gaffney lead to 53-46. Wade Hampton’s Luke Brenegan, who scored a game high 30 points, hit two three-pointers to cut Gaffney’s lead down to just two points. Bradley Childers split at the free throw line to seal the deal with 4.2 seconds remaining.

Gaffney travels to T.L Hanna tonight for third round action against the Yellow Jackets who defeated Spartanburg on Saturday. Hanna won Region 1-5A in a tie breaker with Westside. The Yellow Jackets enter at just 14-10 on the season as Gaffney sits at 20-5. Tip off from Anderson is slated for 7:00 p.m.