Boys Basketball: South Carroll Meets Easton in Semi-Finals Friday Night

The regular season is over, the county and region trophies have been added to the trophy case and practices are coming to an end, so what’s next?

The South Carroll boys basketball squad will play Easton in a semi-final contest on Friday night at 9 p.m. at Comcast Center at the University of Maryland.

The coaches gathered Tuesday in Columbia for a media luncheon. The four class 2A coaches shared a table. Also at the table with South Carroll’s Doug Goff and Easton’s Marty Bailey were the coaches from Gwynn Park and Digital Harbor. They meet in their semi-final game Friday at 7 p.m. 

The winners from the two games will meet Saturday at 6 p.m. for the Class 2A title.

The two teams are not strangers to the home court of the University of Maryland Terrapins. South Carroll was there two years ago, while Easton was there last year.

"I think the kids are looking at this not being the first time, since the school went two years ago and we have two guys that were on that team, but even the other guys that weren’t on the team I still think are a little more comfortable this time around," said Cavalier coach Goff.

South Carroll played in the final game in 1989, while the Warriors won a state title in 1968.

The Cavaliers come into Friday’s game with a 24-1 record. The Warriors are 23-3. Easton won their second straight regional title for the first time in school history. Easton won their first conference crown in 26 years.

"They are looking for the state. They played last year against the state champion. City College and they wanted to be back,’’ said Warrior coach Bailey.

South Carroll comes into the game led by senior Ryan McTavish. He is seven points shy of tying Westminster’s Herman Costley’s county record of 1,487.

"It will be nice for him to get the seven points out of the way early in the game and then try to focus on getting the win. I am going to miss him. I mean I am going to get two more out of him," said Goff.

Not everything that McTavish does for the Cavaliers can be seen on the court as coach Goff points out.

"He ran the whole off-season weight program, the track, he had them in the gym. He takes care of the morning workouts. He’s like an assistant coach. He’s the guy I can talk to and call him over and if we need to settle something down. He’ll gather the troops up for me."

McTavish who has signed to play for Presbyterian College next year comes into the game averaging 20-7 points a game. He also leads the Cavaliers with 7.9 rebounds in each contest.

The Cavaliers are more than just Ryan McTavish.

"I got his younger brother and we have a good group and he has led that group really well. And hopefully they take over his leadership skills when he is gone. We try to play a style where we don’t rely just on Ryan and when teams play us straight up he tends to get his and when teams double team him we have some other guys that are ready. We haven’t relied on that all year, where Ryan scores all the points. Our other guys are ready to step up when they get their opportunities," said Goff.

His younger brother Gavin McTavish, a sophomore, averages 12 points a game. Point guard, Dan Mullen throws in 8.2 points per game and hands out 6.8 assists. Senior Eric Hunsberger and Jeff Martin aren’t afraid to put up the three-pointer. Junior Ryan Tate hits also four points a game off the bench.

After every game, Cavalier coach Doug Goff would point out the play of his defense and said it set the tone for offense. Bailey said the same thing about his team Tuesday.

"Our defense is our strength. We can’t do anything until we get the ball, so we definitely stress defense first," said Bailey.

The Warriors hold their opponents to 50 points a game, while scoring 79. In comparison, the Cavaliers allow only 40.52 points while putting 60.84 on the scoreboard.

Junior guard Jah’Sheme Ringgold tops Easton with 19.6 points a game. His teammates Capree Green, 14.2; Izone Pulley at 10.3 and Ryan Miller with 10.1 also average in double figures.

"I don’t believe on relying on one person, you never know who it will be each night," said Bailey.

When asked if the region helped the Cavaliers, Goff said, "A playoff game is a playoff game and teams are going to rise up to play. I am sure Easton is going to be ready to play. We hope to bring our good game.’’

To avoid standing in line, you can get advance tickets from the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA). Tickets can be purchased online here.