Erskine Wins 2024 Men’s Basketball Developmental Championship
BOX SCORES: SEMIFINAL NO. 1 | SEMIFINAL NO. 2 | FINAL
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – In a rematch of the 2023 Conference Carolinas Developmental Men’s Basketball Championship, Erskine defeated defending champion Barton, 92-85, in double overtime to claim the 2024 trophy inside the Weisiger Center on the campus of Converse.
The event, which is a unique championship opportunity for developmental teams within Conference Carolinas, consisted of four, three-team preliminary rounds hosted by Barton, Converse, Erskine and King with the four champions competing for the title.
In the championship final, the Flying Fleet jumped out to a nine-point lead with all nine coming from tournament MVP Deveion Scales. The early run helped Erskine to a 43-36 lead at the half. The Due West, South Carolina program pushed the lead to 16, 59-43, with 15:03 to play, but Barton didn’t back down. The Bulldogs outscored Erskine 28-12 over the final 14 minutes of regulation to tie the game at 71.
Erskine opened the first overtime with a 6-2 run, but Malik Hill, who scored the final five points in regulation and all six Barton points in the first overtime, scored the final four points in overtime to draw even at 77. But the Bulldogs couldn’t down the Flying Fleet as Scales scored 10 points in the second overtime, which Erskine won 16-8, to give Erskine their first developmental men’s basketball trophy.
Erskine outshot Barton 49.9 percent (35-of-73) to 37.8 percent (31-of-82) and had a 56-40 edge in points in the paint. Scales finished with a game-high 34 points while Mike Peay added 19 and Drayton Benjamin had nine points and 10 rebounds. Barton was led by Hill who had 24 while three others finished in double figures led by Julian Ludwig who had 17 points and 11 rebounds.
In the first semifinal, Erskine defeated Belmont Abbey 90-64. The Flying Fleet shot an impressive 57.6 percent (34-of-59) from the field and 57.1 percent (16-of-28) from the 3-point arc while the defense limited the Crusaders to 22-of-59 (37.3 percent) shooting. Erskine outrebounded The Abbey 38-25 in the contest and were led offensively by Stephen Webster who netted 15 points on 5-of-5 shooting from long range while three others scored double figures. Belmont Abbey also had four in double figures led by 15 from Sunni Wrice.
In the second semifinal, Barton outlasted Southern Wesleyan, 86-81, to set up a rematch of the 2023 developmental final. The Bulldogs built a 42-33 halftime lead and led by as many as 14 points, but the Warriors shot nearly 55 percent (17-of-31) in the second half and made it close, outscoring Barton 48-44 in the second half. The game featured 18 lead changes and eight ties, but it was the Bulldogs who secured their third straight title game appearance. Three players scored in double figures led by Ricky Council III who netted 25 and Michael Jones who added 22. Southern Wesleyan had four in double figures led by Chad Clark with 20 while Montravious Washington recorded a double-double with 18 points and 10 boards.
More information can be found on the tournament webpage here.
Earlier this fall Conference Carolinas announced that a developmental championship will be held in men’s soccer, men’s wrestling, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s volleyball and baseball. The developmental teams will be composed of student-athletes that have either not competed at the varsity level in 2023-24 or have competed sparingly at the varsity level by the time of the championship.