Cavaliers ranked 2nd/3rd in nation

[NuclearCav90]

Dorman 56, Greensboro Day 52. The Cavs, now 8-1, win the American Bracket of the Chic-Fil-A Classic. Next up, the Cavs will take on Butchel High School from Akron, Ohio in the first game of the Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach on Thursday 12/26 at 3:30. This game and all games of the BBC will be on Stadium TV (which is channel 13.4 in Upstate SC). Dorman’s updated national ranking is 16th this week.

[NuclearCav90]

Dorman defeats Butchel, OH 72-45. Will play Saturday against Whitney Young (Chicago, IL), a 71-60 winner today over St. Thomas Catholic (Houston, TX) on Saturday afternoon at 3:30.

[NuclearCav90]

Dorman slipped past a very talented Whitney Young (IL) team 59-56 today. The Dolphins from Chicago came into the game quite cocky, probably assuming that there’s no way these boys from Hicksville, South Carolina could play with them, the tough city boys. Well the Cavs quieted them down. Dorman, now 10-1, will face St. Francis from Alpharetta, GA (12-1), who defeated Coronado from Henderson, Nevada 81-77 today in the BBC semifinals Monday at 7PM. This will be another heavyweight battle and I will be packing my bags for Myrtle Beach to see it in person!

[NuclearCav90]

Dorman (11-1) raced past St. Francis (GA) 83-66 to advance to tomorrow night’s BBC final. They will take on 11-0 St.John’s Prep from Washington DC, who raced to an early 15 point lead then held off 9th-ranked Long Island Lutheran 53-51. Game is at approximately 7:30 PM on Stadium (locally channel 13.4 in upstate SC).

[NuclearCav90]

#15 Dorman 69, #19 St. John’s (DC) 60 in the finals of the Beach Ball Classic. The Cavs (12-1) become the first SC team since Eau Clair in 1986 to win this prestigious tournament. This was the first loss of the season for St. John’s (11-1).

Now on to the defense of the state title. Every game from here is a region game. The Cavs need to win the region in order to secure a #1 seed in the 5A playoffs and get the best possible playoff path to a 4th straight state title! It will be difficult to raise the national ranking now unless teams above Dorman lose, so we can’t worry bout that. Just concentrate on repeating in SC! Next game is at home against Gaffney , who is 4-8 overall but 1-0 in Region 2-5A (as is Dorman).

[NuclearCav90]

The Cavaliers move to 2-0 in the region and 13-1 ovall with a 75-28 victory over Gaffney that saw every player on the roster get ample playing time. Coqch Thomas Ryan does a great job with his substitutions and player rotations. This marks 42 Dorman victories in a row against South Carolina competiton.

[NuclearCav90]

It the latest ball is life.com Fab 50 rankings, Dorman (13-1) is ranked 5th in the nation. Oak Hill Academy (21-1), the only team to defeat the Cavs, (63-52 last month) so far is ranked 3rd. The number 7 team, St. John’s (DC) is 13-1 and their only loss was 69-60 to the Cavs in the Beach Ball Classic Finals. In the Max Preps computer rankings, Dorman comes out as the nation’s number 6 ranked team, and they still have the Cavs 15th in their XCellent 25 poll.

Fifth in the country! It is just hard to believe that a school right here in upstate SC, hardly a basketball Mecca, has reached that ranking in a poll. Coach Thomas Ryan should immediately be given a lifetime contract. The high national ranking, 3 straight state titles and going for a 4th, 42 straight victories over in-state competition, and big wins and upsets on a national stage. The guy has really go far above and beyond anyone’s wildest dreams with what he’s accomplished.

That being said, all this can disappear in a flash. All the accolades are great, and as a Dorman alum I’m extremely proud of each and every one of them. But they have painted a big bullseye firmly on our backs, Region 2-5A is a tough region. Last month, on the road against the Mauldin Mavericks, The Cavs got punched right in the mouth and trailed at halftime. Mauldin pushed Dorman to its absolute limit before the Cavs finally pulled away late and claimed a 65-56 victory. THe Cavs will have to deal with Mauldin one more time later this season. WE also have two games with the Byrnes Rebels and Spartanburg Vikings, rival teams that are having very good seasons to date and would like nothing more than to burst the Cavs’ bubble! IN fact, the Cavs take on the Vikings tonight on the road at the new Viking Arena at 7:30 PM. I do not expect an easy game. The Vikings will come at us with everything they’ve got. It is up to the Cavs to be ready to play, because if they are not our moment in the national spotlight will be very brief.

[NuclearCav90]

The Spartanburg Vikings deserve a ton of credit! Their defensive plan and execution made it difficult on the Cavaliers all night last night. After Dorman opened up the game 14-0, Spartanburg finally scored on a steal and layup at the first quarter buzzer to make it 14-2 Cavs at the end of one quarter. In the second and third quarter, the Vikings played the Cavs pretty evenly before the Cavs pulled away a bit in the fourth for an eventful 56-37 win. Luckily for the Cavs, the Vikings missed a number of open shots. If they make some of those, this game could have really been interesting. But it goes in the books as another Dorman win. The Cavs are 14-1 and 3-0 in Region 2-5A, with 43 straight wins now over SC schools. The Vikings fall to 8-4, 2-1 after a spirited effort. Next up is Hillcrest at home Friday.

The new Viking Arena is very nice by the way. So is their new football facility and school. This was my first trip there. I was off working when Dorman played there in football.

[NuclearCav90]

Dorman beat Hillcrest 97-39 and Boiling Springs 77-27. Still ranked 8th in Max Preps and 5th in Ball is Life.

[NuclearCav90]

Dorman picks up an 81-51 win at Riverside to go to 17-1 overall and 6-0 Region 2-5A. Tuesday the Cavs have a tough matchup against the Byrnes Rebels on the road in Duncan. You can bet the Rebels (13-5 overall, 5-1 region) will give everything they have to attempt to end their rivals’ 46-game winning streak against in-state opponents.