Clinton, South Carolina, Saturday, January 27, 2018, 10:12 a.m.

The Red Devils are rallying. Last night many former players and coaches converged on the local gym to watch Clinton swamp Mid-Carolina in both boys’ and girls’ basketball.

It wasn’t unexpected. It was a good night to play under the watchful gaze of players from as far back as the 1970s. The Bobby Brock Legacy dinner – it raises money to send current Red Devils to summer camps – is tonight, and Coach Brock was at the gym along with other former boys’ coaches Sam Moore, Todd Frazier, and Tosh Corley, along with longtime girls’ coach Connie Hodges.

The boys are good and getting better. The girls, down in recent years, are resurgent and headed for a playoff berth. Led by Zay Hurley’s 22 points officially and a bushel of rebounds unofficially, Clinton improved to 12-6 overall (13-8 if one includes a preseason tournament, which Coach Eddie Romines doesn’t) and 5-2 in Region 3-3A. The Red Devils took heavy losses after going 21-4 (10-0) a year ago, advancing to the Upstate finals before running into a Southside buzz saw in Greenville at Bon Secours Arena. On Tuesday night, the region title may be decided at Newberry, which handed Clinton a 71-68 setback on January 12.

Mid-Carolina fell, 60-42, with Clinton shooting 50 percent, dominating in rebounds (39-24) and forcing 19 turnovers while committing only 10.

The girls, coached by John Gardner, have already won four more games than all last year. A 48-32 victory over Mid-Carolina put them at 10-12 and above .500 (4-3) in region play.

Newberry’s girls’ program is as far above the rest of the region as the New England Patriots over the Cleveland Browns. When they won, 58-26, in Clinton earlier this year, they forced three turnovers in the parking lot outside and stole a hubcap from a passing car on the way back down I-26. Every other team in the region might as well be coached by Garfield (the cat, not the president) or Custer (the general, not the dairy treat*) when the Bulldogs come to town.

Gardner’s girls are getting better, and they’re making me look good because I predicted it in print before the region schedule started.

Halftime was extra-long, and public-address announcer Buddy Bridges gave all the ex-players and coaches deserved praise in his own inimitable style. Close games are exciting, but old-fashioned blowouts are fun for the home team.

I was too busy to mingle much with the “legends,” most of whom are younger than I, but I spoke to Coach Brock and Columbus Copeland in the locker room, where he talked for quite a while with the hero of the evening, and one of two Red Devils named Zay, the aforementioned Hurley.

I once spent four basketball seasons sitting on the bench next to Brock, whom I now get to call Bobby, informing of such pressing matters as how many fouls Mike “Skimp” Williams had and how many timeouts Brock had left. That was back when boys were men and baskets never counted to three.

*Yes, I know it’s “custard.”

My GoLaurens/GoClinton story on last night’s games is here.

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