Laurens County’s high schools resumed play after the holidays on Wednesday night to a mixed bag of results.

Clinton and Laurens Academy split their boys’ and girls’ games with the local girls coming out on top both times. Laurens District dropped both games at Greenwood.

Oddly, but significantly, Clinton and Laurens swept their junior varsity games, as did Laurens Academy’s middle-school teams.

Thornwell Charter resumes play on Thursday night at Ninety Six.

The Greenwood boys (14-0) held off the obviously improving Raiders (6-9), winning 51-46.

Laurens at least put a scare in the Eagles, leading 29-20 at halftime and 39-35 entering the fourth quarter.

TyJ Jones led Laurens with 16 points, getting some scoring aid from Martineze Shaw (8), Tylan Fowler (7), K.J. Singleton (6), Zee Simpson (5) and Jaylen Simpson (4).

The Eagles won the girls game over Laurens (7-7) by a score of 52-30.

Greenwood (14-0) took control from the opening tap, limiting the Raiders to four points in the first quarter and building a 26-14 edge at halftime.

Danielle Oliver of Greenwood riddled the Raiders with 24 points.

Zoe Young led Laurens with 11 points, followed by Nyri Allen (9), Ty Jones (3), Shanayi Chinn (2), Destiny Anderson (2), Faith Jackso (2) and Kevoric Yeargin (1).

Laurens opens Region 2-4A play on Friday night in Greer against Riverside.

Newberry turned the tables on the Clinton boys (5-7), winning 71-56 on its home court. In the two games between the two, the losing team scored 56 points in both. Clinton won the first game, 61-56.

The Bulldogs took an eight-point lead in the first quarter and outscored the Red Devils in all four.

Newberry couldn’t slow down Tushawan Richardson, who scored 26 points.

Others finding the scorebook for the Red Devils were Keleia Byrd (7), Kadon Crawford (5), Emarian Jones (5), M.J. Henderson (5), Nyterian Smith (3) and Khari Vance (2).

The Red Devils (9-5) raced past the Bulldogs, 52-16, in the girls’ game.

It wasn’t competitive for long. Clinton led 16-2 after a quarter and 34-4 at the half. The rest of the game was conducted with a running clock.

Bryanna Belton and Mylayja Thompson each scored 13 points, and Ry’Daijia Mars added 10 to bear the Devils’ scoring burden.

Also providing Clinton points were Nah’shia Wright (6), Kemaria Shelton (5), Saniya White (3) and McKenzie Clark (2).

The first quarter was also the key to the rampaging Laurens Academy girls’ (11-1, 4-0 SCISA Region 1-A) home win over Richard Winn Academy.

The Crusaders won by 12, 51-39, in a game they led by eight (13-5) after a quarter. The Winnsboro school went scoreless in the second period, and LA led 25-5 at halftime.

Olivia Huck scored 23 points, Rylee Ballard 21, thus accounting for 86 percents of the LA total.

Madisyn Graham and Sadie Bruyere each scored three points and Hannah Ervin chipped in one.

Winn (10-0) defeated the Laurens Academy boys (5-8, 3-2), 47-39, after building that eight-point advantage in the first half (23-15).

The Crusaders’ scoring was balanced: Braydon Burke (9), Buddy Baker (9), Jared Willard (8), Garrison Vaughn (8) and Garrett Murphy (5).

The Thornwell Charter boys, who have lost their last two games by a combined score of 148-25, visit Ninety Six (3-10) on Thursday night. The fledgling varsity team is 0-4.

Presbyterian College’s Bryanna Brady, a sixth-year post from Goodyear, Ariz., is Big South Player of the Week for the second time.

Laurens won its first region wrestling meet on Wednesday, dominating Riverside by a score of 56-15.

Keep those cards, letters and donations coming. The sports seasons are back at full speed. In the fall, I’m up all night on weekends. In winter, I’m up late most nights.

I’m thankful for your support, whether by advertising, contributing or reading.

Thanks so much for the recent contributions. My goal is to provide unique coverage of local sports. I’m aware that folks appreciate what I do, particularly the kids, coaches, parents and fans.

I used to list an address to send a check (DHK Sports, P.O. Box 768, Clinton, S.C. 29325). I finally got it through my thick head that not that many people write checks nowadays. For example, me. A more convenient means might be sending a reasonable contribution to DHK Sports on Venmo.

Support the advertisers, and help keep the site – the game stories, the blogs, the photos – alive by making, if you choose, a monthly donation via Patreon. The Laurens County site is here. The Furman site is here.

Another way I can make a little is if you purchase my books at MonteDutton.net. They’re quite entertaining in spite of the fellow who wrote them. Two of my novels, Cowboys Come Home and Lightning in a Bottle, are available in audio versions. The latest, The Latter Days, is about baseball.

Photo galleries are posted on Instagram @furmanatt and @laurenscountysports.