Lincoln County claims state title
Former Lakeside High School star Matt Scott is starting to make his presence felt for the Augusta State basketball team.
Scott, who holds virtually every county scoring record, had a slow start to his freshman season for ASU. He joined the Jaguars' program after spending last season red-shirting at Georgia Southern.
When Scott arrived on campus he was not in playing shape, and has battled with a few nagging preseason injuries. Therefore, when he managed only eight points and six points, respectively, in ASU's first two games, Jags coach Dip Metress was not too worried. He knew it was just a matter of Scott getting in "basketball shape" and getting healthy before he would be a solid contributor.
The coach has not had to wait very long. The 6-foot-3 guard has poured in 16, 18 and a career-high 22 points in the Jags' past three games. He also has emerged as one of the finest 3-point marksmen in the country, draining an amazing 16 3-point field goals in the three contests.
Scott's recent hot streak has raised his season scoring average to 14 points per game, and he also is averaging four 3-pointers per contest, which ranks him among the best in the nation. If Scott puts in the time in the gym to improve the other parts of his game, with his long range shooting ability, the sky is the limit for this young man.
Not to be outdone, Scott's former high school nemesis, Eric Marshall, continues to shine for Wofford. The 6-foot-4 guard is putting up All-Conference numbers this season.
Marshall netted a game-high 20 points in the Terriers' recent win over Virginia-Wise, and is the team's top scorer averaging 14.3 points per game. He is averaging a career best 5.3 rebounds per contest, and is leading the team in minutes played (31 minutes per contest) and free-throw shooting (84 percent, 21 of 25).
The Terriers play one of the toughest nonconference schedules in the nation. The schedule includes the likes of Clemson, Miami, South Carolina and Notre Dame during the next couple of weeks.
I know I have done a lot on these two recently, but we've never had basketball players in Columbia County achieve this much in my lifetime.
Something to be proud of
Lincoln County captured the GHSA A State Title this weekend with a convincing 25-0 shutout victory over archrival Washington-Wilkes. The win capped off a run of 12 straight victories to close out their championship campaign.
Who was the last team to beat the Red Devils? The answer is Greenbrier. The Pack crushed Larry Campbell's squad 36-16 back in September.
The 36 points are more impressive when you consider that Lincoln County yielded less than 10 points per outing in their other 14 games.
Season not Dunn yet
Well, this holiday season, while many of us are shopping, stuffing our faces or snoozing on the couch, former Greenbrier standout Rashad Dunn, along with his Iowa teammates, is gearing up for a date with the Florida Gators in the Outback Bowl.
The game will be played Jan. 2 in Tampa, Fla. Dunn is a red-shirt freshman reserve offensive lineman for the Hawkeyes.