The Cheraw Braves found themselves in a familiar position Saturday: Cheraw faced Lee Central at Wilson High School to see who would be crowned Lower State Champions. The Braves faced the Stallions last year at the same place for the crown with the Braves falling. This year the Braves hoped to finally get over that hump and knock Lee Central off their horse.

The Braves came out firing on all cylinders. They played their best half of basketball as they led 35-19 at halftime over the Stallions. Cheraw held the highly regarded Michael and Phillip Holmes to a combined 3 points in the first half. Everything seemed to be going fine for the Braves. They led 35-15 with 1:00 to play in the first half when the Stallions started gaining momentum. Lee Central rattled off four points to end the first half.

If you know basketball, it relies a lot on momentum, and the Braves did not need to lose the momentum they had built up during the first half. The Stallions carried their momentum over into the second half, scoring 5 quick points to cut the once 20-point lead down to 11. Cheraw did manage to keep an 8-10 point lead during the third quarter, despite only scoring 2-points. Cheraw entered the fourth quarter with an 8-point lead, but the Stallions had all the momentum.

The Braves battled hard, not giving the lead up until less than a minute to play. Cheraw missed a desperation 3-point attempt as time expired to witness Lee Central claim another lower state title, 50-47.

For more information on this story, please read the March 2, 2006 edition of the Cheraw Chronicle/Chesterfield Advertiser.