Landrum announcer Hambone Camp’s voice boomed over the speakers on Friday night. He’d call out the name as a different Cardinal ascended a ladder to cut down a piece of history.
The Cardinals were cutting off a piece of net that symbolized their second consecutive Region II-1A Championship.
This was the first time in Cardinal basketball history that this had been accomplished.
Landrum beat St. Joseph’s 60-43 – dominating from start to finish – to accomplish the historic feat.
“It’s a testament to all the hard work the kids put in,” Cardinal head coach Lyn Smith said. “It’s good to see that hard work pay off.”
This one was never in doubt.
The Cardinals jumped out to a big 17-9 first quarter lead with junior Mark Wilson hitting two three-pointers to spark Landrum. In the second quarter, the Landrum defense began firing on all cylinders. The Knights scored their first field goal with 3:01 left in the half and that would be the only field goal of the quarter. The run began with a Daniel Bridges steal. Three possessions later, Bridges got another steal and this time he slammed it home on the other end to the delight of the Cardinal fans. Bridges finished the second quarter by drawing a charge on the defensive end and then hitting a three-pointer on the offensive end. Bridges finished with a game-high 20 points.
The Cardinals outscored the Knights 17-3 in the second quarter.
One Cardinal that is turning it on this season is Truston Whiteside. The junior attacked the basket Friday night, scoring 13 points.
“We just tried to come out here and play as hard as we can,” junior guard Whiteside said.
By the end of the third quarter, the Cardinals had built a 48-20 lead. The Knights battled back towards the end of the game with a 19-0 run in the final minutes. Tyler Laghese led the way for the Knights with 14 points.
The Cardinals have two more region games next week at Christ Church and Greer Middle College.