The South Carolina basketball playoff brackets were released on Saturday. The full brackets are posted at the end of this post. Here are some initial thoughts on the pairings involving area teams:
* Carolina Forest such be proud of its basketball teams. In their first year in Class AAAA, the boys and girls both won Region VI championships. That's an impressive feat. The school will be rewarded with first-round home games. In fact, the girls could play every one of their playoff games in the friendly confines until the state championship. All the Panthers have to do is keep winning and the way Lakeitha Alston is playing, it's not a stretch to believe they could make a run. She is averaging 22.6 points, including 25 and 32 in the final two region games, and 12.7 rebounds per game. The boys have had a remarkable turnaround from last year's miserable campaign. They've got outside threats in Jordan Simbeck and Michael Gray and one of the area's biggest surprises in forward Chris Ford.
* Myrtle Beach will also host two first-round games. The girls, Region VII-AAA's champion, get the opportunity to pound on Crestwood, but the boys, Region VII's No. 2 seed, face a tougher test against Marlboro County, which is from powerful Region VI. Myrtle Beach's girls are 23-2 in coach Brian Kiper's first year and are seeking a return trip the Class AAA state championship game. The Seahawks are 75-9 over the past three seasons, an amazing run of success. Considering Khadijah Sessions is only freshman, there isn't an end to that run anytime soon. Sessions is averaging 18.4 points, 5.8 assists, 5.4 rebounds and 5 steals per game. The Myrtle Beach boys are on the right side of the Lower State bracket - avoiding Region VI champion Camden until the Lower State title game - and have shown signs of recapturing last year's state championship form over the past few weeks. They're certainly capable of making a run.
* Georgetown's boys have a tough draw against Wilson. In fact, any area boys team that has to play a team from Region VI will find out quickly how good those teams are. One of those teams, Camden, is probably the favorite for the Lower State title.
* You have to feel for the boys team from Green Sea Floyds, which tied for second in Region VIII-A with Carvers Bay and Latta at 7-5. The teams split against each other, so the second tiebreaker, defensive points allowed, was used to separate them. The Bears won second a few points ahead of Latta, which finish a few points ahead of Green Sea Floyds. So, Charles Elvington's team went from second and a home game to a trip to strong C.E. Murray. That's rough.
Area first-round matchups
Boys
Tuesday
Class AAA: No. 3 Marlboro County at No. 2 Myrtle Beach, No. 3 Georgetown at No. 2 Wilson, No. 4 Socastee at No. 1 Camden
Class A: No. 3 Scott's Branch at No. 2 Carvers Bay, No. 4 Green Sea Floyds at No. 1 C.E. Murray
Wednesday
Class AAAA: No. 3 James Island at No. 2 Carolina Forest
Girls
Monday
Class AAA: No. 4 Crestwood at No. 1 Myrtle Beach, No. 3 Socastee at No. 2 Wilson, No. 4 North Myrtle Beach at No. 1 Camden
Class A: No. 3 Carvers Bay at No. 2 C.E. Murray
Tuesday
Class AAAA: No. 4 North Augusta at No. 1 Carolina Forest
Class AA: No. 3 Loris at No. 2 Timberland
