Wren tops Travelers Rest, looks to make history with first boys basketball state title
In the game of basketball there's always a chance a role player steps up in a big moment or an underdog gets hot and marches to victory, but often it's the stars and the best teams that take control in the biggest moments.
That's exactly what happened in the SCHSL Class AAA boys basketball Upper State championship between Wren (23-7) and Travelers Rest (20-9). With a state championship berth on the line, the biggest star on the court for the better team took control.
That star was Wren senior Johnathan Whysong, who had 19 points in Wren's 63-41 win over Travelers Rest.
"When you look at him on film, you know he's good. But he killed us tonight. He's a heck of a player," said Traveler Rest coach Josh Mills.
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Whysong's been the guy all season for a Hurricanes team that is trying to prove its the best in its classification.
"He's 6-foot-7, has speed and will dive on the floor and extend his body to save a play. He's all over the place ... when the game starts, he's 100% the whole time and it rubs off on the rest of the team. It's like they're a product of who he's been for us," said longtime Wren coach Fran Campbell.
Whysong, who's averaging a double-double of 18.6 points and 10.1 rebounds a game, and guard Jacob McQueen — who adds 13.4 points per game — are the lone returners from last season's team and the only seniors.
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The Hurricanes now have the chance to make history on Friday by winning the program's first state championship, which would also be Campbell's first title after 39 seasons.
"It would mean a great deal to me to win a state title, but more than that it's for coach Campbell. He's been here so long and he's run into so many good teams, so many powerhouse programs. To be able to get him one nearing his retirement, it would mean the world to everybody in that locker room, and I think that's what's been motivating us the most," Whysong said.
Under Campbell, Wren has made it to the state championship game two other times, in 1994 and 2017. To win it all, he says, "We just have to do what we do, and we have to do it better than the other team. That's the whole key right there."
Wren will face Crestwood in the SCHSL Class AAA boys basketball state championship game on Friday at 2 p.m. in the USC Aiken Convocation Center.
This article originally appeared on Anderson Independent Mail: SC high school boys basketball: Wren to states, tops Travelers Rest
