USC Aiken and area junior college standouts get an early start on the college hoops season

Tim Williamson (left), Faison Brock (top right), Drez McBride (bottom right)

USC Aiken dropped a pair of games last weekend in the SBC Hall of Fame Classic in St. Joseph, Missouri. The four team tip off classic was the first sign of official NCAA basketball for the 2019-20 season as many Division I teams get set to start there schedules tonight, and the rest of the Division II will tip off this Friday. NJCAA (junior college) play also began last Friday, when, as was the case with USC Aiken's opening games, lots of action with a local flavor took place in the two year college space.

Aiken began its difficult early season schedule with a pair of losses

Xzavier Barmore (USC Aiken) is a preseason first team All PBC player.

The Pacers - who finished last season as the Peach Belt Conference regular season and tournament runners up, advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament, amassed a 27-6 record and spent most of the season ranked in the top 10 - entered this year as the #17 ranked team in the NCAA.com preseason poll. Its opponents last Friday and Saturday in Missouri are also highly regarded as Davenport, Friday's opponent, was ranked #13, and West Texas A&M, Saturday's foe, was listed as the #5 team in the same poll. 

In Friday's 77-68 loss to Davenport, the Pacers played without Faison Brock, one of two returning seniors who were highly productive members of last season's squad. And Xzavier Barmore, the team's other key returning veteran, only made 2 of his 17 field goal attempts in the loss.

Faison Brock (USC Aiken) scored 22 points in Saturday's loss.

Saturday's outing started much better for the Pacers because Brock made his first appearance less than 5 minutes after tip off and proceeded to lead the team in scoring with 22 points. And despite another slow start by Barmore (3 first half points), Aiken led most of the first half before falling behind 38-35 at the break. But a better second half (12 points on 6-11 shooting) by Barmore was not enough to stop West Texas A&M, which was paced by Joel Murray's game high 27 points, from maintaining a double digit lead for most of the second half.

More stiff competition ahead of Aiken

Things won't get easier for USC Aiken because this weekend the Pacers will play Friday against Tusculum and Saturday against Lincoln Memorial, which entered the season ranked #9 in the NCAA.com poll and #6 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) rankings. Lincoln Memorial, a perennial South Athletic Conference (SAC) power, will host the two day tournament. And when the Pacers finally return to the area for their first game of the season at the USC Aiken Convocation Center on November 16, their opponent, #23 Florida Southern, will be another team that entered the season ranked in the top 25 in the NCAA.com preseason poll.

Local talent makes a mark during the first weekend of junior college action

USC Salkehatchie, home to four highly accomplished area players, won a pair of games last weekend after entering the season ranked #18 in the NJCAA preseason poll. The Indians topped Georgia Highlands 102-98 Friday in overtime before knocking off South Georgia Tech Saturday 76-68. The games were part of the Cape Fear Classic at Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Drez McBride (January, 2017)

In the two games combined, sophomore Drez McBride, who transferred from McCook Community College in Nebraska after starring for Butler High School, scored 33 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and dished 8 assists. McBride has blossomed into a Division I player since graduating from high school in 2018, and the athletic lefty with a smooth stroke and crafty ball handling skills has received scholarship offers from UNC Asheville, Albany, Hampton and, most recently, Illinois State.

Kevin Williamson (January, 2017)

Another sophomore with local ties, Kevin Williamson, a former Aiken High (class of 2018) star who recently committed to Coastal Carolina, scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the two games combined. And former Lincoln County standout Ahmad Rand, a sophomore who received offers from Tulsa and Grambling after leading the nation in blocked shots last season, logged a total of 13 rebounds and swatted away 7 shots in the two games combined.

Tim Williamson named player of the week after scoring 37 in a win

Tim Williamson (Andrew College)

Former Glenn Hills (and Hephzibah before that) standout Tim Williamson, now a sophomore at Andrew College, scored 37 points in his team's season opening 88-85 victory over New Rock Prep Saturday. For that Williamson was named the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association Player of the Week.

Congrats to Tim Williamson of @AndrewTigersMBB @andrewsports11 as he has been named the season's first Player of the Week for the Men's Basketball DI 2019-2020.https://t.co/6YSSyPuM41 pic.twitter.com/lgWIdDTXkM

— GCAA (@THEGCAA) November 4, 2019

Freshmen Kalen Williams and Trez Ruffin contribute early for their new teams

Kalen Williams (December, 2018)

Kalen Williams (Lakeside '19) and Trez Ruffin (Josey '19), two former area standouts who will be expected to make an impact in their first season on the junior college scene, did just that in their teams' opening games. Williams scored 11 points in 28 minutes during Western Nebraska's 100-86 win over Central Wyoming Saturday after logging 8 points in 24 minutes in Friday's 96-75 loss to Western Wyoming.

Trez Ruffin (February, 2019)

Ruffin scored 12 points in Iowa Western's 89-70 win over Northwest Kansas Tech. Iowa Western dropped its game against Colby Saturday 93-73.