PETTICOAT JUNCTION - Silver Bluff held off a pesky group of Battling Bishops from Bishop England for a 53-48 win in the opening round of the Class AA playoffs Wednesday.

The Bulldogs were led by senior guard Theron Stephens' 18 points as Silver Bluff used surges throughout the game to keep its distance from Bishop England. Stephens hit three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to separate the Bulldogs from the Bishops.

"I had to bring us back with some big shots," Stephens said.

Silver Bluff plays again on Saturday at 7 p.m. on the road at Mullins, which defeated Manning Wednesday. The win put the Bulldogs at 18-4 on the year.

"We have to come back Saturday and crack down," Stephens said. "We have to limit our mistakes."

Bishop England used a Princeton-style offense in running several pick and rolls and back door cuts to give Silver Bluff all it could handle.

Both teams started the game by trading baskets and Silver Bluff head coach Drew Jernigan knew his first round game wasn't going to be a walk in

the park.

"They are an extremely well-coached and well-disciplined team," Jernigan said. "They are a difficult team to prepare for."

Silver Bluff waisted no time establishing its defense against Bishop England by pressing right off the bat. On the other hand, the Bishops didn't waist shots and controlled the tempo early on by taking their time in taking shots. Bishop England was led by its center West Rogers, who scored seven of his 12 points in the first quarter.

The teams countered shots as Silver Bluff hit its first four attempts behind the strength of Stephens and junior Robert Green early on. Green scored five of his 11 points in the opening period as the Bulldogs had a slim 13-11 lead after the first quarter.

Using a 3-2 zone, Bishop England let the game start slipping away as Silver Bluff used a 7-0 run in the second quarter to create some space.

The two teams' styles of play were vast in contrast as Bishop England ran more of a set offense with high percentage shots, while Silver Bluff relied more on driving to the hoop and pounding the glass.

Despite the 7-0 run by Silver Bluff, Bishop England crept back in the game in the second quarter, and pulled within thre -points at 21-18. However, Green made sure it wouldn't get any closer with a 3-pointer.

"Anytime we needed a good shot, we made them," Jernigan said.

Down by only four after the half, Bishop England came out and went on a 5-0 run to take a 25-24 lead in the third quarter.

Although they lost the lead, the Bulldogs didn't lose their composure as junior guard Travis Williams hit two 3-pointers in the quarter, putting Silver Bluff back on top at 30-26. Williams quietly scored 13 points in the game and contributed when called upon.

Those 3-pointers were part of a 9-0 run that allowed the Bulldogs to pull away for good. Defensively, Silver Bluff applied pressure causing turnovers and calls to go against Bishop England.

In the fourth quarter, Bishop England came out trapping the ball, but Silver Bluff was able to break its press and spent most of the time moving the ball around to kill time off the clock.

Bishop England tried to rally in the fourth quarter and scored 20 points, mostly on break away baskets, but it couldn't stop Silver Bluff on defense enough to catch up. Silver Bluff again went on a small run and pushed the score to 40-28..

Bishop England pulled within six at one point in the fourth quarter, but it couldn't make up anymore ground and was forced to foul down the stretch just to get more possessions.

Jernigan said that now he wants his team to switch its focus to Saturday's game and tried to keep from looking too far ahead.

"As the playoffs progress, it's going to get tougher and tougher," he said.

Bishop England 11 9 8 20 - 48

Silver Bluff 13 11 11 18 - 53

Bishop England (48) - West Rogers 3-11 6-10 12, John Tecklenburg 4-8 1-1 9, Alex Abrams 3-4 1-1 9, Thomas King 3-9 0-0 7, Charlie Hughes 2-5 0-0 5, Rutledge Rhett 2-2 0-0 4, Rob McKenzie 0-0 2-2 2.

Silver Bluff (53) - Theron Stephens 7-14 0-0 18, Travis Williams 5-7 0-1 13, Robert Green 3-8 3-6 11, Frederick Garnett 2-4 1-2 5, Kendrick Garnett 1-3 0-0 2, Demarcus Lawrence 1-1 0-0 2, T.J. Johnson 1-1 0-0 2.

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