Greenville boys outlast Greer. Here’s what fans who couldn’t get in sold-out gym missed

Greenville’s Isaiah Mosley (3) blocks a shot by Greer’s Amare Anderson (10) during the second round game of the 4A playoffs that resulted in a win for Greenville on Friday, Feb. 17, 2023.

Fans who showed up late will just have to hear about it. They didn’t see it.

By halftime, there was no more room in the James A. “Slick” Moore Gymnasium for Greenville boys basketball’s high school playoff game Friday night against Greer. People who couldn’t get seats were standing in the corners. People who couldn’t stand in the corners went back to their cars.

What they missed was a classic between two top 10 teams in Class AAAA. Second-ranked Greenville, the No. 1 seed of the Upper State, came away with a 64-58 victory after ninth-ranked Greer was two points behind with six minutes left.

Greenville (25-2) advanced to the Upper State semifinals Monday night at home against Catawba Ridge. Greer (21-6) played Greenville twice during the regular season and after a 30-point loss in the first one, lost the second by two.

“That was the last team I wanted to play in the second round,” Greenville coach Mike Anderson said. “Outstanding high school basketball environment. That’s the first sellout since I’ve been here (11 years). It’s a shame we had to meet so early and one of us is going home. But I’m glad it’s not us.”

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There were incredible individual performances on both sides. Greenville senior guard Isaiah Mosley scored a career-high 28 points, including a 3-pointer after Greer had cut the lead to 46-44. He went 6-for-6 from the foul line in the final minutes to seal the victory.

“It was fun,” Mosley said “It’s a story to tell.”

For Greer, the standout was sophomore guard Amare Anderson, who finished with 22 points.

“We’ll be back,” he said. “We have everybody returning, so I’m sure it’s going to be a better finish next year.”

Mosley scored seven points in the first quarter to get the Red Raiders going and 15 in the second half to help them hold on. Greer cut it to two, Mosley made a 3-pointer. Greer cut it to four, Mosley got a fast-break layup. Greer cut it to two, Mosley hit another three.

Story continues

Amare Anderson seemed unstoppable until the second half. That’s when Greenville sophomore Ramani Bruton checked back in after getting into foul trouble trying to guard Anderson. Anderson scored only four points in the third quarter.

“When Ramani went back out there, I thought he did a heck of a job,” Mike Anderson said. “Amare is going to get his. We just wanted to make it tough on him and make him make tough shots all night.”

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Greenville boys basketball outlasts Greer in sold-out playoff game