Wolverine History: Fast Breaks, the 1980-81 Boys' Basketball Team That Set a State Scoring Record

The Woodruff Times, in Part 5 of its series "Moments That Changed Wolverine History," looked back on the 1980-81 Woodruff boys' basketball team. The piece, by staff writer Garrett Mitchell, was published December 7, 2020. Here is our summary.

The paper describes a team that played an up-tempo, fast-break style years before it was common in South Carolina high school basketball, and before the three-point line existed. Ten of the twelve players on the roster were seniors who had played together since junior high. Chuck Epps coached the team for that single season; the article notes he later became superintendent of Fort Mill Schools.

The numbers still stand out. Woodruff went 24-2, won its first 19 games, and scored 2,177 points over 26 games, an average of 88.7 points per game. According to the paper, that average was a South Carolina state record for 26 years, until Calhoun County broke it in 2007. The Wolverines shot about 50 percent from the field as a team, topped 80 points in 16 games, and twice passed 100; their 102 points against Westminster is still the school record. Donnie Pearson, the program's all-time leading scorer, averaged 20.2 points, and he, Darrell Johnson and the late Reggie Mays each averaged 15 or more. Scott Simpkins, John Gilliam and Chris Taylor rounded out the core.

The season's great rival was Pendleton. The two teams met four times in early 1981. They split the regular-season games, each winning at home, and the loss at Pendleton in the 20th game was Woodruff's first of the year. Woodruff then beat the Bulldogs in the conference tournament final. In the playoffs the Wolverines came back from eight points down in the final minute to beat defending state champion Butler 93-91, but Pendleton won the fourth meeting, the upper-state final, 79-66, holding Woodruff to its lowest score of the season. Pendleton went on to lose the state title game to Wade Hampton.

The article also recalls packed, standing-room-only gyms home and away, and how the team's dunking, frowned on by longtime coach Varner, eventually won his grudging approval. Players quoted in the story say the season gave a football town a basketball team to be proud of.

This is our own summary for community reference. Read the full story, with the players' own recollections and yearbook photographs, at The Woodruff Times using the source link below.