The fans in the “Shark Tank” stole the show on Friday night.
It was a winning evening for St. James, as both the Sharks girls and boys basketball teams captured region wins against Conway. On the court, there was plenty to celebrate for both squads. The girls won 29-23, while the boys notched a 40-27 victory over the Tigers.
But after the game, both St. James coaches — Paul Hudacko on the girls side and Davis Bowne on the boys side — seemed as excited about the home crowd atmosphere as they were about the performance of both of their teams.
As one St. James student put it as he celebrated with classmates on the court after the Friday sweep: “This place was electric.”
Both coaches agreed.
“I’ll be honest, I have played and coached at a lot of places. It’s really tough to beat this for a high school atmosphere,” Bowne said following the win. “This has to be in the top five in South Carolina, it honestly does.”
The St. James student section was mostly full to the top against Conway, creating — at times — a volume that seemed to have an impact over the pace of play.
For Hudacko, moving to 3-2 in the region and starting the second half of the region slate with a win was itself an accomplishment. But the coach says doing it at home made the victory just a notch sweeter.
“You come into the Shark Tank, it’s going to be loud. It’s going to be exciting,” Hudacko said. “We have the best student body and the best fanbase in the state of South Carolina. It’s always rocking in here. And it’s great for the girls to be able to come into the gym and play in this type of atmosphere.”
Bowne, who is coaching in his first year at St. James, harped on the culture of the school after the win, commenting on the post-game scene in which his players dispersed for on-court photos with friends and conversations with other classmates.
“You see it. If you look around after this game, all [the players] want to do is go and hang out with their friends,” Bowne said. “It’s such a great atmosphere. It’s family-like. The support we have is just really unreal. To have two and three sections of high school bleachers filled is pretty good.”
For the St. James girls, things couldn’t have gone much better on Friday night, particularly in the second half. The Sharks held a one-point lead at halftime but rallied to outscore Conway 10-2 in the third quarter to run away with the win.
Freshman Callie Centracchio was a spark for the Sharks, scoring three times in the second half to help key the St. James effort. Hudacko said Centracchio, who has earned more playing time for the team as the year has gone on, continues to emerge as one of the group’s strongest weapons down the stretch.
“Every game, she’s picking up a little bit more and she’s getting a little stronger and more confident,” Hudacko said. “You saw it out there tonight… she locks in on the smallest details, and that’s why she can do the big things.”
Bre McCall led the Sharks in scoring on Friday with nine points.
Bowne said that for his boys team, the play from senior Baylor Tibbits embodied the very best of what the Sharks have to offer, something the St. James coaching staff saw numerous times against Conway.
“The toughness on defense, it was just scrappy and hard-nosed. Baylor leads that off. Everybody can see that,” Bowne said. “If you watch what he does to help his teammates score, it’s unbelievable. He’s out there getting rebounds and he wants the toughest assignment, it doesn’t matter the size. If you can get one of those guys to anchor your defense, that’s pretty special.”
Carter Bobbitt had 13 points for St. James, leading the way. Junior Young posted 10, while Tibbits added seven.
St. James has just one region game next week — Tuesday’s girls/boys doubleheader against Socastee. Friday is an open date for both teams.
“It feels like we have some confidence,” Hudacko said. “We’re starting to play more free and more together. Collectively, we’re playing together as a unit. That’s huge going into a big week next week against Socastee.”
Hannah Strong Oskin is the executive editor of MyHorryNews. Reach her at 843-488-7242 or [email protected]. Follow her on X @HannahSOskin.