[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.91″ custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px” next_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px” _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_image admin_label=”Top Image” _builder_version=”3.0.106″ show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” show_bottom_space=”on” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/champs.jpg”]<\/p>\n
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[\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row custom_padding=”2px|0px|8px|0px” _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Top Image caption” _builder_version=”3.0.106″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” background_layout=”light”]<\/p>\n
The Gray Collegiate Academy basketball team wins the 2A Boys State Championship on March 2.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.92″ custom_padding=”2px|0px|37.9062px|0px” prev_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row custom_padding=”0px|0px|18.9531px|0px” custom_margin=”10px|||” _builder_version=”3.0.92″][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 1″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.0.106″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/gray.jpg”]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 1″ _builder_version=”3.0.106″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||” background_layout=”light”]<\/p>\n Gray Collegiate Academy basketball teammates refer to themselves as a brotherhood, and attribute their success to their closeness.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 2″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.0.106″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/tiquan-taylor.jpg”]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 2″ _builder_version=”3.0.106″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||” background_layout=”light”]<\/p>\n Tiquan Taylor was shot and killed while trying to sell his PlayStation. His family and friends wore T-shirts with his picture to the state championship game in his honor.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 3″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.0.106″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/cut-your-hair-cut-the-violence.jpg”]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 3″ _builder_version=”3.0.106″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||” background_layout=”light”]<\/p>\n GCA partnered with SportClips for an even they called “Cut Your Hair, Cut the Violence” in support of the late Tiquan Taylor.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”News Story” _builder_version=”3.0.106″ custom_margin=”0px||0px|” background_layout=”light”]<\/p>\n The Gray Collegiate Academy basketball team was on track to the program\u2019s best season in their history – until a horrific tragedy shifted their focus to something bigger than basketball.<\/p>\n Before the tragedy, Coach Dion Bethea said he\u00a0had never been so confident about one of his teams going into a season.<\/p>\n \u201cI always felt like there was only one team that could beat us, and that\u2019s us beating ourselves,\u201d Bethea said.<\/p>\n The excitement of the historic season halted when Tiquan Taylor, a member of the Gray Collegiate basketball team, was shot and killed on Feb. 25,\u00a0just a week before the championship game.<\/p>\n “Losing a student athlete is the most difficult, anytime you lose a student it’s difficult,” said Gray Principal Brian Newsome. “We\u2019re preparing all weekend, the excitement from winning the game on Saturday, playing for our first state championship as a school, the first time a charter school has played for the basketball state championship \u2014 so we had a lot of positives, and then this really hit us hard.”<\/p>\n Richland County Sheriff’s Department arrested \u00a016-year-old Desmond Marquise Cromer in connection with Taylor’s shooting. Taylor was attempting to sell his PlayStation video game console to Cromer when the attack took place.<\/p>\n Before the shooting, there was \u00a0friendly competition between teammates and a whole lot of wins, which made Gray a force to be reckoned with. They\u00a0exceeded the capabilities of last year\u2019s team, which lost in the semi-finals to Keenan High School. Their word to describe it? Brotherhood.<\/p>\n \u201cLast year we had separation; \u00a0we didn\u2019t have that bond like we have this year,\u201d Juwan Gary said. This year’s like a brotherhood- every time, everywhere, we bonded together.\u201d<\/p>\n Their bond, skills and confidence carried them all the way to the state championship for the first time in program history.<\/p>\n Taylor’s death cast a shadow over the team, but the players tried to transformed it into light.<\/p>\n In response to this monumental loss<\/span>,<\/span> Newsome met with school staff to find a way to raise awareness on the issue of gun violence. They wanted to show an outward display of unity and decided to shave their heads for an event called “Cut Your Hair, Cut the Violence.”<\/p>\n Hairdressers from Sportclips shaved the heads of several students, teachers and coaches in the GCA gym, just before the pep rally for Friday’s state championship game.<\/p>\n Taylor\u2019s family attended the event, sporting T-shirts with his picture displayed on the front. Coach Bethea introduced\u00a0Taylor’s \u00a0mother to the student body and reassured her that she would always be family at Gray. She held back tears as the basketball team embraced her in the middle of the gym, and the student body shouted words of encouragement and support.<\/p>\n Following the pep rally, the focus was again shifted to the late student-athlete. The people filling the gym moved onto GCA’s lawn and released balloons into the sky in honor of Taylor.<\/p>\n Just four hours later, the Class 2A Boys state championship game tipped off at Colonial Life Arena on March 2.<\/span> It was a close game against Carver’s Bay. Gray led 43-42 entering the fourth quarter, but held the Bears to just 3 points in those final eight minutes. At the sound of the buzzer, Gray secured the state title with a final score of 58-45. Their student section erupted in chants of “LLT” \u2014 Long Live Tiquan.<\/p>\n Tommy Bruner led Gray in scoring with 20 points and felt that the win spoke volumes about the school and its students.<\/p>\n “It just means a lot,” Bruner said. “I know Ty\u2019s proud of us, I know our family\u2019s proud of us, and we just wanted to leave it all out for the ones that are still living and the ones that are passed.”<\/p>\n Tiquan Taylor was laid to rest Saturday afternoon following Friday’s championship win.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Gray Collegiate Academy basketball team suffered a tragedy as the team headed toward a winning season, but members have tried to turn tragedy into light. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":8596,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" The Gray Collegiate Academy basketball team was on track to the program\u2019s best season in their history- until a horrific tragedy shifted their focus to something bigger than basketball.<\/p> Coach Dion Bethea had never been so confident about one of his teams going into a season.<\/p> \u201cI always felt like there was only one team that could beat us, and that\u2019s us beating ourselves,\u201d explained Bethea.<\/p> Players like Juwan Gary, with offers to play at South Carolina, Georgia and Clemson; as well as Tommy Bruner, with offers from Presbyterian and College of Charleston; propelled the team forward. This particular group was something special, and pushed each other to their full potential.<\/p> \u201cJuwan\u2019s a good dude, he got a lot of offers. But I mean, he knows what\u2019s gonna happen on the court in practice everyday,\u201d Bruner said jokingly. \u201cBut we just use it to get better.\u201d<\/p> Some friendly competition between teammates and a whole lot of wins made Gray a force to be reckoned with. One that exceeded the capabilities of last year\u2019s team, that lost in the semi-finals to Keenan. Their word to describe it? Brotherhood.<\/p> \u201cLast year we had separation, we didn\u2019t have that bond like we have this year,\u201d said Gary. This years like a brotherhood- every time, everywhere, we bonded together.\u201d<\/p> Their bond, skills and confidence carried them all the way to the state championship for the first time in program history.<\/p> The excitement of the historic season halted when tragedy struck. Tiquan Taylor, a member of the Gray Collegiate basketball brotherhood, was shot and killed just a week before the championship game.<\/p> \"Losing a student athlete is the most difficult, anytime you lose a student its difficult,\" said Gray Principal Brian Newsome. \"We\u2019re preparing all weekend, the excitement from winning the game on Saturday, playing for our first state championship as a school, the first time a charter school has played for the basketball state championship \u2014 so we had a lot of positives, and then this really hit us hard.\"<\/p> In response to this monumental loss, Newsome met with school staff to find a way to raise awareness on the issue of gun violence. They wanted to show an outward display of unity and decided to shave their heads for an event called \"Cut Your Hair, Cut the Violence.\" Hairdressers from Sportclips shaved the heads of several students, teachers and coaches in the GCA gym, just before the pep rally for Friday's state championship game.<\/p> Taylor\u2019s family attended the event, sporting t-shirts with his picture displayed on the front. Coach Bethea introduced his mother to the student body and reassured her that she would always be family at Gray. She held back tears as the basketball team embraced her in the middle of the gym, and the student body shouted words of encouragement and support.<\/p> Following the pep rally, the focus was again shifted to the late student-athlete. The people filling the gym moved onto GCA's lawn and released balloons into the sky in honor of Taylor.<\/p> Just four hours later, the Class 2A Boys state championship game tipped off at Colonial Life Arena. It was a close game against Carver's Bay. Gray led 43-42 entering the fourth quarter, but held the Bears to just 3 points in those final 8 minutes. At the sound of the buzzer, Gray secured the state title with a final score of 58-45. Their student section erupted in chants of \"LLT\" \u2014 Long Live Tiquan.<\/p> Tommy Bruner led Gray in scoring with 20 points and felt that the win spoke volumes about the school and its students.<\/p> \"It just means a lot,\" Bruner said. \"I know Ty\u2019s proud of us, I know our family\u2019s proud of us, and we just wanted to leave it all out for the ones that are still living and the ones that are passed.\"<\/p> Tiquan Taylor was laid to rest Saturday afternoon following Friday's championship win.<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> \u00a0<\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":""},"categories":[68,38],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4948"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4948"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4948\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9073,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4948\/revisions\/9073"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}