Two games into the Class 3A boys basketball playoffs, coach Jon Richards was still waiting for the Blue Devils to play the complete game he wants.

Fortunately, Dreher earned a third chance to deliver such an outing because one or two players again contributed big games in support of Chris Brown.

In the second–round 66–58 victory against North Myrtle Beach, that player was Tyler Harris. The junior center hit Dreher’s first basket – a 3–pointer – and produced more points from 15 feet and beyond (7) than he did in the paint (4) en route to a 14–point night.

“They didn’t respect Tyler from the outside – or from 15 feet – and he stepped up,” Dreher coach Jon Richards said. “After seeing him this summer, I expected him to score 15 or 16 a night this season. But, he struggled the first half of the season. It feels good to have him step up at a big moment.”

That moment came late in the fourth quarter. After a 9–2 run brought North Myrtle Beach within one, 51–50, Harris hit a free throw and a 15–footer on consecutive trips down the floor as Dreher (24–3) rebuilt a two possession game with three minutes remaining.

His offensive rebound and put–back with 23 seconds remaining gave the Blue Devils a 62–58 lead.

“Being a junior, I wanted to experience a situation like this,” Harris said. “I felt if I had the chance, I would take advantage of it. I was surprised they didn’t come out and guard me, but when you have shooters like Chris and Quayshun (Hawkins), it’s hard to stop everybody. Tonight, the guys found me.”

As was the case in the first round, rebounding was the key. The Blue Devils didn’t even look inside throughout much of the first half and were outrebounded on both ends of the floor. As a result, the teams swapped leads for most of the second quarter.

“We realized at halftime that if we didn’t rebound, we weren’t going to win,” senior Chris Brown said. “Rebounding killed us in the first half. But these tests really will help us as the playoffs go on. Now we’ve gotten over the hump (Dreher lost in the second round last year).”

In the second half, Dreher outrebounded the Chiefs (16–9) – barely – but that was enough for the Blue Devils to hold a small lead for all but about 90 seconds of the half.

Brown led Dreher with 23 points, including 17 of the team’s 28 first–half points. Hawkins finished with 14.

With the victory, Dreher earned a third– round home game against Darlington.