County hoops

South Columbus guard James Vereen (above, left) drives the ball against Whiteville’ Aaron Clark in last Thursday night’s Waccamaw Conference basketball game between the staunch county rivals. In the photo below, SCHS sophomore center Amanda Dowe works the ball to the low post in the girls game. Whiteville won the boys game 58-55 and took the girls contest 50-27. The South Columbus squads took on a challenging schedule last week, playing host to West Columbus and Whiteville on Wednesday and Thursday and traveling to play East Columbus on Friday. Waccamaw Conference regular-season play heads into its final two weeks as Whiteville will visit Heide Trask and South Columbus will travel to tangle with Pender Tuesday. Regular-season play will close on Feb. 9. The Waccamaw Conference Tournament is scheduled to open on Feb. 12 with East Columbus again serving as tournament host.