Bishop England captured its second straight region championship with a 66-52 win over Lake Marion Wednesday on Daniel Island.

The region title assures the Bishops a No. 1 seed in the upcoming AAA playoffs, where they’ll host May River in the opening round on Tuesday.

Bishop England entered Wednesday with a one-game lead over AAA No. 5 Manning for first place in Region 7-AAA. A loss would’ve dropped the Bishops into a tiebreaking scenario with a shared region title.


Bishop England led 33-28 at halftime but managed just 10 points in the third quarter to enter the fourth trailing 46-43. The Bishops responded in the fourth, though, outscoring the Gators 23-6 through the final eight minutes.

Leo Albano finished with a game-high 26 points on 10-of-14 shooting from inside the three-point arc in his final regular season game for the Bishops. Sophomore Aidan McCool added 25 points, hitting 5 of 8 from three, and grabbing eight rebounds. John Michel added 11 points.

Albano and McCool have combined for 96 points over the past two games. Albano has shot 71 percent from inside the arc during that span, while McCool has landed 64 percent from beyond.

Bishop England last won consecutive region titles in 2006-07, when current assistant coaches Daniel Eykyn and Ben Walsh both played for the Bishops.

The Bishops have advanced through the first round of the playoffs the past two years. Bishop England and May River have never played before. 

Tipoff for the Bishops' postseason opener is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Tuesday.