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The Sylvania Times
Wednesday, February 23, 2022 - Page 9
SPORTS
Burton Kemp
Only a couple of weeks ago I ba
sically accused myself of creating
things to write about; not this time.
This is not “a column about nothing.”
This column is going to be about
basketball, mostly about girls’ bas
ketball. If girls’ basketball is not
your cup of tea, you’d better stop
here. More than once over the past
decades I have mentioned that our
cagers have not always been so suc
cessful. That was not the case Sat
urday night in Claxton’s Durell Lynn
Gymnasium. The final score was
SCHS 46 and Claxton 39 in the Re
gion 3 A championship game.
I may have said this elsewhere.
This is our first region championship
in 16 years and our second in more
than seven decades.
Sometime in November of 1950
the brand new Screven County High
School played its first basketball
games (games were not in the old
one-sided gym until the next sea
son). The girls beat Metter, Millen,
and Newington in that month. By
January 19, 1951 they were 8-2. I
don’t know what happened in the re
gion tournament in Waynesboro that
began on February 12, but they did
not win the region. A region cham
pionship did not happen for the Lady
Gamecocks until February 11, 2006
at the Brewton-Parker College when
Jennifer Acree’s team defeated West
Laurens 39-32 for the 3AA title.
That 2006 team went on to the Class
AA semifinals in the Macon Coli
seum (now Centreplex) before fall
ing to the eventual state champion
Wesleyan. Lady Gamecock basket
ball was on a roll back then. In an
eight year period between the 2004-
05 season and the 2011-12 season the
Around
the horn
SO MUCH TO SAY,
SO LITTLE SPACE
program averaged 20 wins per year.
Under Roy Cooper in that 2011-12
season the team was region runner-
up. The following season the Red
and White finished at 9-17, its first
losing season since the 2002-03 sea
son (the last for former GSU stand
out Telly Hall-Wright). That 2012-
13 team did make the state playoffs
that year (actually losing to now
region foe-MCA 60-40) but ended
the season with a three game losing
streak.
We all know what happened next.
After beating East Laurens 38-35 in
the quarterfinals of the region tourna
ment on February 13, 2013the Lady
Gamecocks did not win again until
December 27, 2017 with a 39-23 win
over Portal. In that time the program
lost 97 games in a row. That 2017
win was the first season of Stephanie
Davis. That win over now region foe
Portal was the only game the team
won that year but they won nine the
next year and things have continued
to improve.
Last year SCHS dropped to Class A
and suddenly gone and now all but
forgotten by most current parents and
players were Laney, Josey, Butler
and the like. We were probably nev
er going to win a region with them
around. But now, in a region of what
I call “nonWalmart” schools, schools
like us, we have a chance and the
proverbial “cream rose to the top.”
In two years in Class A Davis has led
the team to a 31-10 record and now
the pinnacle of success in a region- a
championship.
Saturday night was for all of those
players who toiled on those four
winless teams (2013-14 through
2016-17) and the one win team of
17-18. The seniors who graduated
in 2017 never played in a winning
game. Those teams lost 64 regular
season region games in a row in AA
regions full of teams from one of the
strongest metropolitan areas pos
sible in Richmond County. But you
know what? Those girls busted their
butts every night. I never saw them
loaf; they always gave 100%. Some
of those players were there Saturday
night and maybe they teared up like
I did.
Shifting gears, I have before but I
will again pat the Gamecock boys of
Arthur Davis for the intensity with
which they played out their schedule
after Christmas. Most nights play
ing just six players, even getting a
win with the starting five not coming
off the court, they were competitive
in virtually every contest. Without
an ejection in the tournament’s first
round they would most likely have
advanced to the quarterfinals. Truth
fully all of the roster’s problems were
self inflicted but those who remained
played oh so hard. I say that those
who remained “did good.”
SCHS trivia: Is SCHS a “cradle of
coaches”? There are a lot of college
programs that claim to be the “cradle
of coaches” because of the number of
head coaches residing elsewhere that
have ties to them. Well, of the four
teams in the final four of Region 3 A,
three have ties to us. Region cham
pion Portal is coached by former
Harold Lee Scott assistant Jeff Bran-
nen. Jeff also handled ISS- a big guy
with a calming influence. Region
runner-up Jenkins County is coached
by SCHS graduate Quinton Sweet,
aka “Moon” for football fans of the
late 80s. Finally third place Bryan
County is coached by former SCHS
Head Coach Brent Anderson
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As the clock counts
down to the start of
the Region 3 A boys
championship game
between Jenkins
County and Portal,
the final score of
46-39 in favor of the
Lady Gamecocks still
remains on the Durell
Lynn Gymnasium
scoreboard. Because
they were the higher
seed the Lady Game
cocks were the home
team on the Claxton
scoreboard.
CHAMPS
continued from page 1
the stretch with the fourth quar
ter clock winding slowly down.
A series of turnovers at one
point saw the team take one
shot over seven possessions
and what had been a 39-32 lead
dwindled to a 39-36 lead with
2:36 remaining. Still they per
severed with defense. It was at
that point junior Ta’miyah Ty
ler put the offensive attack on
her shoulders and scored bas
kets at the 2:14 mark, the 1:44
mark, and nailed both ends of
a one and one with :31 remain
ing. She also made the front
end of another one-if with :17
remaining. In all she scored
the team’s final seven points.
Scott finished with 17 while
Tyler had a most impressive
double-double with 16 points
and 12 rebounds. Maybe
the key to the game was the
SCHS control of the boards.
In addition to Tyler’s 12 re
bounds, both Asia Roberson
and Ta’miyah May nor had nine
rebounds and Scott had eight.
Christian Roberson, who
fouled out, Rayven Tyler and
Olivia Jackson also contributed
mightily.
“Everyone on this team con
tributed to this championship
and I am a proud coach because
it is not about me but them,”
Davis continued. “I want to
thank all of them for their ef
fort and our entire community
for their support.”
The win enabled SCHS to
host its first state playoff game
since February 24, 2012 and a
64-58 loss to Southwest Macon
for Roy Cooper’s 15-13 team.
February 23, 2007 was the last
home playoff win for the Lady
Gamecocks when Jennifer
Acree’s troops downed Long
County 67-36 on their way to
a 25-6 season. It was the pre
vious season that Acree helped
lead the Lady Gamecocks to
their only region champion
ship, a 29-3 record and a final
four finish. Saturday marked
the seventh time SCHS has
reached the 20 win plateau.
Claxton took its only lead of
the game with just under a min
ute gone in the first quarter but
a three-pointer by Maynor at
6:10 gave SCHS a 3-2 lead and
they trailed again. Their big
gest first half lead with at 21 -11
when Tyler hit her second of
two consecutive baskets.
To reach Saturday night’s
championship bout, the
Lady Gamecocks had to go
through the pesky Jenkins
County Lady Eagles. SCHS
never trailed. Ta’miyah Ty
ler scored a basket at the 6:50
mark of the first quarter and
the locals never trailed. They
did, however, allow JCHS to
hang around for the entire
first half. While the defense
was outstanding the offense
sputtered against a packed in
zone defense and led just 23-
14 at intermission.
With the third quarter came
a more focused offense and a
41 -24 lead after another eight
minutes and then it was all
over but the Lady Eagle cry
ing. The final was 50-29 to
mark the third consecutive
Red and White win over the
Blue and White. Asia Rober
son had a double-double with
19 points and 11 rebounds
while Ta’miyah Tyler had 14
points. Scott had five assists;
Christian Roberson had five
assists and five steals, and
Maynor had five assists.
BASKETBALL EOYS 9
SEASON COMES
TCDANEMD
- Burton Kemp
Not ending on nearly the high note that it began, the SCHS Gamecock basketball
team of Arthur Davis fell to McIntosh County Academy 61-58 on February 15 in the first
round of the Region 3 A tournament in the Claxton High School Gym. A season whose
future was so bright in late December saw its season end with a 9-14 worksheet.
Facing an MCA team with whom they had split in the regular season, the fifth seed
ed Gamecocks and the eighth seeded Buccaneers traded punches for all 32 minutes of the
four quarters and it was the other guys who emerged at the end. SCHS led 18-16 after one
before trailing 36-35 at intermission. The margin was identical after three quarters as MCA
held on to its 51-50 lead. Despite making only two of seven free throws down the stretch, the
eighth seed held on for the three-point win.
With their All-Region guard gone via a third-quarter ejection the Red and White did
not have enough firepower at the end. Sophomore Dylaun Adams finished with 24 points
while senior Ty Lanier had 14 in less than three quarters. Adams and Lanier also had six
rebounds each with sophomore Brandon Smith having five. Sophomore DeAndre Flowers
dished out five assists.
On Monday at a meeting of Region 3 A Coaches Lanier was named First Team All
Region while Adams was named Second Team. On the season Adams averaged 15.6 and La
nier 14.0. Brandon Smith averaged 4.2 rebounds per game and Lanier 4.0. DeAndre Flowers
had 78 assists and Lanier had 46 steals.
New Syh/ania Times iM ,
T-Shirts /Ire HOE! ^
SCREVEN COUNTY LADY GAMECOCKS
BASKETBALL 2021-22
Number
Name
Grade
1
Rasheen Richardson
10
2
Christian Roberson
li
3
Skyler Jordan
10
4
Raz Simon
9
5
Olivia Jackson
9
12
Alailah Scott
10
15
Kadence Morris
9
20
Kiara Scott
10
21
Asia Roberson
11
22
Mariah Liggins
11
23
Tamiyah Tyler
11
24
Delydia Cox
10
25
Tamiyah Maynor
12
33
Avan Mingle
9
ea,
To reach the champion
ship on Saturday night
the Lady Gamecocks
had to first beat Jenkins
County on Friday. Here
Christian Roberson
(2) hoists a successful
three-pointer early in the
third quarter of the 50-29
win.
Ta'miyah Tyler (23) drives
for two of her 16 points in
the late going of the Region
3 A championship game in
Claxton Saturday night.
Pick up your T-shirt today!
On
515.00
H7NorthMainStreet
The Screven County
bench erupts as they race
onto the court to celebrate
the Lady Gamecocks'
46-39 win over Claxton
in the Region 3A Cham
pionship game Saturday
night in Claxton's sold out
Durell Lynn Gymnasium.
Head Lady
Gamecock
basketball Coach
Stephanie Davis
smiles as she holds
the Region 3A
Girls Basketball
Championship
Trophy.
