Glynn Academy boys prevail over Richmond Hill late on senior night

Jan. 26—Following a deflating loss in the City Championship game, the Glynn Academy boys basketball team bounced back for a nail-biting victory over Region 2-6A rival Richmond Hill 55-51 on Tuesday at The Glass Palace.

In honor of senior night, Tyson Rooks, Jordan Cash, Ahmad Cross, Maurice Walden and Jaidyn Hill had their names read out over the PA system to embrace the five seniors who've given their all to the Terrors basketball program.

"They are a committed group, they are a really good group of kids," said Glynn Academy boys head coach Terrance Haywood. "All of them with the exception of Jaidyn Hill, all of them have been in the program for four years. It means a lot to them as seniors to have played as much as they have played, and as many games as they have played in.

"To see them have some success thus far in the season, I'm extremely proud of them and just thankful for the commitment they have made to me and this basketball program."

Glynn Academy (15-5, 5-4) had themselves a battle at their hands, not only dealing with the prolific scoring of Brayden Baker, but in trying to avenge its loss to Richmond Hill (5-16, 3-5) back in December.

When the two schools played on Dec. 14, Baker scored 27 of the teams 53 points in their 53-43 win over the Terrors to push the school into a two-game losing streak.

Early in Tuesday's game, Baker scored the Wildcats' first eight points of the contest and helped set the tone for an early 13-12 first-quarter lead.

Walden kept the Terrors on the tails of the Wildcats with his seven points in the opening quarter, all from his "beautiful" jump shot that his coach Haywood admired.

"He's got a beautiful midrange. Early on he had the hot hand, and we kept getting it to him and he was knocking some shots down," Haywood said. "That helped us out tremendously because they jumped out on us early. Once we settled down, we were able to get it back even and take a little bit of a lead."

The team was able to settle down from the pregame festivities and the first quarter woes with an 18 point second quarter. Glynn was able to make their mark early in the quarter with a 2-point field goal from Rooks, which gave the team the lead and clamped down on defense to stop Baker and Richmond Hill.

Heading into the locker rooms, Glynn led 30-26 and slowed the scoring pace of Baker, leaving him with 12 points after two quarters.

Coming out for the second half, the Terrors continued to run their trusty 3-2 zone while leaving either Tray Dickens or Tyi Ivey on Baker, slowing down the prolific scorer.

"We just determined this game to try and contain him," Haywood said. "He's a really good player. He can shoot from the outside, he can get to the rim, he's got midrange. The kid is a really good player. We knew it was going to be a tough win, but we said if we can keep him from scoring something respectable, we will give ourselves a chance to pull out a win tonight. That's what we did."

Haywood pointed out that Quay Dickens, who's currently out with a shoulder injury suffered late in the Brunswick game, is the team's best defender.

In the third quarter, the two teams exchanged the lead three times, but it was the struggles again from the floor by Glynn that allowed Richmond Hill to climb back into the game.

"We went up by seven and then we missed some shots at the basket," Haywood said. "Five-foot shots at the basket that we normally don't miss. It was a tough night (shooting)."

Dealing with constant face guarding and double teams, Baker scored four more points in the quarter. However, it was his teammates that were able to help guide the team to tie the game at 37-37 heading into the fourth quarter.

"Credit to Richmond Hill," Haywood said. "They are a tough team. Their record does not indicate it but if you look at their scores versus a lot of the teams in the region, they are right there. It just proves that we are playing in a really tough competitive region. You have got to come out and play every night."

Before the game came down to the final minute, the Terrors had stellar ball movement for an easy score to force a timeout out of Richmond Hill. Walden secured the rebound, hit Dickens in the outlet, found Ivy in the corner who pump faked his defender to dribble drive to the free-throw line and then dished the ball to a wide open David Prince next to the basket.

With 1:01 left in the game and the Terrors leading 51-49, the Wildcats had to foul seven times quickly to put Terror players on the line.

Ivy sank both of his free throw attempts, and the Wildcats went the other way and scored on a Kaleb Beckwith 2-pointer to keep the game one score, 53-51.

Glynn's Shane Payne missed the team's first free throw and then had a teammate called for a lane violation when he sank the second one, thus giving Richmond Hill an opportunity to tie or take the lead.

Putting full-court pressure on the Wildcats, Baker was able to spin off Ivy and race to the middle of the court for an open pass. Payne noticed the play and met Baker mid-court and put him off his rhythm by almost stealing the ball. After regaining control of the ball, Baker pulled up from 25 feet or more to get the chance to spoil senior night.

Baker's shot clanked off the backboard, with Walden controlling the rebound and finding Ivy with one second left before he was fouled.

Although the team shot 47.8 percent from the charity stripe, Ivy sank both of the free throws to propel the Terrors to victory and back into third place in the region.

Rooks and Walden led the teams with double-doubles, with Rooks registering a 16-point, 10-rebound night, and Walden finishing with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

Haywood said the team still has a lot of basketball left to play, as they look to earn a marquee road win against Effingham County (13-7, 7-2) on Friday night.

Lady Terrors 60

Wildcats 38

The Lady Terrors (10-10, 5-4) started out senior night with a defensive clinic, keeping the Wildcats at bay for the majority of the game, winning 60-38.

With nine seniors on the roster, the team has a lot of leaders that have been part of the program for years and playing valuable minutes.

Facing an early deficit in the ball game, the Lady Terrors took the lead on a three-point play by senior Akirria Mountain.

From then on, Glynn Academy never looked back.

Leading 16-10 after the first quarter, the Lady Terrors shut down the Wildcats (11-9, 2-6) with their constant full-court pressure, forcing 25 turnovers and grabbing 10 steals over the course of the night.

Leading 26-16 after the first half and opening the third quarter on a 16-2 run, giving head coach Sharnesha Smith the opportunity to let all nine of her seniors see the court on their night.

Seniors Ki'asia Kellam, Elizabeth Garcia, Jasmine Dixon, Ashanti Capers, Paris Smith, Akirria Mountain, Reggenae Habersham, Kayla Page and Wilder Cate all logged a stat that was valuable in helping lead the team to a 60-38 win.

Although the team had a 45-21 lead after three quarters, the defensive presence was missing in the final quarter after they were outscored 17-15, after giving up 11 points in the second and third quarter combined to be able to cruise.

Kayla Page led the team in scoring with 14 points and added 5 rebounds and 4 steals. Paris Smith finished the game with 13 points and 9 rebounds, one shy of a double-double, before fouling out in the fourth quarter. Akirria Mountain added 11 points on the night.

The Lady Terrors currently sitting fourth in the region standings, take on Effingham County (4-13, 0-9), Friday.