South Aiken knocks off Hornets
South Aiken High School head basketball coach Kelly Nichols learned a great deal about the rivalry between his Thoroughbreds and the crosstown Hornets from Aiken High School last season, his first at the helm of the SAHS program. On Friday night, Nichols learned what it was like to win one.
Crashing the offensive boards with great aggression and knocking down the 3-point ball with staggering success, South Aiken answered a second-quarter surge from Aiken with a third-quarter charge of its own and held on to win 64-57 in part one of the hard court Battle of Aiken series Friday night on its home floor.
"This is what high school sports are all about," said an excited Nichols after the win. "You have a group on one side chanting South Aiken and a group on the other side chanting Aiken. That's what makes it fun. It's a giant win for us, but it's just a step. We are big picture people, and our goal is to be playing in March. But this is a big boost for us. It gives our guys some confidence. I've been in a town where there are only two high schools, so I understand the importance of this. These guys are friends. So our guys have bragging rights until next Friday."
South Aiken guard Gerald Bryant staked his claim to those rights early in Friday's contest. An air ball on his first attempt of the game drew plenty of jeers from the Aiken faithful, and the Hornet boosters continued to hound Bryant each time he touched the rock. Their ribbing, though, came back to haunt them.
Bryant, who finished the game with a team-high 20 points, caught fire in the opening quarter, knocking down two contested 3-pointers and another tough two-point try. His eight first-quarter points helped SAHS claim a 15-11 advantage at the end of the opening frame and
brought a packed house to its feet.
"I think Gerald is a big game player," said Nichols. "He is the type of kid who likes to talk a lot and likes to back it up. We were shooting free throws for running at practice the other night. I gave them the opportunity to do double or nothing, and nobody but Gerald wanted it. He's just that type of player."
Aiken certainly didn't go away quietly, and it took its first lead since the contest's opening minutes when Myson Jones converted a steal into points to put the Hornests ahead 24-23. Forcing the ball inside to Tramain Parker, who scored six points in the paint in the second quarter, and then kicking it out to Jones and Trodell Long on the perimeter, Aiken extended its advantage and erupted with emotion when it headed to the halftime locker room with a 28-23 lead.
The opening minutes of the second half, though, eventually proved to be the deciding stretch. After Bryant hit a 3-point strike from the corner to open the scoring, South Aiken went on a 12-1 run to reclaim the lead and go up 35-29 with 5:10 left in the third quarter. With all-region guard Justin Maxwell on the bench in foul trouble, Aiken was missing a spark on offense, and it scored just seven points in the third quarter as South Aiken took a 42-35 lead into the final eight minutes.
"If you told me you would take away one of our top scorers, I would be worried," said Nichols, who admitted that holding Maxwell to three points was one of the most important stats of the game. "So it's big. I think it took away some of their shooting from the perimeter."
Aiken continued to fight, as Jones scored seven fourth-quarter points to finish with 16, but when Aiken used its press to pull back within five, 51-46 with a little under four minutes to play, South Aiken delivered the deciding blow.
On back-to-back possessions, the T-Breds kicked an offensive rebound back out to the edge for a 3-point bomb. Jonathan Dingle knocked down the first, and Cody Stephens hit the second to put SAHS ahead 57-46. The margin proved to much for Aiken to overcome.
Stephens finished with 17 points and was the emotional sparkplug for the T-Breds for most of the night.
"He's a senior, and I give all our seniors credit," said Nichols. "These guys have been through a lot. Our roster has changed seven guys since October, and that has made our guys closer. They lean on each other now, and they embrace their roles."
The euphoria surrounding the win won't last long, as the rivals will be right back at each other next Friday at AHS. Nichols knows defeating Aiken, which he believes to be one of the best teams on this side of the state, twice won't be an easy task, but he won't try to get too tricky with his game plan.
"We put three goals on the board, and they are always the same," the second-year coach explained. "So we won't change a whole lot. We are better when we just focus on ourselves."
SA 15 8 19 22 - 64
AHS 11 17 7 22 - 57
South Aiken (3-3) Cody Stephens 6 3-4 17, Jonathan Dingle 3 2-2 11, Gerald Bryant 7 2-4 20, Deon Williams 3 2-2 8, Joseph Rennheck 3 0-1 6, Galen Parker 1 0-0 2. Totals 23 9-13 64.
Aiken (1-2) Myson Jones 6 2-2 16, Trondell Long 3 5-6 12, Jamari Colemand 0 0-2 0, Desmond Withers 1 0-0 2, Justin Maxwell 1 1-2 3, Andrew Williams 1 1-2 3, Mario Abney 0 2-5 2, Tramain Parker 5 1-2 11, Devon Johnson 4 0-0 8. Totals 21 12-19 57.