On the same day that school came back in session after the Christmas break, Bryan County returned to host a home basketball game against the highly-ranked visiting Savannah Country Day Hornets this past Tuesday. The home crowd saw both the Redskin boys and girls take another region loss. The girls lost 71-20 and the boys lost 57-32.
After a one point loss to Calvary on Jan. 4 in a comeback thriller, the Redskin squad was hoping to bring some of the momentum and excitement from that game with them to this contest, but too many missed shots and errant passes throughout the evening was not the prescription for a victory against a solid Country Day squad.
The top scorers for Bryan County were Ivey Mutcherson and Willie Deloach, with 10 points each.
The Hornet boys came in with a 6-4 record and brought along with them the reputation as being one of the better teams in Region 3-A; they did nothing to change that. The Hornets, led by Bradley Jones (18 points) jumped out to an early lead and never relented as they notched their seventh win of the season.
Before the game, Redskin coach Keith Bazemore had a good idea of what his team was about to face. He acknowledged SCD’s reputation in the region, recognizing their speed and the fact that "they have really good shooters and they can push the ball up and down the court."
The Redskin girls continued their losing ways also, but this season is not all about wins so much, according to Coach Mario Mincey.
"We have a very young team and our girls are gaining experience each time they take to the court," he said. "Team morale is still good and the girls are eager to learn and compete, even those freshmen and sophomores are maturing and some are trying to become leaders out on the court."
The Lady Hornets came into Pembroke with an impressive 11-2 record and ranked second in the state in Region 3-A polls.
The score in this contest never really ran close, and a 47-5 deficit at halftime ended up in a 71-20 blowout. Shantel James and Whitney Fields contributed 5 points each for the Redskins and Ashleigh Simmons and Mitzi Cross contributed 4 points each. Katelyn Hilliard led her Hornet squad with a game high 29 points.
The Skins face South Effingham in a non-region home contest today at 3 p.m. following Friday night's region game versus Claxton.