Bryan County boys’ basketball coach Jason Napier has expressed confidence from the outset that come February his young team would be as good as anyone in Region 3A-DII and would be a dangerous out in the region tournament.
“We’ll be a lower seed and no one will be wanting to play us,” said Napier whose team is led by Darious Edwards who is one of the top players in the region. Seniors Cayden Rawls and Ger'bravion Collins also have shown they are more than capable of influencing the outcome of a game.
Napier’s thinking was reinforced when the Redskins (7-9, 6-4) rallied from 15 points down in the third quarter to beat Emanuel County Institute, 67-62, two weeks ago to snap a three-game losing streak that started with a 61-59 loss to region leader Screven County.
However, Napier may have to rethink his thoughts about going into the tourney as a lower seed after his team pulled off a solid 61-44 win at McIntosh County Academy on Tuesday night, it’s fourth in a row.
The Redskins, boosted by their coach’s belief in them, have used the win over the Bulldogs as a springboard to its current win streak going into Friday’s home game with Portal (11-2, 5-2). The Panthers beat region leader Screven County (10-5, 7-1) on Tuesday night.
The win over the Buccaneers enabled Bryan County to atone for an earlier loss to McIntosh County (71-68) and it vaulted the Redskins into third-place in the region standings. In the span of two weeks Bryan County has gone from a struggling team to one to be reckoned with.
Beating McIntosh now gives the Redskins, who reached the Elite Eight last year, victories over defending state champion Savannah High (10-7, 4-3) and the runner-up Bucs (6-9, 4-3).
The region is shaping up for a wild finish and what will be a highly competitive region tournament. While Screven is the current leader Savannah, Metter and MCA all have three region losses meaning the race for favorable tournament seeding is on.
As he eyed the schedule following the comeback win over ECI, Napier considered the possibilities.
“We talked about Jenkins County and Claxton and those being winnable games,” Napier said. “That would be three in a row and you know what that’s called: a winning streak.
“I told them [the team] that would give us a wonderful opportunity,” Napier said. “I told them Jenkins and Claxton would be giving us their best shot and we’re going to have to give them ours.”
The Redskins did just that and then went to McIntosh, a place where they unbelievably lost 91-27 last year, and snapped a six-game losing streak to the Bucs in convincing fashion.
Although the Redskins swept Portal last year for the first time ever the Panthers have dominated Bryan County in basketball over the years and won the earlier game this season, 58-50, Napier is counting on the current win streak giving his team the shot in the arm it needed.
“I told them in every sport momentum is the best teammate you can have,” Napier said. “Every game, every sport, if you can get momentum on your side, he’s a heckuva teammate.”
Momentum doesn’t have a jersey number but Napier is hoping he shows up at game time.
The Redskins are going to need Big Mo and everything else they can muster up in order to mount a strong stretch run. After Portal they go to Metter next Tuesday and the Tigers are coming off a 78-75 win over Savannah. The Blue Jackets are at Bryan County next Friday night.