For two and half quarters Bryan County was everything Coach Jason Napier thought his team could be. Then the wheels appeared to come off.

Fortunately, one lug nut refused to give and when freshman AJ Collins calmly and cooly took a pass from his brother Gerbravion, a seasoned senior, and buried a 3-pointer from deep in the right corner the Redskins had hung on to grab a heart-stopping 58-55 win over Savannah High last Friday night.

The game-winning shot came with 20-plus seconds to play and the Redskins’ defense then held the Blue Jackets, despite two turnovers after rebounding missed Savannah shots, at bay to pick up the Region 3A-DII win, snapping a five-game losing streak in the process.

The game was the first meeting of the season between the two teams who are rebuilding after successful seasons:  Savannah won the Class A-DII state championship last year and the Redskins advanced to the Elite Eight where they lost 51-48 to Greene County.

Napier has insisted from the outset of the season the Redskins had the makings of a good team, that come mid-January when his young players had matured they would be a team to contend with.

That faith came to fruition against the Blue Jackets who are still dangerous, especially at home, and it came on the heels of a disappointing 46-35 loss to Metter earlier in the week. Savannah beat Metter, 60-49, on Saturday night.

Playing nearly flawless basketball, the Redskins (2-6, 1-3) dominated from the outset and led by 18 points, 36-17, with 2:04 left in the first half following a made free throw by Aaden Frederick.

It was 37-25 at the half and the lead was 44-30 with six minutes left in the third quarter when Savannah (6-4, 2-2) started making a move that saw it get its first lead at 47-45 with 6:27 to play on a basket by Renard Jackson.

“We talked about that at halftime,” Napier said. “The number one talk at halftime was weather the storm, here they come. We knew they would make a run.

“What I knew all along,” Napier replied when asked about his team holding its composure down the stretch and not folding. “That if they (players) listened and they played hard, played clean and simple we’re pretty good.

“When you’re coachable, buy in and execute the game plan we’re a pretty good team. We’ve always had good spirit this year. That has not changed. We’ve got guys having to buy into their new role and tonight they started doing it.”

The Redskins hosted Screven County (6-2, 3-0) on Tuesday night and will be at Wheeler County and South Effingham on Friday and Saturday, respectively. They will then be idle until Jan. 2, 2026, when they host Emanuel County Institute.

Following Jackson’s basket Gerbravion Collins nailed a 3-pointer to regain the lead for Bryan County. Savannah answered with back-to-back baskets for a 55-51 lead with 3:19 to play.

The Redskins refused to fold as Frederick took a feed from Darius Edwards to score inside and then he tied it with a steal and layup. That was the way it stood until AJ Collins’ shot which caught nothing but net.

Frederick, the lone junior on the team, led the Redskins with 14 points. Cayfrn Rawls and Edwards had 13 points each with Rawls getting 10 in the second quarter as he turned in his best all-around performance of the season.

This was believed to be Bryan County’s first ever win over Savannah High, certainly its first this century.

When the Blue Jackets were placed in Bryan County’s region four years ago due to reclassification then Savannah coach Tim Jordan, who spent nearly four decades at the school, said he could not remember ever having played Bryan County.

Since they became region mates the Blue Jackets were 8-0 against Bryan County prior to last Friday’s game.