A running account of the Augusta area’s basketball and football scene. This is the blog. Go to @AugBball on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for live coverage.
Charvis Jones and Cameron Cabarrus will try to help keep Aiken and Evans in contention in for top region spots tonight.
Winning the regular season region championship should be a goal for every team at the beginning of every season. Along with the distinction of being consistently better than your peers, rewards like an automatic spot in the state playoffs and beneficial seeding in the region tournament can mean the difference between a deep post season run and an early start to the off-season. In this post and those soon to follow I'll frame where each region race stands before the first region tournaments begin about 10 days from now.
North Augusta's boys and girls are breezing through South Carolina's class 4A, region 5; Aiken and South Aiken's boys will fight to stay close to the Jackets
The Lady Yellow Jackets appear to be sprinting towards their third straight state title, an accomplishment we haven't ever seen from any area team. Coach Al Young's class 4A squad left no doubt in anybody's mind about whether it is the best team in the Palmetto State by defeating the defending class 5A state champion Spring Valley 71-65 in an invitational game last Saturday at Eau Claire High School in Columbia.
Here's a mind blowing fact: That 6 point margin of victory marked the first time any team in South Carolina has come within single digits of the Lady Yellow Jackets in more than 3 years.
Tyliah Burns (top), Mya Burns (left), and J'mani Ingram (right)
Junior J'mani Ingram scored 26 points in the victory. Senior Mya Burns added 19, as did junior Tyliah Burns.
North Augusta's boys (16-5, 5-0) have also have been on a roll that has been unmatched area wide. Since sophomore RJ Felton rejoined the team after missing the first month of the season with an injury, the Yellow Jackets have won 12 of 14 games. Their average margin of victory in league play has been 20 points.
North Augusta's place at the top of the region standings had been Aiken's for the two seasons prior to this one. Aiken won all 16 league games during that stretch and reached the quarterfinals of the state playoffs both seasons. The Hornets (10-10, 3-2) will have a chance tonight to claw back into contention for a top 2 spot when they host arch rival South Aiken (8-10, 4-1) in a game that will be featured on the @AugBball social media timelines. The reward for a top two spot in the region in South Carolina is at least one home game in the state playoffs.
Rivals Evans and Lakeside try to settle their differences and hold off Heritage in the process
It has been exactly 2 weeks since Evans, then ranked #1 in Georgia's class 6A, recorded its first loss of the season, a 67-56 decision to Lakeside, which was ranked #3 at the time.
Since that night both teams have dropped an additional league game, setting up a final week of action in region 3 that will see those two rivals and Heritage fight for the top 2 spots in the regular season standings. A top two spot will bring a bye in the first round of the region tournament and therefore an automatic bid into the state playoffs.
Evans (19-2, 5-2) will host Heritage (11-10, 5-2) tonight before visiting current leader Lakeside (19-3, 6-1) Tuesday. Lakeside will host Alcovy (8-12, 2-5) tonight before Tuesday's big game.
I counted nearly 50 men who recently played high school hoops in our wide area who are now playing college basketball. In the summary below I listed their basic information like class, school, team records and rankings (when applicable), season statistics, upcoming game information and notable recent performances for the top performers:
In the first sign of regular season college basketball being played, Daniel Carr (Midland Valley ‘16) scored 5 first half point, including 3 here, for Queens in their opener against William Jewell. Queens is ranked 7th in division 2 in the preseason polls. pic.twitter.com/26teDx7Ck0
Former Josey Star Darius Williams started Prairie View A&M’s game tonight against Baylor with a pair of three pointers. He was so fired up after the second shot that he got a technical foul, apparently for jawing at Baylor’s bench. pic.twitter.com/WB7YBaj2h1
- Scored 13 points in Saturday's 79-75 loss at East Georgia and 13 in last Wednesday's 79-77 loss to Gordon State
Next: vs Central Georgia Tech tonight at 7:30
Senior Jordan Dingle (South Aiken/Augusta Christian '14)
Lander (Peach Belt Conference: 6-11, 5-6)
2018-19 Stats: 8 ppg, 3 rpg, 19 mpg
Next: at USC Aiken Saturday at 3:30
More players:
Junior Ricquail Smoot (Butler '16) - Hampton
Junior Trez Hawes (Westside '16) - Arkansas-Monticello
Junior Justen Hartfield (Greenbrier '16) - Mars Hill
Freshman Timmy Sellers (Glenn Hills '18) - Charleston Southern
Melvin Mckie (South Aiken '18) - USC Aiken
Freshman Antonio Bussey (Aiken '18) - Claflin
Freshman Justin Phillips (Westside '17) - Gordon State
Sophomore Rod Culver (Fox Creek '17) - USC Salkehatchie
Sophomore Colin Young (Laney/Miller Grove '16) - USC Salkehatchie
Freshman Calvin Mathis (Aiken '18) - USC Salkehatchie
Freshman Tim Williamson (Glenn Hills '18) - Andrew College
Freshman Javen Whitehead (Josey '17) - Andrew College
Freshman Zach Foster (Midland Valley '18) - Andrew College
Freshman Keith Littles (Butler '18) - Andrew College
Senior George Jones (Glenn Hills) - Paine
The Yellow Jackets have won 6 of 7 games since super sophomore RJ Felton and junior Chris Wilder rejoined the team after the football season ended (Felton also had to recover from a broken bone in his arm). The team's most impressive win was against Lakeside in the championship game of a holiday tournament in late December.
2) Lakeside (15-2, 3-0) - Class 6A
Lakeside has blown out teams every time I've watched them in person this season. The most recent was last Friday's 70-48 spanking of Heritage:
3) Evans (17-0, 3-0) - Class 6A
The Knights are ranked #1 in class 6A by 2 of the 3 rankings sites I follow. The team has considerable size on the frontline and two high scoring guards in junior Christian Chambers and senior Cameron Cabarrus. This Friday's home game against arch rival Lakeside is highly anticipated by many fans. Evans delivered in a big way the last time it faced a rival, Greenbrier, in December:
4) Glenn Hills (15-3, 8-1) - Class 2A
The supersized wing combo of John Whitehead and Emmanuel Jones, both juniors, have led the Spartans past the halfway point of their 16 game region schedule with only one loss. The most recent victory at Butler gave Glenn Hills a 2 game lead in the league standings over Butler, Hephzibah, Laney and Josey. These are the highlights from that game:
5) Thomson (12-3, 1-1) - Class 4A
Tuesday's 54-38 loss to Cross Creek surprised me because I was very impressed by the Bulldogs last Saturday when they opened region play with a 65-60 win over Baldwin at home. Thomson is big and tough and athletic, as you can see in the highlights from that win:
6) Baldwin (10-5, 2-1) - Class 4A
The Braves bounced back quickly from Saturday's loss at Thomson with a 73-50 win at home over Burke County. Last Friday's win at Richmond was impressive because Baldwin was not at its best, but it still found a way to win by overcoming a 5 point deficit in the final minute to grab a 47-46 victory on Justin Webb's buzzer beating layup:
7) Butler (10-3, 6-3) - Class 2A
The Bulldogs probably play harder than any team on this list. That makes up for a lack of experience in the backcourt. Senior Jyheem Rollins has produced all season without exception. He scored 22 points in Tuesday's loss to Glenn Hills:
8) Hephzibah (8-6, 6-3) - Class 2A
A core group of young Rebels have transformed Hephzibah into a contender this season. With 11 games remaining, the team has already matched its highest win total for a season since the 2012-13 campaign. All three of Hephzibah's region losses were in overtime, the most recent being a heart breaking 64-60 loss to Butler last Friday at home:
9) Richmond (12-5, 1-1)
10) Silver Bluff (6-4, 1-0)
A mainstay in South Carolina's class 2A top 10 rankings, Silver Bluff sports wins over Washington County and South Aiken so far this season.
Saturday, March 23, is the date for the first AugBball All Star Basketball Games. Games will be played at Augusta Prep with teams in the following divisions:
Senior Boys
Junior Boys
High School (9-12) Girls
Underclassmen (9-10) Boys
Middle School Boys
The teams will be chosen by AugBball’s contributors and also the area’s coaches. There will be a nomination process and a final selection will be made from among the nominees.
The All Stars will practice as a team several times before game day, and they will receive T-Shirts and recognition from AugBball and other media outlets.
The games will be broadcast on WatchSUVtv.com. And we will also make every effort to draw as much interest from as many college coaches from as many levels of the game as we can.
The purpose of the AugBball All Star game is to celebrate the accomplishments of the best players in our wide area and to give them the chance to compete with and against each other for all to watch and enjoy.
This will be the second round of All Star games AugBball has partnered with Dameon Key and Lineage of Champions to organize. Here is an update from this Winter's CSRA All Star Bowl Games (football):
***Chad’s note: Today we feature three All Star teammates from Hephzibah High School as we approach the CSRA All Star Bowl Week, December 10th - 14th (Link to All Star Game site).***
E'Shawn Mayes - Junior receiver - Hephzibah
E’Shawn Mayes, Lamarrco Hester and Raul Rodriguez, Jr. - CSRA All Star Bowl Player Profiles
-by Robert Young for AugBball
E'Shawn Mayes - Hephzibah
"Stay ready, so you don’t have to get ready."
That’s the mantra of E’shawn Mayes, the 6’3", 215 pound all star junior receiver for the Hephzibah High School Rebels.
And his stats from the team’s 8-3 season prove that he was not just smacking his lips. Mayes led the team in receiving yards, was second in receptions and tied for the team lead in trips to the end zone. The deep threat’s longest TD reception of the season was for 64 yards and he averaged more than 18 yards per reception.
His favorite memories from the 2018 season were making the playoffs and getting the opportunity to play against bigger and better opponents. When he’s not terrorizing defensive backs, the Georgia Bulldogs fan runs track and plays basketball, his favorite sport, for the Rebels.
Lamarrco Hester - Hephzibah
Lamarrco Hester - Junior linebacker - Hephzibah
Junior middle linebacker Lamarrco Hester knows how to fill out a stat sheet. The 6’1", 235-pounder posted 33 solo tackles and 35 assists for the Rebels (8-3). He also posted an impressive 21 tackles for loss. When he wasn’t stuffing ball carriers, Hester found time to record 3.5 quarterbacksacks and force 4 hurries. He also recovered 4 fumbles. His outstanding play on the defensive side of the ball was just one of the reasons the Rebels posted a school record for wins in a season.
Since football season ended, he’s been busy with basketball practice. He’s looking forward to the all star game and hopes to use the opportunity to attract more attention from college scouts, and to meet new people. His favorite college team is LSU.
Lamarrco's hard hitting style can be seen in the clip above, as can that of sophomore teammate Raul Rodriguez, Jr., who kept it short and sweet in answering the last question on our Media Day questionnaire:
Question: What is your favorite motivational quote?:
***We've been posting ALL of the latest high school hoops news to @AugBball on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pretty much live as updates roll in. Here at AugBball.blogspot.com Rob Drew and I are working on a big high school hoops roundup, a college roundup, and several CSRA All Star Bowl (football) player profiles. So check us out on social media and see us in the gym!***
This weekend our best live reporters, Rob Drew and CJ Guthrie, are tracking, among other things, the progress of several of the area's top girls basketball teams as state champion hopefuls North Augusta, Laney, Josey and other promising squads take center stage.
Tyliah Burns - North Augusta
AugBball's Friday Night Scoreboard
Ladies First
North Augusta (3-0) @ Cross Creek (2-1)
Laney (3-1, 1-0) @ Butler (2-1, 1-0)
Jaiden Hamilton - Laney
Boys Scoreboard
#6 North Augusta (2-1) @ Cross Creek (2-2)
Omarion Byrd - North Augusta
#9 Laney (2-1, 1-0) @ #3 Butler (2-1, 0-1)
Ronnie Striggles - Butler
Augusta Christian (4-0) vs Fox Creek (3-1)
Nate Dunlop - Augusta Christian
#7 Silver Bluff (1-1) at South Aiken (1-2)
John Green - Silver Bluff
#8 Thomson (4-0) @ Aiken (0-1)
Maison Hall - Aiken
#1 Glenn Hills (4-0, 1-0) @ Harlem (1-3, 0-0)
Travis McRae (2015) - Glenn Hills
Saluda (2-0) @ Strom Thurmond (2-2)
Hephzibah (2-1, 1-0) @ Jefferson County (1-3, 0-1)
Westside (0-4, 0-1) @ Screven County (0-3, 0-1)
Glascock (0-3) @ Lincoln County (1-0)
Covenant Christian (1-0, 1-0) @ South Aiken Baptist (2-2, 2-0)
Wardlaw (2-1) @ Jefferson Davis Academy (1-0)
Faith Christian (0-0) @ Curtis Baptist (1-2)
***We will add complete coverage of the area's girls teams soon.***
