NMB Basketball Takes Two From Darlington

After the girls lost 57-47 and the boys were beaten 62-48 last Friday at Wilson, the Lady Chiefs and Chiefs teams came roaring back to take two games from Darlington High School at the Chiefs gym on Tuesday evening.

In the girls 44-17 win the Lady Chiefs got off to a slow start as Darlington scored the first six points in the game with neither team hitting their shots. North Myrtle Beach finally scored when Jermaisha Griffin hit a jumper at the halfway point of the period.

The Lady Chiefs then scored all the points for the remainder of the period to lead 12-6, with the last two points on a jumper by Adaiah Vereen at the buzzer.

The second period started much like the first with missed shots by both teams until Daveona Hatchell scored a basket with 5:22 left and a 14-6 lead. Darlington closed to 16-10 late in the period but Hatchell scored a breakaway basket and Jordan Berger added a basket with 20 seconds left to give the Lady Chiefs a 20-10 halftime lead.

The third period started well as Hatchell hit a three-pointer and a jump shot in the first two NMB possessions to extend the lead to 25-10. Berger got the next two baskets, and baskets by Griffin, White and Bryant helped the Lady Chiefs to a 35-12 third quarter lead.

The fourth period was quickly highlighted by Griffin, who hit a jump shot, then stole the ball and scored again for four points and a 39-14 lead. The Lady Chiefs defense took over and the final score was 44-17.
Coach Brooke Smith was pleased with “another great team win. We just beat the number eight team in the state and we aren’t ranked. They are a scrappy team and were all over us, but we did what we are supposed to do, made shots and are now 3-1 in our region,” said Smith.

The North Myrtle Beach boys got off to a good start in the first period with baskets by Travis Collins and a drive by Cameron Gore-Gause to lead 7-4. The Chiefs built their lead to 12-4 with baskets by Gore-Gause and Daveon Gore, before Darlington came back to make it 12-9 after one period.

The Chiefs started the second period on a drive by Casen McClendon, and two quick driving baskets by Travis Collins to lead 18-9 at the 5:02 mark, then another Collins jumper to make it 20-9. Five points from Dawson Hardee helped the Chiefs to a 25-18 lead.

The third period saw both teams trading baskets early before Darlington went ahead 32-30. The Chiefs came fighting back to tie and then took a 35-32 lead on a three-pointer from Radon Vincent. Two big baskets by Gore-Gause helped NMB lead 40-32 after three periods.

The fourth period was like two fighters trading punches. Every time Darlington closed the NMB lead the Chiefs found a way to get points back. The game got fast-paced with fouls and players diving for balls and steals by Darlington led to late baskets that closed the margin to 53-52. Javi Marlowe hit a basket and two key free throws to give the Chiefs a 57-52 lead, but Darlington made it 57-54.The Chiefs went back up 58-54.

Two made foul shots by Darlington with 13.4 seconds closed it to 58-56 and they fouled the Chiefs with ten seconds left. Marlowe made one of two shots and with a 59-56 NMB lead, Darlington went down court but missed a final three-pointer, and the Chiefs won 59-56.

A happy coach Darci Vincent found a lot to like. “It was the first time we really came together as a team. Everybody played together, moved the ball around, kept it together. There were signs we are learning to be the team that we can be. It wasn’t individual play. It was a team win and a big step forward for us as we continue our season,” Vincent said.