North Myrtle Beach Times Serving our Community and the Grand Strand for over 50 years
By JOHN SMITHSON
The North Myrtle Beach Chiefs went to Myrtle Beach High School gym last Tuesday trying to end the regular 6AAAA season with a win, and with the goal of beating the Seahawks, who had beaten the Chiefs 57-47 on senior night on Jan. 20.
Your rivals are not supposed to beat you on your home court. The Chiefs wanted to return that favor on Tuesday. At first it looked like the Chiefs were forgetting their goal. The first period offense simply could not hit a basket. The first five trips downcourt the Chiefs shots bounced out, went over or simply eluded the net of the basket, and after Myrtle Beach scored on a layup and a three point shot to lead 5-0 with 4:35 left on the clock, it still took until 2:51 remained in the period before the Chiefs scored. Connor Henley was fouled on a drive to the basket and made both free throws to make the score 5-2.
The Seahawks answered with a basket eleven seconds later, and the Chiefs managed two more free throws by CJ Oxedine with two minutes left, but couldn’t solve their offensive woes before the final buzzer ended the first period with the Seahawks enjoying a 7-4 lead.
The second period seemed to be more of the same for the Chiefs offense. Turnovers ended their first two trips downcourt, while the Seahawks managed a basket. A Jamie Brooks dunk with 6:53 left got the Chiefs crowd going, but another two minutes of failed offense by both teams was finally ended when Cash Brown rebounded a Wells Hill shot for a 9-8 score. After the Chiefs blocked the next Seahawks shot, Wells Hill transitioned that to a layup and a 10-8 Chiefs lead with 4:12 left in the half.
Brooks scored a minute later, while the Seahawks were missing all their field goal attempts. Hill made two free throws after being fouled driving the lane with 1:26 left. After Myrtle Beach called a timeout, Brooks followed a missed Seahawks shot with a driving basket and then capped off his efforts with a rebound basket at the buzzer. The Chiefs led the game 16-9 and never trailed again.
Myrtle Beach opened the third period action with a three, but the Chiefs scored the next seven points to push their advantage to 23-12. Brooks started the run with a free throw, then a layup. Brown hit a jump shot and McCain Moses a layup. After a Seahawks basket, the Chiefs again took control. Brooks laid it in, Moses went the length of the court to score after a steal, and Myrtle Beach called timeout with 2:55 on the clock, the Chiefs leading 27-14.
After the timeout, Brooks scored again, with an assist by Hill, and Zach McHugo added a late basket for a 31-16 lead after three periods.
The Chiefs came out in the last period and sealed their victory in the first three minutes. Hill hit a three-pointer thirty seconds in. Brown hit a jump shot from the corner, Brooks a jumper from the foul line and Brown another jumper from the side as the Chiefs upped their lead to 40-16 with 5:58 on the clock.
Myrtle Beach then scored seven unanswered points to narrow the Chiefs lead to 40-23. The Seahawks stayed even with the Chiefs over the last four minutes but could not overcome Brooks, who scored seven points in the last four minutes of the game to seal the 49-36 victory.
The Chiefs win was sparked by Jamie Brooks, who scored 24 points, to account for almost half the Chiefs scoring in the game. Wells Hill added 10 points and Cash Brown 8 points.
Coach Ryan Walker was pleased with his team’s effort. “It’s a rivalry game. We know those guys and it’s a great high school atmosphere here. We finally got through the first quarter and made some shots in the third quarter. We kind of leaned on our defense as we have all year. It helped us to turn the corner a little bit. So I was proud of them.”
I asked Walker about the defensive performance. “On defense, when they get locked in, and are disciplined and are not running around, being a young team, they re pretty good defensively. They have at times shown signs of their immaturity, when they don’t do what we are supposed to, and kind of go off keel a little bit. But for the most part, it was really good tonight,”Walker concluded.
Walker stated they were hoping for a spot in the playoffs due to their play against some of the better teams in the region. Those hopes were realized once the SCHSL made its playoff brackets. The Chiefs play tonight, Jan. 16, at Irmo High School. They finished first in region 5AAAA.
