Carvers Bay Basketball Teams End Seasons In The Playoffs
The boys team finished with a sparkling 24-5 record after getting off to a slow start.
By Neill Kirkpatrick
Special to the HSSR
Hemingway – The 2025/26 basketball season for both the boys and girls teams at Carvers Bay was a successful one for both teams as their seasons ended in the class A playoffs which always leaves a bad taste because unless you win a state championship your season ends with a loss.
The girls team finished the season 13-13 overall and they went 1-1 in the class A lower state playoffs beating St. John’s 50-35 and falling to Bethune Bowman 47-26. They went 9-3 in region 6A play to finish second. The biggest win of the year coming in their final region contest at rival Latta where they came from 11 down to start the fourth quarter to win 51-49 securing second place in region play.
Head coach Michael Hogan will say good bye to five seniors in captains Kandace Hutchinson and Mackenzie Collins along with Briana Nesmith, Lillian Bryant, and Erykah Brown. Hutchinson led the team in scoring at 12.3 points per game while Collins knocked down 6.8 points per game and Nesmith scoring 6.3 points per game.
The boys team finished with a sparkling 24-5 record after getting off to a slow start. They were 7-4 thru the month of December before ripping of 17 straight wins once the new year hit. They rode that winning streak into the lower state finals where they dropped a tough 69-65 game to Bethune Bowman.
Head coach Jeff Mezzatesta said before the season that, “If we can come together and grow we have a chance to have a very special season. We just have to weather the early season with a few football injuries to nurse and bringing the boys back together as a family.”
He also said his team wouldn’t fully gel until after the Holidays and he was correct. His seniors were a big part of the team’s success.
Leading the Bears was two-time All-State guard senior KK Heyward. He entered the season with 1095 career points. He was the teams second leading scorer at 15.6 points per game scoring a total of 391 points to push his career mark to 1486. He also finished his career with 373 rebounds, 181 assists and 263 steals. He led the team in steals this season with 3.3 a game.
Kendall Moore was the other senior in the starting lineup.
Jaden Bell was the team’s defensive stopper and is the reigning region 6A Defensive Player of the year the past two seasons. He finished his career with 593 points, 267 rebounds, 217 assists, and 251 steals.
Three seniors Tyrone Parson, Ian Greene, and Herbie Washington played solid off the bench for the Bears.
