Days happy with state of Scott's Branch boys basketball after first season
Trayiona Maxfield selected to SCBCA Class A girls All-State team
Summerton – Damian Days had no complaints over the way his first season as the boys basketball head coach at Scott’s Branch High School turned out.
“We had a great season overall,” Days said. “We went 13-12 in my first season, and I feel that is a great accomplishment. We had to implement the defensive strategies and offensive strategies, which took a while with really nine new varsity players. They started to get it around the last two games of the (District 9 Officials) Christmas tournament.
Scott’s Branch went on an 8-game winning streak and won 10 of its final 13 games. One of those victories came against Bethune-Bowman, which was ranked No. 1 in Class A at the time. The Mohawks would go on to play for the state championship.
The Eagles played Latta in the fisrt round of the state playoffs. They dropped a 58-49 decision to the Vikings, who would go on to the quarterfinals of the playoffs.
Sophomore FraJon Bennett was selected to the All-Region team for Region 5-Class A, in which the Eagles finished third with a 7-3 record. Bennett averaged 11.3 points per game and 7.6 rebounds and 1.0 blocked shots.
Junior Nyren Bowman was an honorable mention pick. He led the Eagles with an 11.4 scoring average to go with 5.5 rebounds.
Other key contributors for the Eagles were sophomore Kazon Taylor and junior Quinton Jackson. Taylor averaged 6.4 points, while Jackson averaged 8.4 points and 2.8 rebounds. Junior Chritian Makel average 9.7 points and 2.2 steals.
“For my first year, the players responded well to the structure and discipline that was implemented,” Days said. “I feel if we push them harder and make some more adjustments, we can be a great team in the upcoming season.”
TRAYIONA MAXFIELD ALL-STATE
Eighth-grader Trayiona Maxfield was named to the South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association Class A girls All-State team. She averaged 15.8 points and 6.5 rebounds.
Maxfield was also selected to the All-Region team along with senior Ziaire Bryant and senior Sinaya House. Bryant averaged 4.0 points and 2.5 rebounds, and House averaged 5.7 points and 2.8 steals.
Scott’s Branch went 8-16 on the season. The Eagles almost pulled off an upset in the first round of the state playoffs. They lost to Green Sea Floyds 47-46 in overtime.
Hed coach Lucinda Stukes thinks better things are to come for Scott’s Branch.
“We are graduating five seniors, but we believe our future is bright with a lot of young talent,” Stukes said.
