Mullins boys basketball team reaches AA Lower State championship game

           Mullins – In the eyes of Mullins High School boys head coach Eric Troy, the Auctioneers had an outstanding season with one exception: MHS didn’t make it to the AA state championship game.

           Mullins went 22-8 on the season, won the Region 7 championship with an 11-1 record, had two players selected to the South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association AA All-State team and reached the Lower State championship game.

           “The season as a whole was a success,” said Troy, who was chosen as the Region Coach of the Year. “Region 7-AA was arguably one of the toughtest regions in AA this year and to have two players to receive All-State honors this year was huge.”

           The All-State selections were junior Dakarai Worley and senior Deyon Ford. Worley was selected as the Region Player of the Year, while Ford was chosen as the second best player.

           Worley averaged a double-double of 18.8 ponts and 15.3 rebounds per game. He also averaged 3.3 assists and 3.1 steals. Ford led the team in scoring at 19.5 and assists at 4.3 to go with 5.0 rebounds and 3.0 steals.

           “They both had phenomenal years, each scoring over 500 points this season,” Troy said. “Dakari, just a junior, is rapidly approaching 1,000 rebounds as well. Their performance on both ends of the court provided the catalyst needed for team success.”

Junior KJ Ford was also named to the All-Region team. He averaged 8.0 points, 2.2 assists and 2.4 steals.

Seniors Andre Littlejohn, Braden Hughes and Amir Lee were honorable mention picks. Littlejohn averaged 4.6 points and 3.9 rebounds, Hughes averaged 3.9 points and 3.2 rebounds, and Lee averaged 7.5 ponits, 6.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocked shots.

“Our defense was and is the cornerstone of our program and this year was no different,” Troy said. “We reached our goal of winning region and advancing to the Lower State finals. We fell short of the ultimate goal, but the experience gained will provide the motivation for next year.”

MULLINS GIRLS FINISH 3-17

           The Mullins girls basketball team went 3-17 overall and 1-11 in region play in its first season under head coach Alex White. While he would have liked several more Ws, White believes much wsa accomplished.

           “When you’re changing the standard of a program, the record doesn’t always tell the whole story.” White said. “What matters is that our players bought into the way we want Mullins girls basketball to look -- how we practice, how we compete and how we represent our school. That foundation is in place now.”

The Auctioneers were led by a pair of sophomores in Breanna Ford and Na’Riyah Woodberry. Ford, who was selected to the All-Region team, averaged 14.8 points a game.

           “Ford’s playmaking ability and competitiveness on both ends of the floor makes her a key piece of the program’s future,” White said.

           Woodberry averaged 12.8 points.

           The seniors on the roster were Naomi Carter, Quentia Dickerson, Moriah McLeod and Autumn Worley. With Dickerson being the only one to see significant action, White is hoping that experience will pay dividends next year.

           White is also hoping the fact that Mullins will be in Class A next season following reclassification will help matters as well.