Lamar boys basketball program has first winning season in at least 20 years
Silver Foxes finish 17-10, second in Region 2-Class A and pick up first-round playoff win
Lamar – The Lamar High School boys basketball team had a good year in the just completed season, going 17-10 overall and finishing second in Region 2-Class A with a 13-3 record. Upon taking a glance at the school’s basketball history though, it can be said this was beyond just a good season.
According to the annals of MaxPreps that run back to the 2005-06 season, the Silver Foxes had not had a winning season in at least the 19 years prior to this one.
Lamar head coach Brian Scott is happy with the way the year turned out and the direction the program is moving.
“I thought we had a pretty good year considering where we’ve been and how we finished up compared to years past,” said Scott, the former University of South Carolina standout wide receiver and McDonald’s All-America basketball player at Darlington High. “We were able to compete with the bigger schools on our schedule and came away with a few victories as well.
“We turned around our record from 10-17 with a first-round (playoff) loss to 17-10 with a first-round victory. Finishing second in the region was a success as well.”
Lamar finished second in the region to undefeated C.A. Johnson, which beat Bethune-Bowman for the state title. The Silver Foxes hammered Ware Shoals 74-28 in the first round of the playoffs. The Foxes came up short in the second round, falling to Hunter-Kinard-Tyler 63-57.
Lamont Williams, a 6-foot-6-inch sophomore center, led the way for Lamar. William was a first team All-Region performer, averaging a double-double of 14.5 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. He also led in assists at 3.2, steals at 2.6 and blocked shots at 1.5.
Sophomore Davaris Lambert was a third team pick. He averaged 13.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.1 steals.
Senior Kamil McCoy was the third leading scorer at 9.2 along with 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals. Senior Zori Pierce averaged 5.6 points, 2.4 assists and 2.3 steals, and senior Nygel Eaddy averaged 5.0 points.
Freshman Ziggy Durant averaged 7.1 points and 5.0 rebounds.
Scott hopes better things still await the Silver Foxes.
“The program is trending in the right direction, but we’re still not where we want to be,” he said. “We will continue to work and get better. The players anow believe and are starting to experience what it takes to have success. Now we just have to sustain it.”
