By Neill Kirkpatrick
Special to the HSSR
Bamberg – The Boys and girls basketball programs at Bamberg-Ehrhardt each had outstanding seasons as they both advanced into the second round of the playoffs before their season ended on the road.
The girls finished the year at 20-6/9-2 for a second-place finish in region 7A. The second-place finish earned them a home playoff game in round where the dispatched Green Sea Floyds 56-15. Head coach Candace Jones will return her entire roster next season led by recently named to the SCBCA Class A All State junior guard Raven Brown. She averaged a team high 12.9 points per game and 5.7 steals a night. She will head into next year with a chance to top the 1000 career point barrier as she finished the year with over 600 points.
Also returning will the Lady Red Raiders second leading scorer Mh’Chiya Johnson. She scored 11.9 points a night and was also a pickpocket averaging 5.5 steals per night.
“A positive team culture has been created which has fostered strong relationships amongst the team and coaching staff that has led to early success but will ultimately lead to the team’s overall success with accomplishing goals and people knowing about Bamberg Girls basketball,” said coach Jones.
The Red Raider boys team finished the year at 14-7/7-5, good enough for fourth place in region 7 A. They went on the road in the first round and upset Lake View 61-51. They headed to Cross for round two where their second upset bid fell short 57-52.
Head Coach Willie Carter will be losing his top three scorers in seniors Isiah Johnson, Anthony Williams, and Eric Parker. Wiliams, a top five senior class A player coming into the year, battled an injury from an All-Star football game early on but came on at the end of the year to average thirteen points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals per game.
Parker led the team in scoring at 13,9 points per game and his other numbers mirrored Williams and like Williams he missed some time due to a mid-season injury. He was the Red Raiders inside presence.
Johnson dropped six dimes a game to lead the Red Raiders as well as averaging 10.3 points per game. He also had the stickiest fingers on the team, averaging three thefts a game.
Nigel Myers was also a big contributor in the paint for the Red Raiders. He scored 6.6 points per game to go with 6.7 boards a game and two assists and two steals.
Eric Lee played solid minutes off the bench.
“Our seniors did a great job of leading the team this year. Even when they were not on the court, they were helping the younger players,” said Coach Carter. “They also put us in a position where we will reload and not rebuild each year. Bamberg is known for football and baseball and this group of players brought that winning culture to the hardwood.”
The Red Raider have a solid group to build from in junior Chanston Crosby and sophomore Darius Walker. Crosby, an All-State Quarterback was the team’s top three-point shooter hitting 24-43 for 56% from downtown Bamberg and scoring nine points a night.
Walker averaged over six points and three boards.
“We had a good season despite some adversity, so I am excited to see for next year and the future of Bamberg-Ehrhardt basketball,” Carter said.
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