Mullins – The season didn’t turn out quite the way he had hoped, but Mullins High School boys basketball head coach Eric Troy had no real complaints either.
“As a whole, I am pleased with this season,” said Troy, whose team finished 20-8 overall and shared the Region 8-AA title with Marion County rival Marion. “Of course, we strive to be the best team in AA and win a championship, but being able to compete at a high level after graduating so many key players is something that we are proud of.”
The Auctioneers lost to Hampton County 75-70 in the second round of the state playoffs. MHS was led by senior JJ Davis. He was the Region Player of the Year and was selected to the AA All-State team by the South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association.
Davis averaged 20.7 points per game to go with 2.6 steals. He scored 30 points in the loss to Hampton County, hitting on 7 of 9 3-point attempts. He also had five steals.
“JJ had a phenomenal season,” Troy said. “Starting at the end of last season, JJ mentally and physically locked in and made it his purpose to lead our team. He knew that in order to do that, he had to work extremely hard in the offseason, in the weight room and in the gym.
“Anything that JJ was called to do, he did it. He usually played the entire game, sometimes being double-teamed, and usually found a way to help us secure the win.”
Also making All-Region were sophomore Deyon Ford and freshman Dakari Worley. Ford
averaged 14.2 points, 3.7 assists, 3.2 steals and 3.4 rebounds. Worley averaged 8.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.8 steals.
Sophomore Braden Hughes averaged 6.2 points and a team high 7.6 rebounds. Sophomore Amir Lee averaged 3.6 points and 4.7 rebounds.
Though losing Davis, Troy believes plenty of success lays ahead for Mullins.
“The future of the program is very bright,” Troy said. “We were extremely young this year, but they played much older than their age and gained valuable experience in the trenches. If we can keep these guys together, along with the very talented young men coming up from JV (junior varsity), I believe that Mullins basketball will be able to make a lot of noise in the near future.”
MULLINS GIRLS REACH POSTSEASON
Having struggled since the COVID-19 pandemic a few years ago, the Mullins girls basketball program finally got some footing this year.
The Auctioneers went 6-13 after going winless the two previous seasons. They went 2-6 in
Region 8 and made the state playoffs. They lost to Bishop England 64-32 in the first round.
“I thought we showed much growth this season,” said veteran head coach Myron Gerald, who guided MHS to a state title in 2017. “We were able to win some big games, get some important wins and get into the postseason after not making it there since post COVID.”
Mullins started three eighth-graders and two sophomores. Two of the eighth-graders, guards Niriya Woodberry and Breanna Ford, were named to the All-Region team.
Woodberry led in scoring with a 10.3 average. Ford averaged 7.5.
Gerald credited the youngsters with the program’s improvement.
“It always helps when you as a team, you take care of the basketball and make better decisions on offense,” he said. “I think some of the strengths or things that we have starting to turn back in our favor, we are becoming more court savvy, and we’re getting some of our
team speed back as well.”
Aliyah Tisdale was the other eighth-grader starter. She averaged 4.6 points.
The sophomore starters were Moriah McLeod, who averaged 7.6 points, and Autumn Worley, who averaged 5.8 points.
“I think these early growing pains may prove to be fantastic for our growth a little further down the road if we continue to work and improve,” Gerald said.”
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