There was a point in Savannah High’s game against New Hampstead when Blue Jackets star Maki Joyner made a 3-pointer from the left baseline corner and blew on his fingers as if to cool them off.
It didn’t work – not that he wanted it to. Joyner remained hot in scoring 13 of his team-high 20 points in the third quarter as host Savannah High won 79-57 on Saturday night in the SCCPSS Holiday Classic Showcase.
“I got to cool it off, got to put the water on it,” Joyner said with a laugh after the game.
The small gesture in reaction to swishing a long shot was about as animated as the smooth-playing senior got. Savannah High led 36-25 when Joyner drove to the basket and used some body English to coax the ball in as he was fouled. He converted the three-point play with 6:18 left in the quarter.
Then the 6-foot-5 Joyner hit that deep 3, which New Hampstead guard Rashawn Truell (game-high 24 points) matched with a three-point play at 5:32 left.
Joyner made a no-look pass to assist teammate Stephon Fox’s basket, followed by another long 3-pointer. Joyner scored the game’s next bucket by driving from the left side and putting up a baby hook shot as he crossed through the lane.
The 13-3 run put the Blue Jackets up by 21, 49-28, in the first four minutes of the third quarter.
“Just come back and play stronger, lead my team, stay consistent on defense,” said Joyner, who sat for a stretch of the second quarter with foul trouble. “We came out with the ‘W.’ That’s all I wanted to do.”
New Hampstead first-year coach Christopher Owens called Joyner a “difference maker.”
“He’s first-team all-state for a reason,” Owens said. “He came out, did what he did. He took over the game. We were unable to match that.”
Savannah High (6-2) is ranked No. 1 in the state in Class A Division II by Sandysspiel.com. The Blue Jackets rebounded from an 81-79 loss in double overtime on Friday night to Keenan of Columbia, S.C., in the holiday classic.
It wasn’t just the Maki Joyner Show, though spectators had to catch it while they could, as he also sat during the fourth quarter as SHS led by as many as 25 points.
The Blue Jackets outscored the Phoenix 17-3 in the second quarter without any points from Joyner. Laquadre Haynes came off the bench, sank three 3-pointers, and finished the game with 16 points.
Eleven players scored for SHS. Joyner said he and his teammates trust each other and know that to be at their best, it’s doing “the little things, boxing out and rebounding, just being in position at the right moment.”
The Phoenix (7-4) led 18-17 after the first quarter but had trouble scoring in the second. Truell, who completed his senior football season as one of the most productive quarterbacks in the state, produced 18 of his 24 points in the second half in carrying the load for the basketball team. He scored on jumpers and power moves to the basket. Fellow standout Antoine Youmans contributed 12 points.
Owens said about half of the team played football this fall, with the entire roster adjusting to the new coach.
“We’re still learning the new system,” Owens said. “With me coming in over the summer, a lot of guys didn’t play over the summer. But we don’t make excuses. We’re going to get better and show some improvements in our next outing.”
In its previous outing on Friday, New Hampstead defeated host Johnson 81-71 in the holiday classic. Last season, Johnson played in the GHSA Class 3A state championship game, Savannah High reached the Class A Division I semifinals, and New Hampstead advanced to the Class 4A quarterfinals.
That was last season, but Saturday was a good test for how these teams with state playoff aspirations are progressing.
“Savannah High came out and did what Savannah High does,” Owens said. “We were unable to play how we normally play. We played very well last night (to defeat Johnson). The momentum did not carry over. We’ve got to work on some things offensively and defensively. But it was a true measuring stick type of game.”
Joyner said the Blue Jackets have the mindset to treat each regular-season contest as a title game “so everything will be better.”
“Just come out and play hard because we’re going to get everybody’s best game,” he said.
|
SAVANNAH HIGH 79, NEW HAMPSTEAD 57 |
|||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| NEW HAMPSTEAD | 18 | 3 | 20 | 16 | 57 |
| SAVANNAH HIGH | 17 | 17 | 22 | 23 | 79 |
| NEW HAMPSTEAD (57) | |||||
|
Antoine Youmans 12, Hines 6, Woodberry 7, Mobley 2, Brown 1, Johnson 1, Harris 4, Rashawn Truell 24. |
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| SAVANNAH HIGH (79) | |||||
|
Anderson 9, Maki Joyner 20, Brown 8, Ruth 3, Fox 6, Davis 5, Smart 4, Hall 5, Wright 2, Mitchell 1, Laquadre Haynes 16. |
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| Records—New Hampstead 7-4, Savannah High 6-2. |
PHOTO CREDIT: Prep Sports Report
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