How St. Andrew's has made a statement in run toward third straight state championship
After losing six players to graduation from a team that won back-to-back GIAA state titles, St. Andrew's boys basketball coach Mel Abrams wondered how this year's team would follow up in its quest for a three-peat.
After what seemed like a rocky start to the season, the Lions (13-7, 3-0 in region play) have made a statement by reeling off six wins in a row. Abrams always tests his team with a rugged non-region schedule that includes GHSA teams with winning pedigrees.
The win streak includes an impressive road win at Johnson last week and an overtime victory over a previously undefeated Hebron Christian squad that was ranked No. 3 in the state among Class 3A GHSA teams by Sandysspiel.com.
"We've been trying to find out who we are all season after losing those six seniors," Abrams said. "It's tough to replace a guy like Zyere Edwards (the GIAA Player of the Year now playing at Augusta State), especially when you have a lot of guys who didn't get quality minutes last season. We've had a lot of road games, but in the last few games we're starting to play the style I envisioned for us. This win (over Hebron) ranks up there with the best we've had, especially for this team — and winning on the road at Johnson really said a lot."
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The Lions have two veterans back leading the way in junior guard Zayden Edwards, the younger brother of Zyere, and Will Thompson, the sharp-shooting senior guard. RaKari Harrison has been a pivotal player down low, while Jaylen Sheppard and Amari Cook have also been impact players.
In the win over Hebron, Edwards had an epic game with 31 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and three steals, while Thompson poured in 24 points, as he knocked down 6 of 13 from beyond the arc. Sheppard had a big impact with six rebounds and six assists and two critical free throws late that put the Lions up 72-69, which was the final score.
"Zayden is a joy to coach — he's dynamic like his brother and is so cerebral out there, it's like having another coach on the floor," said Abrams, in his ninth season leading the program. "He's just a great kid and a leader who has helped our new guys so much. And Will has always been such a great shooter. He's got that quick release and when he's outside he creates so much gravity on the court. Defenders need to get out on him, and it creates driving lanes for his teammates. He's the quiet leader, while Zayden is more vocal."
Zayden is also a dual threat quarterback on the Lion football team. On Saturday, he showed off a versatile game against Hebron with his court vision, outside shooting ability, defense and willingness to drive to the basket, and finish, through heavy contact.
"Coach Abrams has done a great job this year — we lost our top scorer in Zyere, and five other seniors — so he's put an emphasis on making it a total team effort," Edwards said. "We've been playing unselfish and sitting down and guarding our guys on defense. This win over Hebron is huge for us. Everyone knew they were 16-0 and ranked third in the state. So for a little school like us to beat them was really big."
In the win over Hebron, St. Andrew's came out on fire and led 29-7 after the first quarter. But Zayden Edwards' AAU teammate Blake Wilson led Hebron back into the game with his tough inside presence — scoring 38 points, including a game-tying 3-pointer at the end of regulation, with 11 rebounds.
The ability to finish after falling behind in overtime said a lot about the Lions.
"This means everything to us," Thompson said. "We started the season a little rough, buy we've worked hard and are starting to hit our stride at the perfect time. We handled adversity well tonight. We were up early and gave away a big lead, but we showed our perseverance and fought back to win it."
Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: St. Andrew's basketball team on impressive run against GHSA competition
