By Donald Heath
Special for the Effingham Herald
GUYTON – The basketball learning curve is growing for the South Effingham boys.
The Mustangs surrendered three runs of eight straight points to visiting Swainsboro on Friday night, but, undaunted, answered with the biggest surge of the game to win 78-75.
“I’m proud of this team because they’re learning how to play in the fourth quarter,” SEHS coach Rico Campbell said.
South (4-8) trailed by 12 points in the first half and by nine in the final minute of the third quarter before going on an 18-1 run during a five minute span of the fourth quarter.
Freshman Kaleb Griffin sparked the rally with nine of his team-high 18 points during the burst, leading the Mustangs from a 60-55 deficit to a 73-61 lead with 2:14 left.
Swainsboro (2-4) roared back with its pressing defense and closed within three. The Tigers had the ball with a chance to tie after SEHS missed two free throws, but couldn’t get a good shot off as the buzzer sounded.
South played without starters Marcus Campbell and Landyn White, but capitalized on balanced scoring with five players in double figures.
Will Harlin and Quinton Williams added 13 points, Chase Seyler had 12 and Corbin McGuire 11.
“We had to pull together,” Coach Campbell said. “This is a game that went back and forth. I guess this is how we’re going to play this year.”
SEHS lost to Bryan County 80-69 on Saturday night, but the weekend revealed a lot of positives.
Seyler, a 6-foot-6 forward, missed four games because of an injury and did not score after returning to the lineup against Southeast Bulloch two games ago.
But Seyler, who came off the bench, dominated in the paint and scored six points on putbacks after the Tigers built a 35-23 lead in the second quarter.
He added two more baskets during the fourth-quarter run.
His 12-point night was just one point short of his career high set last season twice – against Bryan County and Brunswick.
Swainsboro’s Ka’Voyea Williams, a 6-1, 184-pound point guard, got his team off to a fast start with 25 of his game-high 36 points in the first half.
Williams’ two free throws with 7:10 left gave the Tigers a 60-55 lead, but the Mustangs didn’t seem to miss a shot for the next five minutes while building a 73-61 advantage.
South finished with 27 points in the fourth quarter. The Mustangs’ 78 points were the team’s highest scoring game in nearly three years. They scored 82 in an 84-82 loss to Islands on Jan. 8, 2022.
And the defense clamped down on Swainsboro. After scoring 43 points in the first half, the Tigers failed to hit a field goal for the first 6 ½ minutes of the fourth quarter.
South gave back some of its advantage with 1-for-6 shooting from the free-throw line and Swainsboro had a chance at the end, but in the final scramble the Tigers failed to put up a 3-point shot to tie.
“I’m glad they didn’t execute,” Campbell said.
The Mustangs won a game in similar fashion against Effingham County.
Against Bryan County, Harlin led the way with 18 points. Hayden Lloyd and Seyler had 10.
Campbell and his players will have two weeks off before returning to action against Southeast Bulloch on Jan. 4. South opens subregion play Jan. 7 at Statesboro.
