Conway boys get a little payback with win over rival Myrtle Beach

Keeping a team humble may be one of the toughest tasks for any coach.

Fortunately for Conway boys basketball coach Michael Hopkins, possessing a standout player who rarely gets too hot or too cold, the jobs becomes a tad easier.

Highly touted for his God-given abilities on the basketball court, Conway forward Jimmy Nichols provided a glimpse into his cache of weapons Tuesday night, his 23 points leading the Tigers to a 63-53 win over Myrtle Beach.

“Coach Hopkins asked me to crash the glass and try to get shots up, so I tried,” he said. “… We’ve been playing together since sixth grade, so we have always been told to play together. We just came together and we’re still finding out how much we can do.”

Both teams came out firing in the first half, trading the lead on several occasions. It would prove to be a different story in the final 16 minutes, however, largely dictated by Conway’s aggressiveness and referees’ whistles.

The squads combined for 30 fouls in the second half, with both finding themselves in the bonus during the latter stages of the third period. During this span, the teams shot 46 free throws, much to the chagrin of Myrtle Beach boys hoops coach Craig Martin, who earned a technical foul directing his angst at officials.

Cooler heads prevailed afterward, though, the Seahawks coach emphasizing there was more his team could have done to get calls of their own.

“Conway came out and was the aggressor,” Martin said. “They played well, and we have to adapt and deal with what’s going on out there. But a lot of it is us, you have to be in the correct position, you have to be stronger with the ball and kind of make things happen. Tonight we didn’t do that.”

Another adjustment by the Tigers was switching from man-to-man to a full-court press in the second half. Too comfortable playing in the half-court, Hopkins said making them think on the fly allowed his team’s defense to flourish.

“The first time we played, our football players returned 24 hours after playing in a playoff game,” the Conway coach said. “They had tired legs, but also learned late in that first game that if we could force them into hurried decisions, speed them up some it may make a difference. They’re mighty good in that half-court set, and doing that really helped us.”

Eight players scored for Conway, with Tonka Hemingway the other Tiger in double figures with 13. Emory Knox had 17 for Myrtle Beach.

GIRLS HOOPS

If there is a time to tinker, it is now.

With a grueling stretch coming up after the holidays, Myrtle Beach girls coach Jennifer Dennison got a tad creative on Tuesday night, toying with lineups in an effort to see if the team would get the desired result.

While the Seahawks girls’ machine did not operate at its trademark efficiency, the team still left with exactly what they wanted — a win.

Kiana Adderton’s double-double allowed Myrtle Beach to overcome one of its lesser performances on Tuesday, downing Conway by a score of 49-36.

With fellow Wright State signee Nia Sumpter working her way back into the lineup after an ankle injury, Adderton showed why she cannot be lost in the shuffle, scoring 18 points while bringing in 10 rebounds.

“We just need Kiana to be Kiana,” Dennison said. “She’s a real big piece of everything we do, and she showed a little of everything tonight.”

Following a closely contested first half, Myrtle Beach created a little separation to start the final 16 minutes, opening with a 7-0 run to push its lead to double digits. Conway would scratch and claw, but was unable to get the deficit under 10 points.

“(Conway girls coach Shamae Hemingway) has a young team, but they are very competitive and play hard,” Dennison said. “And we knew they would give us their best shot. But we were able to kind of weather it, and come out with a win.”

MeMe Williams led Conway with 14 points.

This story was originally published December 13, 2016 at 11:03 PM with the headline "Conway boys get a little payback with win over rival Myrtle Beach."