Horton, Bell spearhead Myrtle Beach comeback win over Wilson

With four words, Wilson’s D’Asia Gregg sent a clear message to the Myrtle Beach bench.

“This is my house!,” the Georgia Tech commit yelled in the third quarter of Friday night’s game, after making a tough bucket and earning a foul in the process.

At that moment, it seemed the Tigers were primed to avenge an earlier defeat at the hands of Myrtle Beach, up seven points to the only instate squad to defeat the Pee Dee powerhouse. With Wilson holding Nia Sumpter in check, the Seahawks would need someone to help fellow standout Kiana Adderton shoulder the load.

Instead of one person, however, she received two.

Kira Bell and Jalah Horton each seized their moment to shine on Friday night, strong second halves by the duo propelling Myrtle Beach to a 51-47 victory over the Tigers.

Bell finished with 12 points — each of which came courtesy of 3-pointers. Bell worked a bit harder for her 14 points, often initiating contact with Wilson players on drives toward the basket.

While their effort on the offensive end is what will be seen by most, Myrtle Beach girls basketball coach Jennifer Dennison gives more credit to their work —and the team’s, for that matter — on defense.

“We told them at halftime it boiled down to defense,” she said. “If you play offense, the defense will come. In the first half, our defense didn’t look good. But in the second half, they played with heart, gutted it out and worked through it.”

Early on, the Seahawks had no answer for Gregg, using her wiry frame to bring down rebounds before swiftly directing them back toward the basket.

Gregg had 11 points in the first half for Wilson. Still, the Tigers were unable to pull away from Myrtle Beach (16-2, 5-0 Region VII-4A), leading 18-15 at the break.

The Wilson forward continued her strong play in the second half, and along with guard Shamiyah Barnes helped it build a 33-27 advantage. One moment would turn the tide of the game, however, and it wasn’t a spectacular bucket, dazzling assist or blocked shot.

Instead, during a loose ball under the basket, a strong move by the Tigers’ Keturah Hunter knocked Sumpter to the floor, starting a short-lived shoving match between the region rivals. Hunter was assessed a technical foul for her role.

As Wilson (15-5, 3-2 Region VII-4A) sought to regather itself after a brief timeout, Myrtle Beach came out firing. On the strength of Horton’s 3-point shooting and Bell’s slashing toward the basket, the Seahawks would go on a 12-2 run and take their first lead of the game in the process.

“I think when Keturah did it, it wasn’t intentional,” said Wilson girls basketball coach Gerrin Harrison. “She’s strong, but because it was such a high energy game and so many emotions on both sides, we were getting some of that the whole time. There was bumping the whole time, but when something like that happened it was like ‘Oh my God!,’ and we have a technical foul. Unfortunately, it really changed momentum of the game.”

Wilson would remain close, however, cutting the deficit to a single point on several occasions. Myrtle Beach would seal the Tigers’ fate in the game’s final 90 seconds, though, Adderton fouled intentionally by Loyal McQueen as she went up for a lay-up.

The basket would count, along with Adderton going to the charity stripe for a pair of free throws, making one. The Wright State commit would again go to the free throw line in the game’s final seconds, making both attempts to officially put the game on ice.

With the victory, the Seahawks draw closer to a Region VII-4A crown, leading the league by two games with three contests remaining.

“We play in an outstanding region,” Dennison said. “Wilson is a great team. We know Coach Harrison is a great coach, and we knew she and her team were going to bring their best at us. This was a great game, and was exactly what we like to see, great basketball.”

This story was originally published January 27, 2017 at 11:16 PM with the headline "Horton, Bell spearhead Myrtle Beach comeback win over Wilson."