‘It’s very important to us’: Myrtle Beach boys hoops to play for state championship
The Myrtle Beach athletic programs must have an affinity for going to Columbia.
On Friday, the Seahawks’ boys basketball team earned the right to play for the Class 4A state championship by defeating A.C. Flora 68-59 at the Florence Center. Up next for Myrtle Beach is a trip to Colonial Life Arena in Columbia to face Ridge View for the Class 4A state championship.
Leading the charge for the Seahawks (20-5) in the victory was a trio of seniors in Emorie Knox, James Marques, and Darius Hough.
“I’m so happy for these seniors,” said Myrtle Beach coach Craig Martin. “You saw it again tonight, Emorie was huge for us, like he has been all season. James had a roller-coaster year, but he showed up huge tonight for us and Darius showed just how much of a competitor he is, he’s tough as nails and was a difference-maker for us. He asked to defend 13 (Robert McCray) and did a great job for us.”
Myrtle Beach came out aggressive on both ends of the floor, building a 10-point lead late in the first quarter. A.C. Flora would whittle the lead down to three points at close to halftime, but a Myrtle Beach 6-0 run ended the half to give the Seahawks a seven-point advantage at the break.
“We really played hard and played together, I think we can still play better,” Martin said. “They deserve what they’re getting right now; they’re starting to come together. This was the first time we’ve been healthy all year. We’re pretty happy. We played to our strengths and had a very, very good first quarter that set the tone for the game.”
Knox, the point guard for Myrtle Beach, played much of the second half in foul trouble, but didn’t shy away from doing what his team required from him.
“This is really big, it’s very important to us and the community to get back to state,” Knox said. “We’ve worked really hard for this and to be able to earn our way to compete for state, that’s huge. It’s been tough, but when you’ve got a team like I do, that focuses on execution and defense, everything is a little bit easier.”
A.C. Flora’s second-half effort got it within three points of Myrtle Beach multiple times, but the combination of Knox, Marques, and leading scorer Ayden Hickman salted away the win. The Falcons (26-5) were one of the hottest teams in the state coming into the contest, but couldn’t find a rhythm against the Seahawks.
“This game was one where we had to rely on each other to come out with a win,” Marques said. “We came in with the mentality that we were going to win the game, but we knew they wouldn’t lay down. We’ve been preparing for this all year; we’ve played in tough atmospheres and know that it takes us playing as an entire team. We have to stay together and we did that tonight.”
Myrtle Beach will play Ridge View, the two-time defending Class 4A state champions, at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
MB 22 14 15 17
AC 15 14 15 15
Leading scorers
MB – Ayden Hickman 16; Emorie Knox 15; James Marques 14
AC – JB Moore 15; Patrick Iriel 12
This story was originally published February 28, 2020 at 10:30 PM.