By Thomas Grant Jr.
The difficulty of beating a team three times in a season kept Irmo boys’ basketball coach Alex Quillen uneasy for Monday’s home playoff opener against Chapin.
The Yellow Jackets’ 10-game winning streak against their Lexington/Richland School District Five rival only made him further concerned about a letdown.
“It’s not like we were blowing them out the first two games,” Quillen remembered. “We were down at halftime both games, I believe. The biggest challenge was getting the guys to not feel relaxed, not feel like they were just going to come in here and win because we beat them twice already and to come in here ready to go like it would be any playoff run.”
After a close first quarter, Irmo pulled away for a 59-42 victory over Chapin. The Yellow Jackets’ All-Region frontcourt tandem of freshman Khiry White and Oshan Browman dominated with 21 and 17 points, respectively.
Both players were a presence on both sides of the court. Their offensive rebounding countered the Eagles’ 3-point shooting led by Braydyn Francis, who finished with 19 points.
“Khiry’s one of our new guys this year being a freshman,” Quillen said. “He’s done a heck of a job of finishing around the rim and getting to openings and his confidence has grown and grown and grown throughout the year.
“And Oshon, I would put him against many of the big men in the state. Not many people knew about him this year going into it. He’s taken on a role this year and he’s done a really good job.”
Having dispatched Chapin, Irmo could fully turn its attention to Friday’s opponent Berkeley. It’s a rematch of last year’s Class 5A Division II playoff opener won by the Stags 46-41.
“We had to newspaper article on the board all year from when we lost to them last year,” Quillen said. “We know that we’ve probably got to prepare a little harder. We’ve got to be ready for that environment, but I think the guys are ready.”
While the boys prepare to head on the road, the Lady Yellow Jackets took homecourt Tuesday against North Myrtle Beach. A win would also earn the Irmo girls a trip to Berkeley.
Singletary wins Region Player of the Year honors
Eighth-grader Lailah Singletary was a major factor in the improved record for the Irmo girls’ basketball team.
Last week, she was named Region 4-5A player of the Year. In 25 games, she averaged 24.2 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.9 steals and 3.8 assists per game.
Teammates Abby Livingston and Janiyah Stokes were also named to the All-Region team.
