By Thomas Grant Jr.
The Irmo boys basketball team are riding a 3-game winning streak.
It started with a 64-41 win over Aiken on Dec. 9. Sophomore Christian Brown scored 12 points and senior forward Matthew Hopkins posted a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Two nights later, the Yellow Jackets got 15 points from Brown and 14 points from Hopkins in a 73-37 road win at Newberry. Sophomore Jeremy Anderson had 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
On Friday the 13th, Irmo played its first home game of the season. The debut for new head coach Alex Quillen in “The Temple of Doom” saw the Yellow Jackets defeat Spring Valley 52-35.
In avenging Irmo’s last loss, Irmo (5-3) collected 15 steals as a team. Anderson was the lone player in double figures with 10 points and eight rebounds and Antwoine Pierce with seven points and seven rebounds.
The Lady Yellow Jackets have had an up-and-down non-region schedule. A pair of 2-game winning streaks has a 2-game losing streak between them.
The latest streak started with a 34-29 win at Aiken. Point guard Abby Livingston had 11 points and six steals and seventh grader Lailah Singletary went 4-4 from the free-throw line for all four of her points.
Two nights later, Irmo rolled past Newberry 69-23. The fourth quarter saw the Lady Yellow Jackets match the Lady Bulldogs’ entire offensive output in outscoring them 23-1.
Livington posted a triple double with a season-high 29 points, 15 steals and 10 rebounds. Singletary finished with 11 points and sophomore guard La’Nee McCutchen had 10 points and nine rebounds.
The home opener did not go as well for the Lady Yellow Jackets. For the second time this season, it fell to Spring Valley by a 54-36 score.
The Lady Yellow Jackets jumped out to a 17-10 lead in the first quarter. It extended its lead to 44-29 in the third quarter.
Singletary led Irmo with 10 points and six rebounds and sophomore guard Janiyah Stokes had nine points and five rebounds.
Photos by Thomas Grant Jr.
