The buzz has been building for the first meeting of the season between No. 1 ranked North Augusta and rival Midland Valley. So don’t be surprised if the roof shakes in North Augusta’s Jacket Arena when the teams clash for the top spot in the Class 4A, Region 4 standings tonight at 7:30 P.M.
“We expect an electric atmosphere,” North Augusta head coach Tony Harrell said Thursday afternoon. “This game is getting a lot of well deserved hype, and hopefully our home crowd will give us a home court advantage.”
North Augusta (20-0, 2-0) has taken the area, and the state of South Carolina, by storm with a blistering start to the season. The Yellow Jackets have won 17 of their 20 games by a double digit margin. Only Westside (No. 1 in Georgia’s class 2A), Byrnes (No. 3 in 5A) and Summerville (No. 7 in 5A) have been able to keep it within single digits against what might be the best team in South Carolina, regardless of classification.
North Augusta’s undefeated streak is all the more impressive considering 11 of the 20 games for the Jackets have been against top ten opponents. But Coach Harrell knows you can rip up the paper we write down records on when rivals battle for bragging rights and playoff seeding. And he also knows his team will get every opponent’s best shot from here until the end of the season.
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“We talk internally about that,” Harrell said. “We also talk about making sure we give all teams our best shot as well.”
The season statistics describe in numerical terms North Augusta’s impressive depth, and Harrell’s philosophy of spreading the playing time far beyond just the team’s experienced upperclassmen. The numbers also communicate the team’s proficiency from beyond the three point line, which has more than made up for its lack of size as only one player, 6’4” senior Maliq Richards, stands taller than 6’3”.
Nine North Augusta players average 10 or more minutes per game, and four more average between 7 and 9. No single player exceeds more than 20 minutes per game on average.
Senior point guard Elijah Hall leads the team in points (12.8 ppg), assists (3.6 apg), field goal percentage (51.6%) and free throw percentage (77.8%).
DaRon Dunbar is North Augusta’s second leading scorer (11.8 ppg) and rebounder (5.1 rpg). The 6’3” sophomore turned 15 in August, and Coach Harrell recently said Dunbar might be the best mid range scorer he’s ever coached. Dunbar shoots 50% from the field, 34.1% from the three point line and 71.4% from the free throw line.
Senior Amarri Wilcher averages 9.9 points per game and he is the top three point shooter (40%) for a team that makes 6.5 bombs per game. Wilcher drained 6 three pointers, including 5 in the first half, during Monday’s 77-64 win over No. 6 Jones County (GA Class 5A). Freshman teammate Jordan Rouse scored 16 points against Jones County. Rouse is the team’s second leading three point shooter at 39.5%.
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Midland Valley (13-4, 3-0) has enough firepower to upset the Yellow Jackets. 6’5” senior TJ McElmurray, 6’0” senior Desmond Evans and 6’3” sophomore Antwone Bates are all capable of making exciting plays above the rim. And 6’0” senior Justin Lloyd, one of the area’s best all around guards, can get hot in a hurry.
The Mustangs will have to bring all of their positive qualities to Jacket Arena if Midland Valley is to become the first team this season to knock off the No. 1 ranked team in the state.
Follow Chad Cook’s coverage of local sports on Facebook and Instagram at @AugustaPressSports, and on Twitter at @AugPressSports.
