Yellow Jacket Basketball Season Wrap-Up

March 3, 2010
Filed under Sports

The North Augusta Yellow Jacket basketball team lost to Sumter High School in the playoffs and ended their season. The preceding week the Jackets defeated the #1 seed West Ashley High School in the 1st round of the playoffs. The Jackets finished the season 18-8 overall and 6-7 in their league. Surprisingly the Yellow Jackets did best at neutral sites. They were 11-2 at neutral sites, 5-2 at home, and 2-4 away. The fighting Jackets ended their season ranked 19th in the state.

The Jackets greatly improved from last season. The 08′-09′ team went 8-10 and finished 50 in the state. This drastic change can be summarized by one word: maturity. Last season’s team included a bunch of youngster’s like sophomore, Austin Davis. One year later, in his junior season, Austin played with a greater amount of confidence. Some of the other players that sparked this drastic change in the basketball program are senior, Devon Davis; senior, Cam Alston; and junior, Jessie Purnell. These players helped the Jackets sweep their region rival, Aiken Hornets, games that were key to helping them make the playoffs.

The question is, how did the Jackets lose to Sumter after beating the #1 seed in the playoffs? Here’s your answer. It all came down to height and the ability to make plays in the post. North Augusta’s tallest man on the floor was 6-4. They didn’t have the ability to compete down low for rebounds and couldn’t create a legit post offense. The lack of offense under the goal forced the Yellow Jacket to shoot long three-pointers and fall to Sumter in a tough game. On the brighter side, the Jackets have put the program back into playoff contention for years to come. With players like Jessie Purnell and Austin Davis returning next season the sky is the limit.