Iron Horses beat Bishops for first time in hoops history

Dec. 3 marked a night of firsts for the Philip Simmons High School basketball programs.

 

The Philip Simmons girls beat perennial state power Bishop England for the first time in the school’s brief history while the Iron Horses’ boys team also managed their first victory over BE.

 

And, if you are an Iron Horse fan who believes good news comes in threes, your team didn’t disappoint. Kylee Kellermann became the first Philip Simmons girl to reach 1,000 points in her career as the Iron Horse girls topped the Bishops, 60-35.

 

But don’t worry too much about success going to the heads of the Iron Horse players. Garrett Campbell, who coaches the boys, and Dustin Williams, who coaches the girls, just have to remind their players that revenge can be a factor. Will that be the case when the schools meet again on Dec. 10 at Philip Simmons?

 

“We have a tough schedule this week,” Williams said. “We have Goose Creek Monday and Bishop England again on Friday. We can’t think we won a state championship just because we won one game against Bishop England. We have to keep moving forward.”

 

“But the win over Bishop England was important,” Williams added. “They have been the standard in the Lowcountry and state for many years, and hats off to coach (Paul) Runey for that. We want our program to emulate theirs. To get that first one under your belt against your rival down the street is special.”

 

Kellermann had a bright night from 3-point land to sink the Bishops, who fell to 3-2 on the season. It was only the 23rd loss in the last 262 games for the Bishops, who won five state titles in a decade.

 

Kellermann, who averages about 20 points per game, hit three 3-pointers in the first quarter to help the team jump to an 18-6 lead. Kellermann finished with six 3-point goals and was 3 of 4 from the charity stripe to finish with a team-high 21 points. Kennedy Rivers chipped in with 14 points, and Zhaire Mack tallied 13. 

 

“It was a big night for both teams and Kylee,” Williams said. “The stars aligned for the night.”

 

The Iron Horses’ boys have relied on defense all season in jumping out to a 6-0 record and a top-10 ranking. They allowed an average of 31 points heading into the tussle against BE. The Bishops led 24-21 at halftime, but the Iron Horses limited the Bishops to 12 points in the final 16 minutes to gain a 53-36 victory.

 

Miles Haight is one of the players who Campbell is counting on this winter, and the sharpshooter didn’t disappoint versus BE. Haight was picked as one of the top-five seniors in the state among Class AAA players after averaging 16 points, five assists and 3.1 rebounds a game last season, and it was more of the same against BE as he finished with 19 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and two assists.