Iron Horses net game-winning layup in televised instant classic

The Philip Simmons High School boys’ basketball team played its first game on television Jan. 13 when the Iron Horses hosted North Charleston in a Region 8-AAA showdown.

 

It was must-see TV as the schools battled for 32 minutes with the Cougars leading most of the way in the game, which was televised by My TV Charleston, a substation of ABC News 4. But the Iron Horses weren’t going to be denied as they scored a basket in the waning seconds to gain a 54-53 victory. The team also received a trophy from ABC News 4 for its effort.

 

“We stayed in the game the entire way and we never gave up when we were behind,” said coach Garrett Campbell, whose team won its fourth consecutive game to improve its record to 10-8, including 2-0 in the region. “It was quite the game.”

 

The Iron Horses scored when Robert Watson inbounded a pass to Wilson Brookes near the top of the key. Brookes quickly passed the ball to Carlio Jenkins, who found John Brookes wide open under the basket. Brookes scored on a layup for the basket that gave the Iron Horses the victory.

 

“It’s a play we work on in practice,” Campbell said. “It worked just the way it was diagrammed. It was a big basket and a big win.”

 

The Iron Horses were two games below .500 until they went on the four-game streak. It’s been a year of transition for the Iron Horses, as they compete at the Class AAA level for the first time in the school’s brief history. The team went 25-4 last winter, but lost two of its top-three scorers, Miles Haight and Matthew Lemon, to graduation.

 

“We are getting the guys to step up,” Campbell said. “We lost two good players and the guys realized they had to step up and do it.”

 

The Iron Horses prepared for a tough region slate this season with games against non-league foes such as Goose Creek and Oceanside Collegiate Academy, while playing in a holiday tournament in Fort Mill.

 

“We’ve been talking about it, that we needed to play our best basketball at the end of the year,” Campbell said. “We had all those challenges early in the season and we’ve become a better team because of it.”

 

North Charleston, which beat Fort Dorchester in a non-region game Jan. 14, dropped its first region game to fall to second place in the league with a 2-1 record. Beaufort and Hanahan both are 1-1 in league play heading into the week, while Battery Creek is 0-3.

 

PS GIRLS BASKETBALL

 

The Philip Simmons girls, meanwhile, picked up their second straight victory with a 60-34 victory over North Charleston to improve their record to 13-4, including 2-0 in region play. The Iron Horses trail Battery Creek by a half-game in the league standings. The Dolphins are 3-0.

 

Philip Simmons was scheduled to play at Hanahan on Jan. 17 and Battery Creek on Jan. 20. Both games are region matches.