Iron Horses look to groom scorers ahead of Class AAA hurdle

Philip Simmons high school boys’ basketball coach Garrett Campbell is searching for scorers early in the 2022-23 season. Once he discovers the fountain of points, the winning should return.

 

The Iron Horses lost some bigtime point producers after posting a 25-4 record, averaging 68 points per game last season. This season, the Iron Horses opened with a 1-2 record and averaged only 43 points in the first three games.

 

“We’re still trying to figure out the hierarchy of scoring,” said Campbell, whose team beat Porter-Gaud in the season-opener, but dropped games to Bishop England and Goose Creek. “Who can take control and who can score? With what we have, we just have to continue working hard. We’re playing hard and we’re playing fast. We just have to have a more concentrated effort when it comes to scoring.”

 

Miles Haight was the team’s leading scorer last year, as he averaged 16.3 points and shot over 45 percent from the field. He concluded with a 1,000-point career to join his brother, Marc, and Jaylen Green in the elite fraternity of a program that begins its seventh season of play.

 

The Iron Horses, who were 6-3 in the COVID-19 pandemic in the 2020-21 season, won the Region 6-AA championship last season, reaching the third round before falling to York Prep, which was undefeated before losing to Gray Collegiate Academy in the Class AA state championship. 

 

Matthew Lemon was a force last season with 10.6 points and 8.3 rebounds. But he joined Haight at the school’s graduation ceremony in May.

 

The Iron Horses, still a young program in terms of players and history, have made the jump from Class AA to Class AAA this academic year. Still the team has talent and the schedule leading up to the Region 8-AAA race should make the Iron Horses a better team. Powers such as Northwood Academy, Oceanside Collegiate Academy and Goose Creek will present good tune-up tests.

 

Robert Watson, a 6-1 junior, averaged 12.3 points last winter and is averaging 10 points, 3.5 assists and 2.5 steals per outing. JacQue “Que” Greene is making a strong contribution early with 7.5 points and 7 rebounds per game.

 

Other players who have been impressive so far include Titus Petterson, Wilson Brookes and John Brookes.

 

Petterson is averaging 10 points and 4.5 rebounds per game while Wilson Brookes is scoring 6.5 points a game and 5 rebounds.

 

The Iron Horses will compete in Region 8-AAA this season, a conference that includes some teams with past success at the state level: North Charleston, Battery Creek and Beaufort. Beaufort began the season ranked in the top 10 of the state coaches’ association’s preseason poll.