“Our goal right now is just trying to get better each night, just keep improving,” said Glynn Academy boys head coach Terrance Haywood.
The Glynn boys won six of their first seven games to open the season, but they went on to lose three straight: edged by rival Brunswick, dropped by region foe Richmond Hill, and an overtime loss to Coffee in a contest without starters D’Marion Hayes and Max Hrdlicka.
Hayes has returned, but Hrdlicka — the reigning Region 2-6A Offensive Player of the Year — hasn’t played since Dec. 15.
Nevertheless, the Terrors have won three of their last four games heading into Saturday’s contest against Ware County. The absence of the standout has provided Glynn an opportunity to develop depth that could serve the team well in the future.
“We’re being able to trust some more kids to be able to get out on the court and play,” Haywood said. “I think it’s been a good thing for us. It’s kind of that deal where it’s the next man up.”
Still, it’s difficult not to feel the loss of a 6-foot-5 Division I signee that’s led the team in scoring each of the past two seasons.
Glynn Academy is averaging just 52.6 points per contest in five games without Hrdlicka — one of those games going to overtime. The Terrors are prone to some cold stretches which had previously called for Hrdlicka to put his head down and drive for a layup or create space to bomb a 3-pointer.
“Defensively, we’re playing well,” Haywood said. “We’re just struggling to score the ball right now. When you lose 17.4 points per game, it makes a difference.”
The region schedule is set to start over for Glynn beginning with a Tuesday road game to Bradwell Institute. The Terrors are currently sitting in the fifth seed and out of the playoffs in a suddenly crowded Region 2-6A that added Statesboro and South Effingham in the latest realignment.
But Glynn knows there’s plenty of ball left to be played.
“The region is not going to be won in January, so the goal right now is to let’s win as many as we can, and just make certain that we’re improving each and every night out on the court,” Haywood said.
The same mentality extends across the court to the girls’ locker room where Glynn Academy is attempting to replace its entire starting five on the heels on a run to the Class 6A state championship game.
“It’s pretty much a brand new team,” said Terrors girls head coach Sharnesha Smith. “We’re extremely young. I have four seniors, but a majority of our JV kids moved up to play varsity. It’s just a learning experience every day.”
Among the graduating starters was Region 2-6A Player of the Year and All-State selection Zoesha Smith, who averaged 21.2 points, 12.8 rebounds, 2.7 steals and 2.0 blocks per game in her final season before signing with the University of Georgia.
But the high expectations at Glynn Academy have not changed. Smith has demanded discipline and maximum effort from her players since taking over the program ahead of the 2016-17 campaign.
Though the Terrors’ three region losses match their regular-season total of the past three seasons combined, the team still expects to be the best in the region when its all said and done.
“Everybody on the outside looking in will say, ’They’re rebuilding. They’re rebuilding. It’s OK, they’re young,’” Smith said. “We don’t make excuses. We don’t. I think my kids understand what needs to be done. I think they understand that we don’t change our standards. I still hold them accountable. The bar is still high for them. Nothing changes.”
A role player with the reserve unit her first two seasons with the Terrors, guard Akirria Mountain has taken over as the team’s leading scorer as a junior — her 13 points per game more than six times her average of a year ago in addition to 4.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists.
Shamya Flanders has also found success in stepping into a larger role with 10 points and nine rebounds per game after getting her feet wet with serious reserve minutes as a freshman for the state runners-up.
The amount of varsity experience is still limited as a whole for the Terrors though. The team has earned some solid victories, but its also suffered some tough losses. Smith points to its up-and-down nature as one area for improvement in the coming weeks.
“I just think being consistent, being consistent and tapping into who we really are,” Smith said. “I don’t think they’ve shown that yet. As many as games as we’ve played, even with some of the wins that we’ve had, I still don’t think they’ve tapped in to who we really are. Who they are. I’m looking forward to that.”
Glynn Academy has remained a force defensively, holding opponents to 37.1 points per game — just a tad more than the 35.4 points it allowed last season — but its 43.6 points of offense is well shy of the 54.8 the Terrors averaged a year ago.
The result has been the number of close games Glynn has found itself in this season, like its 39-37 victory over South Effingham on Tuesday. It was a crucial victory though, giving the Terrors a full-game advantage over the Mustangs for the fourth and final seed in the region tournament.
Glynn hosts Ware County for a non-region contest at 4 p.m. Saturday before facing each of its six Region 2-6A rivals to close out the regular season. Smith is looking for her team to come out and play aggressively while remaining disciplined on the defensive end against the scrappy bunch from Waycross.
But that goal won’t change no matter who the Terrors are facing.
“With us, it’s just continuing to do what we do, continuing to grow, continuting to learn each other, continuing to be disciplined,” Smith said. “I think that’s our focus every single night. Honestly, it hasn’t been about anybody else. It’s been about us every game.”