The MVP Stars finished off the regular last night with a 53-37 victory over Greer Middle College. The Stars finish 10-12 overall and 6-4 in Region 3-3A play, as the Blazers finished 16-8 overall and 5-5 in region play. Let’s dive into my four points from MVP’s biggest win of the 2024-25 season.
Bryson Drummond – The senior point guard and future Newberry College QB had a special performance on senior night. He did not come off of the floor for the Stars. Drummond scored 22 points and added two assists. However, the box score does not tell the entire story. Drummond scored 12 of the 16 MVP points in the second quarter. He also took over late, putting an exclamation point on the win with a right-handed slam with under a minute to play. I know Drummond is playing football at the next level, but he displayed a college basketball set of skills last night.
MVP’s Defense – The Stars suffocated the Blazers all night long. MVP had 10 steals as a team. Jaden Gentry and Aveon Payton had three each. Those two guards prevented the ball from getting into the front court many times. They also forced Greer Middle College to have multiple travel violations and 10-second violations. The MVP backcourt was exceptional on offense, but their defense put on one of the best defensive performances I have watched all year.
Consistently Inconsistent Pace – MVP did a great job at controlling the pace all night; despite changing the way they played throughout the game. At times, MVP got out and ran. Bryson Drummond led the charge on many of these breaks and turned this game into a track meet. However, the Stars also would have offensive possessions where they would intentionally take 30+ seconds off of the clock. I was a big fan of what first-year Head Coach Nick Lagroone did with his offensive scheme. This pace allowed MVP to go on a few big runs, but more importantly allowed them to weather the lone GMC run late in the third quarter.
Playing Your Best at the Right Time– This MVP team did not start the season well. In fact, they owned a 3-9 record entering into region play. After a 6-4 region slate, the Stars slot in second tied with Woodruff at the conclusion of the regular season, as Broome won Region 3-3A. The Stars went 4-2 over their final six games and found themselves in the top two in one of the most even regions in our area, no matter the class. There should be a lot of credit given to Nick Lagroone and his group for playing their best when they needed to the most.
