Basketball Recap: Will Harlin's Big Game Can't Quite Lead South Effingham over Bryan County

South Effingham lost against Bryan County back in November of 2024 and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Saturday. The South Effingham Mustangs took an 80-69 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Bryan County Redskins. While losing is never fun, the Mustangs can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Georgia basketball rankings (they are ranked 435th, while the Redskins are ranked 193rd).

South Effingham's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Will Harlin, who went 7 of 16 en route to 18 points. What's more, Harlin also racked up four assists, the most he's had since back in January of 2024. Another player making a difference was Hayden Lloyd, who made all 5 shots he took to post 10 points.

Even though they lost, South Effingham smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in eight consecutive games.

Bryan County was led to victory by Mike Smith and Elijah Mincey. Smith dropped a double-double on 20 points and 15 boards, while Mincey went 8 of 12 on his way to 23 points in addition to five assists and five steals. Smith's evening made it four games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jadon Odum, who dropped a double-double on 13 points and 11 boards.

South Effingham's loss dropped their record down to 4-9. As for Bryan County, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 6-3 record this season.

South Effingham will have a little extra prep time after the defeat as they won't be playing again for a while. They'll take on Southeast Bulloch at 4:30 p.m. on January 4th. Southeast Bulloch has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games. As for Bryan County, they wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next contest, a 58-44 win against Lake Oconee Academy on the 27th.