Setting a standard: Greer hands Dorman first S.C. loss since 2022
Isaiah Henry made another game-winning play, this time coming up with a block on a Dorman three-point attempt at the buzzer. The win brought Greer to 17-3 on the season.
Amare Anderson remembered the exact scoreline.
Just over two years ago, in Anderson’s freshman season at Greer, was the last time the Jackets faced off against 5-A powerhouse Dorman. They lost that game 100-39.
“They got us good back then,” said Anderson.
That loss didn’t sit well with Anderson and the Jackets. Two years later, they got the chance to show just how much things have changed.
On Monday at Greenville High’s MLK Day Showcase, Greer took down Dorman — the defending 5-A state champions — 52-49. The Jackets (17-3) handed Dorman (15-4) its first loss against a South Carolina team since February 2022.
“This year, we’re a different team,” said Anderson. “We came in here and we executed.”
“We’re playing the right way at the right time and I couldn’t be prouder,” said Greer head coach Devin Liferidge. “This win says a lot about our program. I mean, there’s no better standard of basketball in this state than Dorman. We want our standard to be like theirs.”
Greer began the game fast with hot three-point shooting. Senior Zayn Valentine hit two threes and scored Greer’s first eight points of the contest.
Nearing halftime, the Jackets held a 29-24 lead over the Cavaliers. An 8-1 Dorman run at the end of the half, however, punctured Greer’s sails.
They regrouped at halftime and came out ready to respond. The Jackets held Dorman to just four points in the third quarter, carrying a 43-36 lead into the final frame.
“We weren’t talking on defense enough,” said Liferidge. “At the end of the first half, we gave up eight straight points just because we were hardly talking at all. I told the guys at halftime, ‘Make them beat us.’ They’re capable of doing that, we understood. But we didn’t want to give them anything. Make them earn it on their own.”
Greer held the lead for most of the second half, but with the clock winding down in the fourth, Dorman had a chance to tie, down just three.
Isaiah Henry blocked a three-point attempt from Dorman’s Christian Andrews at the buzzer to ensure that didn’t happen.
Another week, another game-winning play from the senior guard, who nailed a buzzer-beating layup last weekend to propel Greer over Greenville — another statement win.
The Jackets have taken down several figurative giants standing in their way recently, and the question now remains: is there anyone that Greer can’t beat, or at least go blow-for-blow with?
Anderson doesn’t think so.
“I feel like there’s no team we will come across that we can’t be on the same floor with, even in the playoffs,” said Anderson. “If we just come out and do what we have to do every night, we’ll be straight.”
THE SCORE BY QUARTERS
Greer 17 13 13 9 - 52
Dorman 16 16 4 13 - 49
GREER STAT LEADERS
Mikey Williams - 13 points
Amare Anderson - 12 points
Zayn Valentine - 12 points
Bradyn Durrah - 7 points
Brayden Lytes - 5 points
Isaiah Henry - 2 points