WILLIAMSPORT, Md. – The Smithsburg boys basketball team spent its Tuesday night Byrd watching.
The Leopards’ objective was to keep an eye on Williamsport’s Jahmeir Byrd – Washington County’s leading scorer – to keep him from ruling the roost.
For about three quarters, Smithsburg grounded the 6-foot-6 senior. But Byrd took flight in the fourth period.
Byrd scored 12 of Williamsport’s 14 fourth-quarter points – including 10 in the final 4:30 – for a game-high 25 to end Smithsburg’s furious comeback attempt and lead to Wildcats to a 55-42 victory. That put the finishing touches on Williamsport’s seventh-straight win and third in five days with some momentous flair.
With 1:32 remaining, Byrd buried a three-point bomb from the left corner to surpass the 1,000-point mark for his three-year career, stopping the game for a quick celebration.
“I’m just happy I got it done and over with,” Byrd said. “I was tired of stressing about it. We go away (to play on) Friday, and I didn’t want to hit it at an away game.”
And he did it by reclaiming the home court for the Wildcats (11-4).
Williamsport owned a 27-22 halftime lead and pushed it to a 41-24 lead in the first 5:15 of the third quarter, fueled early by three-pointers by Byrd, Xavier Oree and Tyquan Streeter.
Smithsburg (8-8) started putting an end to the run by switching to a triangle-and-two zone defense to hold down Byrd and Oree.
“They came out and got those threes to kind of stretch the lead in the second half,” Smithsburg coach Eric Gerber said. “They got (the lead) up to 12, or whatever, and I was very proud of the way we battled back.”
The switch in defense started the Leopards on a 16-2 run over five minutes, 50 seconds, overlapping the third and fourth quarters.
With Smithsburg within 43-40, the Wildcats started feeding Byrd, partially to get out of danger and partially to get his scoring record.
Byrd started the closing run with a 15-foot basket with 4:30 remaining and later added three foul shots to help Williamsport to a 50-40 lead. Byrd stepped to the line with 1:58 remain for two foul shots which would have given him the 1,000th point, but he only hit one.
“My first free throw, it just did not go,” Byrd said. “I rushed, and I just missed it. And then the second one felt good.”
Just 26 seconds later, Williamsport rushed down the floor on a fast break, with everyone looking to feed to Byrd. He flowed to the corner, received the pass and arched the shot home for his 1,000-02 points of his career.
“It felt good coming off my fingertips, so I knew it was going in,” he said.
And for good measure, Byrd stole the ball with :53 remaining and punctuated the record with a dunk for Williamsport’s final points.
“(Byrd’s) got the capability to shoot the three. And actually, we wanted him to start taking them a little bit more to bring defenses on out,” said Williamsport coach Jonathan Wesson. “Oh, man, anytime that you have a career night of a 1,000 points, it’s special. And to do it the way that he did in three years, that’s insane. That’s really scoring the basketball.”
The glittering ending took attention away from Smithsburg’s first half, where sticky defense and aggressive offense had the Leopards in a 19-all tie after Jacob Tyler buried a 15-footer with 2:45 left in the half.
“The first time we played them at home, we just did not play well, and I didn’t think we competed well,” Gerber said. “So, to lose that game by 30 and then come back and continue to make them sweat into the fourth quarter, I’m pretty pleased. We’re really right there.”
Williamsport ended the first half with an 8-3 burst, capped by Jayden Williams’ 3-pointer at the buzzer, to take the 27-22 lead at the half. Byrd scored 18 of his 25 in the second half.
“The guys worked hard and we tried to hold down Byrd as long as we could,” Gerber said. “Then he gets a little space … he’s good. He’s a shot maker.”
Oree complimented Byrd’s big night with 15 points, including three 3-pointers. Williamsport sank eight 3-pointers in the game.
Tyler led Smithsburg with nine points, while James Hare added eight.
For Williamsport, it was two wins in two days. The Wildcats defeated North Hagerstown on Monday. The Wildcats continue to trend in the right direction for the February stretch run.
“We hit some adversity early with injuries and things like that, but yeah, we’re hitting our stride at the perfect time,” Wesson said. “We’re playing well and playing through adversity. That’s what I’m proud of … playing through the tough times, tough games and tough road games. And then we’re coming away with wins.”
