PIAA Class 6A Boys Basketball: Myers leaves it on court in Upper Darby’s loss
CALN – Nadir Myers did everything in his power to keep Upper Darby alive in the PIAA Class 6A tournament.
Facing a defensively explosive Reading High Wednesday night at Coatesville, Myers, a senior guard, showed a fearlessness that Royals coach Bob Miller won’t soon forget.
Myers carried the Royals on his shoulders, scoring 31 points in an 83-58 loss to the District 3 champion Red Knights (29-1). Reading advances to the quarterfinal round Saturday against New Castle, a 65-56 winner over Downingtown West.
“There is no quit,” Miller said of his Royals. “And how about the little kid (Myers) out there? They were doubling and tripling Nadir. … He’s such an amazing player and colleges out there that aren’t involved with him, it just blows my mind.
“This year we’ve had to patchwork things because these kids haven’t played together. Nadir was just unbelievable. The fact that Reading had to put two guys on him the whole second half just tells you how good of a player he is.”
Upper Darby trailed most of the night, but Myers’ outstanding performance convinced everyone wearing the purple and gold to believe they could win this game. Down six points at the start of the second period, Myers drilled three consecutive 3-pointers to give UD a 23-20 advantage, stunning the highly partisan Reading crowd.
When guard Khysir Slaughter and power forward Niymire Brown fouled out in the third quarter, Myers knew he had to do even more. He had help from Yassir Joyner, whose last- second basket lifted the Royals to a first-round victory over Bethlehem Liberty last Saturday. The senior Joyner finished with 17 points.
“I told my team just to keep fighting, it’s a game of runs,” Myers said.
Reading held a 50-35 lead in the third quarter. Point guard Myles Gray (14 points, four assists, two steals) and the Rodriguez boys, Ruben (25 points, five assists, three steals) and Aris (16 points, eight rebounds) were major factors along with Yadir Cruz, who scored all 17 of his points after the first quarter. Reading was fast and made the Royals work for every shot. Myers, a 1,000-point scorer, and Joyner gave the Red Knights all they could handle.
Joyner banked a 3-pointer and Myers hit a pull-up jumper late in the third to remind Reading that the Royals were not out of it yet. Myers made another long shot early in the fourth to trim Reading’s lead to 58-50. After a timeout Reading seized control for good, scoring 14 of the next 17 points.
Myers left everything on the floor. In addition to his 31 points he had three steals and three assists.
“I knew I had to be there for my guys,” Myers said. “When we lost Niymire and Khysir I just told them, next man up, let’s go. We had to keep fighting no matter what and that’s what we did.”
Myers transferred to his home school district after spending his freshman year at People for People Charter in Philadelphia and Martin Luther King High his sophomore year. In two short years Myers left a lasting impact on a Royals program, winning 21 games his senior campaign. Upper Darby hadn’t made it this far in the PIAA playoffs since 2013.
“It just feels good,” Myers said. “Last year we were 7-13 and we worked all summer to get better. I know my coach believed me to run the show at point guard, the best position on the court, and we just got better and better.”
