Boys Basketball: Niymire Brown, Upper Darby dominate Harriton on the floor and boards in Central League tourney win

UPPER DARBY – Niymire Brown saw the right side of the basketball court open up before him in the fourth quarter Thursday evening, a lane that might as well have been lined with runway lights.

Throughout their Central League playoff opening-round game, Harriton had struggled to keep the Upper Darby forward earthbound. And the last installment of a 28-point, eight-rebound, three-block evening was by far the most emphatic.

Brown slammed home for two points in the open court, then got a curtain call on the way to the bench, his work done in a 83-61 win for the third-seeded Royals. It sends Upper Darby (17-6) to Saturday’s semifinal at No. 2 Lower Merion.

“Once the lane opens,” Brown said, “I like to fly.”

The Royals were flying most of the game, thanks to a diligent rebounding effort by Brown and company. Upper Darby outrebounded Harriton, 36-16, and scored 26 second-chance points. Once Harriton’s incandescent early shooting cooled, the Rams had little recourse than to slow down the hosts. The rebounding, coupled with a zeal for moving the ball (17 assists on 35 baskets), just four turnovers in the first three quarters and what has become 1-through-5 scoring, eased the Royals into the semifinals.

“I knew my teammates were going to be there for me to help me get the board,” Brown said. “If I didn’t get the board, they were there.”

Harriton shot about as well as a visiting team could in the opening eight minutes, in a notoriously tough gym to connect in. They hit on eight of 11 attempts from the field, including 5-for-6 from 3-point range. At the end of one quarter, they led 26-20, though Upper Darby, which didn’t get a point from leading scorer Nadir Myers in the frame, probably would’ve been OK with that margin.

Harriton came back to earth from its unsustainable pace, just as Yassir Joyner got Upper Darby going. He scored 20 of his 24 points in the opening half, adding eight rebounds and four assists. With the Rams going long stretches with a box-and-1 to deny Myers, others had their chances, and duly converted.

“If they’re going to try to set different defenses every game and try to get him rattled and get our team rattled, everyone has got to step up,” Joyner said. “It’s next man up. … I can create for others and get myself wide open.”

Harriton’s lead was short-lived, the Royals starting the second quarter on a 9-0 spurt to erase it for good. UD led 44-35 at the half, Joyner draining a 3-pointer off a Shaun Cain feed. They built that to 50-35 out of the break.

Harriton found a second wind. The Rams scored 10 of the next 13 points, including a personal 5-0 run by Collin Goerlich with 3:34 left in the third. Somewhat surprisingly, the Rams’ opted to call a timeout at 53-48, and the Royals blitzed them out of that break with the last 15 points of the quarter. The run would get to 25-2 overall, at which point most of Upper Darby’s starters headed for the bench.

“I don’t know what happened,” Harriton guard Marquis Kubish said. “I think our coach called a timeout, but we were really hot and that brought us down. … It’s kind of frustrating with them going on that run. I wish we could hang in.”

Joyner paired his 24 points with eight rebounds and a team-high four assists. Myers took just nine shots but still got to 10 points, plus three dimes. Khysir Slaughter added a double-double with 10 points, 12 rebounds and three steals. Cain scored eight points, including a couple of 3-pointers.

Kubish led the Rams with 17 points, including three and-1s, the guard slithering through tight spaces in the lane. Goerlich finished with 13 points. Calvin Smith chipped in 11. After their torrid first quarter, the Rams were just 2-for-6 from 3-point range the rest of the way.

That wasn’t enough to dampen not just an efficient style of offensive basketball from Upper Darby but with ball movement and integration of multiple scorers, one that evinces a distinct air of joy.

“It’s always joy with us,” Brown said. “This is bigger than basketball. It’s chemistry. And we want to grow up as men together, so anytime we get together and bring up our chemistry, it’s good for us.”