If you didn’t know any better, you would think silent assassin would be an ideal nickname for Demyis Mayberry.
After all, the New Hope High School senior eschews trash talking. He prefers to let his silky-smooth game do the talking for him.
New Hope High coach Drew McBrayer knows that all too well.
“He is really explosive off the floor. We see it in practice all of the time,” McBrayer said.
Mayberry gave Memphis Catholic a glimpse of his explosiveness with a dunk off a three-on-two fast break that provided the exclamation point as New Hope held on for a 61-49 victory on Saturday on the final day of the Travis Outlaw Slam Dunk at the Hump at Mississippi State’s Humphrey Coliseum.
Mayberry matched his career-high with 28 points on an afternoon in which New Hope (10-4) didn’t have the same energy or consistency it showcased Friday in a 74-56 victory against Restoration (Ala.) Academy.
“That is not his first dunk of the season,” McBrayer said. “He probably has eight or 10 already. He is able to elevate pretty quick like that, and people underestimate him because he doesn’t do it pretty often and you get dunked on.”
McBrayer can thank Mayberry for putting the team on its back much like senior Shemar Johnson did earlier this month in a come-from-behind victory against Meridian at the Joe Horne Columbus Christmas Invitational. Johnson had 22 points Friday to lead three New Hope players in double figures.
Mayberry said trash talking “messes with his game,” so he avoids it. Against Memphis Catholic, he didn’t shy away from making a statement, stroking 3-pointers from the corners or taking the ball aggressively to the basket. His final points came with a little more than three minutes remaining. Mayberry pushed the ball down the center of the court and passed up a chance to shovel the ball to one of the wings in favor of a rim-shaking dunk in which he elevated over the defender. Mayberry said he saw the defender cheat to one side in an attempt to anticipate a pass, so he opted to take it himself.
“Against Meridian, Shemar put us on his back and carry us to victory,” McBrayer said. “Demyis did it today.”
At halftime of the girls game, Mayberry opted against attempting a dunk in part because he said he does the one every time. Instead, he saved his best for the game on a day he said the team started slowly because of the 12:30 p.m. start. Still, he said the Trojans showed in their two games that they can be at their best when they share the basketball and play as a team.
“When we play as a team we will blow a team out,” Mayberry said. “When everybody tries to do their own thing, it will be a close game like today when it shouldn’t be.”
Senior point guard Jaylon Bardley, who had 10 points, agreed. Even though he was the only other New Hope player in double figures, Bardley feels the team has plenty of weapons — Johnson, Mayberry, Terryonte Thomas, and Bardley have scored 20 or more points in games this season — to be dangerous. Throw in Darius Williams, Toddy Jennings, and defensive stopper Willie Ousley and New Hope has even more weapons.
Bardley said he is bypassing his scoring totals to get his teammates more involved. He feels his offense will come easier if his teammates are scoring. The key, though, is maintaining the focus New Hope showed Friday in building and sustaining a double-digit lead against Restoration Academy in the fourth quarter.
“We can be real good, tough to beat, when we move the ball and everybody is involved,” Mayberry said. “It starts with me. I have to get everybody going.”
On Saturday, New Hope was in a similar position with a 50-37 lead before Memphis Catholic used a 12-3 run that took less than two minutes to cut the deficit to 53-49 with 2 minutes, 18 seconds to play. McBrayer called timeout and stood with his hands on his hips looking like a parent who was ready to punish his five children. But New Hope scored the final eight points, which included a drive by Jennings off an assist from Bardley and a dunk by Thomas off an assist from Mayberry, to seal the deal.
“It doesn’t have to be one person every night,” McBrayer said. “We can be balanced and have everybody score 15 to 18 points. I would love that. It makes you harder to defend.”
With four impressive victories to build on, McBrayer hopes New Hope can take the confidence it gained from victories against Meridian and Columbus and this weekend and use it to its advantage in 2015. The next test will come against Olive Branch in the New Hope Classic tournament next weekend.
“The run against Meridian doesn’t happen last year,” McBrayer said. “Columbus takes a lead in the fourth quarter against us and we find a way to win a ballgame. That’s them growing up and maturing as a basketball team. That is showing a little fight. But you have a 13-point lead with two and a half minutes left in the game and you have to call a timeout because they cut it to four? That is the Jekyll and Hyde that you’re talking about. With a senior group, that shouldn’t happen.
“I think we just have to be mentally stronger and just tougher to fight through and win games like that.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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