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Myers, Joyner propel Upper Darby's comeback win over Haverford

12/17/2022, 12:00am EST
By Rich Flanagan

Rich Flanagan (@richflanagan33)
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HAVERTOWN — It was a sight that had not been in Upper Darby’s purview for more than a decade.

Nadir Myers stepped to the line and calmly sank two free throws to give Upper Darby a seven-point lead with 35.4 seconds remaining. It wasn’t just the crashing claps of his hands, but the Royals bench erupted with excitement after each make signaling a victory was at-hand and, even more so, that something special may be brewing for a program that hasn’t captured a Central League title since 2011.

For Myers, the exalted feeling of icing the game at the line after an incredible second half that saw him make one play after the next, including two personal stops at the defensive end.

“I’m a leader on the floor and working on talking more,” Myers said. “It’s all about reading what the defense is giving me.”

Myers scored 21 of his game-high 27 points after halftime to lift Upper Darby to a 64-56 victory over Haverford on Friday night. The 6-foot-1 senior guard began his career at Martin Luther King under Sean Colson, where he teamed with Camden Burns – now at Springside Chestnut Hill – and led the team in scoring (16.2 points per game) during the COVID-19 shortened of 2020-21. An Upper Darby native, he returned to his neighborhood school as a junior and was a starter on a team that only won seven games with five coming in Central League play.


Upper Darby's Nadir Myers had 21 of his game-high 27 points in the second half. (Photo: Rich Flanagan/CoBL)

Against one of the potential frontrunners for league champion this season, the lefty floor general continually got into the lane and took advantage of a collapsing Fords defense that just couldn’t slow him down. Facing a seven-point deficit entering the final quarter, Yassir Joyner, a South Philadelphia transfer, drilled three of his 23 points then on the ensuing possession Myers hit two free throws to make it 48-45 with 4:56 left to play and the momentum swung to the Royals (3-1, 1-1 Central League).

Catholic University commit Googie Seidman, who poured in 18 points, six rebounds and five assists, scored four straight points to send it back to a seven-point game at the 3:24 mark but those would be his final points of the night. Joyner sank a smooth stepback three-pointer then Myers took over. 

He drew a charge on Seidman, which gave the Fords senior his fourth foul and sent him to the bench. Myers took full advantage by driving through the Haverford (4-1, 2-1) defense for a layup. He was fouled on the next possession and, after two more free throws, suddenly the game was tied at 52-52 with 2:06 remaining.

Myers, who scored 12 of Upper Darby’s final 21 points, kept gaining confidence with every possession down the stretch and knew the Fords didn’t have an answer when he chose to take a step inside the three-point line.

“I felt that they couldn’t guard me off the dribble so I was trying to see how far I could bring the defense in then just go,” Myers said. “This way, if I’m open, I can go but if not, I can set someone up to go.”

Bob Miller has been the head coach at Upper Darby for 28 years and has seen a multitude of talented players break down a defense late in games but what he saw from Myers in this one to Central League contender stirred memories of what his teams used to be able to do on a nightly basis.

“Nadir will set you up, even at halfcourt,” Miller said. “He’ll fake one way and go the other, and the thing is it’s so smooth. He leaves a lot of guys just standing still.”

Seidman put the onus on himself to halt Upper Darby’s run but a miss on a jumper from just outside the lane turned into a Myers rebound and Seidman frustratingly committed his fifth personal foul, sending him back to the bench and Royals faithful into a frenzy. 

Myers went on a tear scoring six straight points, including four free throws in the process.  One of Myers’ vintage moves is spinning off a defender and away from a helper to finish in the paint. He and Joyner do that as well as anyone and Miller, who has won over 300 games during his time with Interboro and Upper Darby, has developed a patented name for it.

“I call it ‘Wiggle,’ where they do Euro steps and stuff like that in the lane where they avoid those offensive fouls that a lot of kids can’t avoid,” Miller said. “They get around them, but they can both also shoot it, so you have to play them and then they go by you. It makes them tough to guard.”

Joyner, who was the Philadelphia Public League’s most electric scorers last season after averaging 20.2 ppg, showcased that when he missed a trey from the wing but corralled his miss then while spinning and falling to the ground found Alex Brown for a layup that gave Upper Darby its first lead since the opening quarter. His final basket of the night put a stop to any potential Haverford comeback as the lead grew to 62-56 with under 30 seconds remaining.

The Royals’ resurgence in the second half came after Seidman, Brian Wiener (15 points) and Tommy Wright (11 points, eight rebounds) took control in the first 16 minutes. Seidman scored 10 points during the Fords 14-5 run in the second quarter that pushed their lead to 23-14 with 3:12 left before halftime. 

Wiener hit a floater in the lane to begin the second half, Wright hit on a baseline jumper and finally Seidman found Gorman Bright Jr. for a trey on the wing to increase the lead to 34-24. A three by Wright to give Haverford a 13-point lead late in the third looked to be backbreaker but Upper Darby responded in a way that Myers noted would most likely not have happened only a year ago.

“Last season did not go how we wanted it,” Myers said. “We worked real hard this summer, and everyone got together. We feel we can beat anybody.”

Miller has two high-scoring options in the backcourt in Myers and Joyner that were able to stifle Haverford, which won the 2020 Central League crown, and nearly dethroned Lower Merion four days ago after coming back from down 13 and taking the lead late in the fourth. 

They also secured a win over Methacton, one of the top teams in District 1 the last few seasons, and Miller feels that this group has an opportunity to do something special such as make the PIAA state tournament for the first time since 2018.

“You’re going to see the old man pressure at Upper Darby, where we just get up and I think in the fourth quarter if the opponent has tired legs, we’re in such phenomenal physical shape that it ultimately takes its toll,” Miller said. 


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