City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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It was about a month ago that Upper Darby got a dose of good news: senior wing Yassir Joyner was going to be postseason eligible. The South Philly transfer and Upper Darby native had received a unanimous ruling from a District 1 panel, Royals coach Bob Miller said, and was going to be able to play for as long as Upper Darby’s season went. 

For a team that’s been playing good hoops all season but is highly reliant on its starting five, it was a crucial outcome, allowing the Royals to be at full strength both physically and emotionally for the playoffs 

“We need everybody but we need him, that’s like my battle twin,” senior forward Niymire Brown said. “Once we got him, it was like, oh yeah, we’re good.”

Upper Darby certainly benefited from Joyner’s presence in their District 1 6A opener, the No. 10 seeded Royals getting a big-time double-double from their senior wing in a 74-54 win over No. 23 Cheltenham. 

The 6-foot-2 Joyner finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds, grabbing 10 of those on the offensive glass, getting a good deal of his production on put-back buckets as UD advanced to a Tuesday second-round game at No. 7 Perkiomen Valley.

A junk-bucket specialist, Joyner’s used to getting plenty of points on put-backs or post-ups, even though he’s never the biggest on the court, throwing his body around at odd angles just to get a look at the rim, or to get his hands on a loose ball.

“You just want it more, [be] hungry,” he said of his mentality on the glass. “That’s what it is. You just want it more.”

Joyner is one of four seniors who have been putting up big numbers all season for Upper Darby (18-7), which has routinely scored in the 70s and 80s, along with Brown, Nadir Myers and Khysir Slaughter, with senior Shaun Cain and junior Lovo Mulbah rounding out the main part of Miller’s rotation.

Take any one of them away, and it’s a major blow for the Royals, who don’t go much deeper than six.

“He’s one of the key pieces on the team, just because he can keep the whole team together,” point guard Nadir Myers said. “(With him) we can stay strong in the postseason, try to make a run.”

Though he’s new to Upper Darby, Joyner isn’t new to his teammates; he played on Sharon Knights teams with Myers in 8th and 9th grade in addition to middle school teams, and had played with others in rec leagues and on park courts in Delco and Philly over the years, so his transition to Upper Darby was an easy one.

“Right away, (we clicked) right away,” he said. “We all had the same mentality, we wanted to win, there’s six seniors on this team, we all have the same goal, and that’s hoisting a trophy.

“It’s great, feels like I’m home, I’m at home, that’s what it feels like.”

Myers finished with 17 points and four steals, his pull-up 3-pointer with 5:10 left the final dagger, making it a 60-41 game. Brown had another terrific all-around game for Upper Darby, going for 25 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks, three steals and two assists, including a poster dunk in the first half. 

The 6-4 forward is one of the area’s more versatile players, a strong outside shooter who can also bang on the block and finish with authority, and when he’s on his game few can stop him. His biggest hurdle is internal, sometimes letting his emotions get in the way — like when he was rejected on a dunk attempt of his own in the second half, needing a moment to settle himself, forcing a couple shots in an attempt to atone before getting back into his rhythm.

“I like how they play, they were very physical, they came out wanting it but we just wanted it a little bit more,” he said. “but they were a very physical team, I like that because nobody really challenges me at the rim — that was a great play. That was a great block.

“My teammates always tell me to worry about the next play so if I miss a shot, I’ll be like next play, because maybe the next play I can get a great block and my teammates can throw me the ball for a dunk, just like what happened,” he added. “Just have to keep it positive — not too high, not too low, that’s what [assistant] coach Ryan [Crossman is] always telling me.”

Brown and Joyner helped Upper Darby to a big advantage on the glass, with only one Panther — freshman forward Malik Hughes, who grabbed 10 rebounds — coming up with more than four boards. Cheltenham also committed 15 turnovers, a number of them leading to easy Upper Darby layups the other way.

“The rebounds and turnovers cost us when you’re playing a team that’s full of seniors,” Pat Fleury said. “You’ve got to limit yourself to one possession and you can’t give them the ball back.”

Cheltenham (12-10) got 24 points from sophomore guard Josiah Hutson, who shook off a slow first half to score 20 in about a 10-minute span between the third and fourth quarters, though most of it came as Upper Darby was extending its lead from 30-22 at halftime to 52-35 by the end of the third quarter. Senior forward Xavier Thompson, who had eight straight in the second quarter, added 12 points for the Panthers.

“To our seniors, we’re grateful, and I just need to be better in terms of getting them to understand what’s at stake,” Fleury said. “Hats’ off to Upper Darby, we’ll go into the postseason with the one focus of getting better and just making sure that we’re in a better position next year to achieve our goals.”

Saturday’s win moves Upper Darby one win away from its first state playoff berth since 2018, when the Royals lost to Lincoln in the first round. The trip to play the Vikings won’t be their last game of the season; the Royals are guaranteed at least one play-back game if they lose, and a win in that game would also qualify Upper Darby for the state bracket. 

Miller admitted that making it to the PIAA 6A bracket was his “main goal” for his team, knowing that beating this year’s powerhouse Radnor for the Central League title was a longshot, but that they could make some noise in districts and beyond. 

Win one more game, and they guarantee themselves at least four more together. But the one has to come first.

“We can’t focus on states, we’ve got to focus on the next game, the next practice, everybody being there, just focus on one game at a time,” Brown said. “Don’t worry about the future, the past, just worry about the present, right now.”

By Quarter
Upper Darby: 20  |  10  |  22  |  22  ||  74
Cheltenham:   8   |  14  |  13  |  19  ||  54

Shooting
Upper Darby: 28-62 FG (5-12 3PT), 13-21 FT
Cheltenham: 21-53 FG (2-14 3PT), 10-18 FT

Scoring
Upper Darby: Niymire Brown 25, Yassir Joyner 21, Nadir Myers 17, Lovo Mulbah 5, Khysir Slaughter 4, Troy Alston 2

Cheltenham: Josiah Hutson 24, Xavier Thompson 12, Osei Johnson 9, Malik Hughes 4, Kamani Healey 3, Yakeen Respes 2

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District 1 6A First Round (Boys)
20) Abington 45, 13) Pennsbury 42 (OT)
18) Neshaminy 62, 15) Boyertown 48
17) West Chester Henderson 66, 16) Pennridge 52
9) Methacton 48, 24) Conestoga 38
11) Coatesville 56, 22) Harriton 38
21) Haverford 60, 12) William Tennent 46
14) Penn Wood 78, 19) Norristown 48
10) Upper Darby 74, Cheltenham 54

District 1 6A Second Round (Boys) — Tues., Feb. 21
1) Spring Ford vs. 17) West Chester Henderson
8) Garnet Valley vs. 9) Methacton
4) Central Bucks East vs. 20) Abington
5) Downingtown West vs. 21) Haverford High
2) Lower Merion vs. 18) Neshaminy
7) Perkiomen Valley vs. 10) Upper Darby
3) Plymouth Whitemarsh vs. 14) Penn Wood
6) North Penn vs. 11) Coatesville

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