The undefeated, Region 3B Champion Meridian Mustangs began State Tournament play on Tuesday night, hosting the Trojans from New Kent in their final home game of the 2024-25 season. New Kent, the runners-up from Region 3A, entered the game with a record of 24-2 and figured to be yet another formidable foe along Meridian’s postseason quest.
It was a slow start for the Mustangs, as New Kent scored the game’s first seven points before an Isaac Rosenberger free throw and a Jarrett Jardine layup got the home team on the board. Meridian would fall behind 11-3, but then everything changed after head coach Jim Smith brought in the Mustangs’ secret weapon in Marquis Myles. The backup guard has provided a spark off the bench all year long with his energy and quickness, and he scored nine first half points on Tuesday as part of a 25-2 run to completely flip this game on its head. Meridian led 28-13 before New Kent got a three at the end of the half, and the Mustangs went into the break leading by a comfortable margin.
The Trojans started out the second half back on the run, getting within 32-29 before Meridian scored six straight to open it up again – coinciding directly with Myles’ insertion back into the game. The advantage briefly expanded back to double figures and Meridian led 42-34 after three quarters, but New Kent wasn’t going to go away quietly, and went on an 8-1 run in the closing frame to get back within one possession. The Mustangs began to stall time in the final few minutes, playing keepaway until John Lyman got open under the basket for a clutch layup to put Meridian up by four, and New Kent turned it over on the other end with about a minute remaining. Will Davis then made two free throws to officially put this one on ice, and the Mustangs escaped with the 51-45 victory to survive and advance.
Jardine ended up with 12 points to lead all scorers, while Myles had 11. Said the latter regarding his impact in Meridian’s game-changing run, “I just focus on locking in on defense and bringing the energy.”
Meanwhile, assistant coach Bobby Smith (son of Jim) noted that despite the win, there were some areas that the Mustangs need to clean up – notably rebounding and free throws. “We had some opportunities where we could’ve broken things open,” he said. “Even in the second quarter, we felt like we could’ve pushed it to around 20 and made it a different game.”
The Mustangs will now travel to Central Virginia on Friday to face the Hopewell Blue Devils in their home gym. Win that one, and they’ll earn a trip to just north of Hopewell to play in the State Finals at VCU on Saturday, March 15th.
“We’re going to need to bring our best,” the elder of the Smiths remarked of the pending matchup. “They’re a great team, a really great team. But so are we.”
