Rembert leads Crestwood to District 9 Tournament title, wins Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week

Crestwood won the District 9 Officials Christmas Basketball Tournament last week with four straight wins. Leading the charge for the Knights with Justin Rembert, who was a key contributor in each of the wins. Rembert's performance also was enough to earn the title of Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week.

"It feels good," Rembert said of winning the vote. "We did it all together, but it feels real good."

Rembert and the Knights got out to a strong start against Kingstree. Rembert scored 15 points as the Knights rolled to a 65-47 win.

"I knew we were going to have to come hard and play hard," Rembert said of his mindset entering the tournament. "Coach (Aric) Samuel told us it wasn't going to be easy so I already knew it was going to be a competitive week."

The second game was the closest the Knights played in the tournament. Crestwood edged North Myrtle Beach 56-54 behind another big performance from Rembert. He scored 18 points to lead the Knights in the victory. He said it was important for Crestwood to prove to themselves that they can win close games with the region around the corner.

"It was hard because coach Samuel told us they were going to come out and fight for lose balls and play harder than us," Rembert said. "It helps us going into region knowing that no one is going to take it easy on us, there's no easy game to be played."

Crestwood then punched its ticket to the championship match with a 66-56 win over Laurence Manning Academy. Rembert had another solid game, scoring 11 points in the victory.

That set up a matchup against a familiar foe, Manning. Rembert had another huge game, scoring 17 points as the Knights won 80-73. He played a key role in sparking the offense, as a couple of baskets early in the third quarter cooled a Manning run. Rembert also helped ice the game with a late dunk.

"I know Manning. They had film on how to stop us and I knew they were going to play hard," Rembert said of playing a region rival in the tournament championship. "We always get off to a slow start, but I knew we would pick it up."

Crestwood head coach Aric Samuel appreciates having an experienced guard in Rembert to lead the Knights through difficult matchups.

"I'm extremely proud of Justin and the work and commitment he has demonstrated," Samuel said. "I'm proud of the player he has become on and off the court. Justin means a lot to this organization and we are very happy he's here."

There is a lot of excitement around the Crestwood basketball program as the Knights prepare to open region play against Lake City on Friday. CHS is ranked No. 8 in 3A and enter 2022 with a 10-2 record.

"It feels really good," Rembert said. "We have a lot of chemistry. We play AAU together and we've been playing since we were little."