Niymire Brown (above) throws down a dunk as part of his 25-point, 12-rebound outing. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)
By Josh Verlin
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.