VALDOSTA — Good shooters never stop shooting. Justin Mayfield knew this, even though he was in a funk late in the 2010 regular season.

Then, like all good shooting guards, Mayfield came out of his slump in the nick of time, lighting up the scoreboard for the Lowndes Vikings in their biggest game of the season at Valdosta.

Mayfield poured in 25 points in that regular season finale, leading the Vikings to a 80-73 win and their first victory over the Wildcats in five tries.

Lowndes coach Kingston Clark said he had a long talk with Mayfield before the game and told him the Vikings needed some kind of production from him.

“He came out and made four or five threes that put us over the hump,” Clark said. “That was probably the defining moment for our season, beating (Valdosta) after we had lost to them so many times prior to that.”

Months later, Mayfield reflected on that stretch run during his senior season — the Vikings finished second in the Region 1-AAAAA tournament and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the state tournament — as he prepared to continue his basketball career at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa.

Earlier this summer, Mayfield signed a scholarship to play for the Division III Norse. He flew to Iowa a couple weeks ago and got a look at the exotic place he’ll play ball for the next several years.

“I kind of want to go far away to get a different experience in life,” Mayfield said. “I went for a visit, and it was beautiful up there. It’s a great choice. I like the campus and the coaches. Around the town it seems very quiet. They have valleys and waterfalls. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen a waterfall.”

Mayfield began playing organized basketball in the sixth grade and immediately knew he was on to something. It was his favorite sport, and he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his idols Julius Erving and Michael Jordan.

He spent his freshman year at Lowndes, but his mom decided it would be best to move to Paulding County near other family for Mayfield’s sophomore year.

However, Mayfield say neither he nor his mom liked it, and they moved back down to Valdosta for Mayfield’s junior and senior seasons.

“I started on the varsity (at Paulding), but I still didn’t like it,” Mayfield said. “I’m very happy with the decision to come back.”

With a return to the Vikings, Mayfield began eyeing where he would want to play college basketball as recruiting heated up. He got off to a good start, scoring 33 points in Lowndes’ season opener against Worth County in 2008.

Mayfield’s high school career ended with a magical ride in 2010. After the Vikings beat Valdosta on the road to end the regular season, they scored 42 points in the fourth quarter to complete an epic comeback against Houston County in the second round of the region tournament. The Vikings again beat Valdosta in the region semifinals to advance to the region championship game.

After a tough two-point loss to Tift County in the region championship, Lowndes beat Pebblebrook in a home playoff game to advance to the Sweet 16. The Vikings nearly made the Elite Eight, but lost in overtime at Newton.

“My 11th grade year I didn’t think we’d advance far my 12th grade year, but when we started beating people by 20 I was happy,” Mayfield said. “I said we’re going to make it far this year. I lifted my team, and we made it as far as we could.”

Now Mayfield will take his shooting touch to the collegiate level. Led by head coach Mark Franzen, Luther College went 12-12 last season and 6-10 in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Mayfield said the coaching staff of the Norse told him that everyone has a chance to come in and play right away.

Off the court, Mayfield will face another type of transition. While he’s excited about the idea of living in a new place, he did say he would miss his family. Decorah is a 19 hour drive from Valdosta and is closer to the borders of Minnesota and Wisconsin than Des Moines, Iowa’s capital.

And then there’s the climate change. Mayfield said the weather was great when he visited two weeks ago, but that was in the middle of summer. The dead of winter will be a different story.

Mayfield said the coldest weather he’s experienced came in North Georgia.

“(The coaches) told me one player went to a store and bought earmuffs and a big hat with fur on it, and he didn’t even take it off when he went to class,” Mayfield said. “I know it’s going to be crazy. I’m looking forward to it. It’ll be fun, I hope.”

Clark doesn’t foresee any problems with Mayfield adjusting to a new lifestyle.

“He’s always went about taking care of his business,” Clark said. “I was a little apprehensive about him taking a trip out in the middle of nowhere, but he went out there and had a wonderful visit. The coaches always call and touch base and want to know if there’s anything they can do. They were very excited about Justin. They saw the film and highlights on him, but I think what really sold them was his personality.”

Mayfield is the second Viking basketball player from the class of 2010 to sign a college scholarship. Forward Robert Powell signed with Valdosta State earlier in the summer.

“Both of those kids worked hard the past couple years and put in the work on and off the court,” Clark said. “It really paid off. That’s what it’s all about right now, to have an opportunity to go somewhere and play. Hopefully they’ll come back four years from now and be productive citizens back here in Lowndes County.”

Mayfield said he intends to study business and accounting at Luther.