A highly motivated Fort Mill boys’ basketball team ran through rival Nation Ford Falcons.
Fort Mill ran away with a 68-41 win to improve to 24-2 overall and finish Region 3-5A play with a perfect 12-0 record.
After losing on their home court last year to the Falcons, keeping a perfect region record and making sure that Nation Ford didn’t steal one, Fort Mill head coach Myron Lowery said his team had a lot to play for.
“We had plenty of motivation,” he said. “We played really well in every facet. We did a great job executing our stuff.”
Both teams took a lot of shots early, but wasn’t able to convert much. Each team seemed to take their time early in the opening quarter. Fort Mill was able to start scoring in transition thanks to Logan Parker.
The Jackets were able to take control leading to the second quarter. Wallace Campbell was big inside the paint for the Jackets opening the quarter.
Fort Mill opened the second quarter on a 10-3 run sparked by Campbell and Parker. Campbell and the Jackets consistently got to the basket, while the Falcons were unable to convert on their end. Fort Mill took a 30-13 lead into the locker room.
The third quarter started a little slow for both teams. Each traded one basket, but their shots didn’t fall afterwards. As the quarter wore on, Fort Mill started picking up steam. The Jackets continued to get to the basket with ease and went up by 20 with less than a minute left in the quarter.
Fort Mill didn’t let up as they started the fourth quarter with a 6-0 run before a timeout by the Falcons.
Nas Berry took the game over for Fort Mill in the fourth quarter as the Jackets went ahead by 30. Berry scored 15 of his 23 points in the fourth as Fort Mill pulled away even more so.
Besides Berry, Campbell had 20 points and Parker added 16 points. Fort Mill will open the playoffs next week after a first-round bye and won’t play until the second round Friday, Feb. 21.
Nation Ford was led by 13 points from Chase Walters and 10 points from Ben Chuttey, as the Falcons will open the playoffs on the road next Tuesday, Feb. 18. Nation Ford finished the regular season at 11-15 overall and 3-9 in the region.
Fort Mill used 3-pointers to beat Falcons
The Fort Mill Lady Jackets were able to get a 45-35 win over Nation Ford in their regular season finale.
The first couple minutes of the game didn’t see much scoring from either team and then Fort Mill’s Kate Marker was able to get to the basket.
Neither team’s shots seemed to fall consistently. Fort Mill did a better job getting to the basket, while Nation Ford struggled with mid-range jumpers. The Jackets went from driving to the basket to hitting 3-pointers from Colbie Wolf and Saylor Heberling.
Wolf opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer for the Jackets. The Falcons were able to get to the basket, but unable to score. Fort Mill got to the foul line early in the quarter staring on a 9-1 run.
The two teams started trading baskets midway through the second quarter as Fort Mill continued to hit 3-pointers, while Nation Ford was only able to convert shots from within the paint.
Fort Mill took a 28-17 lead at the break. The Jackets hit 6-of-11 3-pointers in the first half.
Both teams came out hitting shots in the third quarter and struggling with turnovers. Fort Mill was able to keep a decent lead, but the Falcons kept it consistently to less than 10 points.
The Jackets were able to go on a small 6-0 run before the end of the quarter and took a 15-point lead to the fourth quarter.
Fort Mill kept its foot on the pedal to start as they scored the first four points of the quarter. Nation Ford continued to turn the ball over as they struggled to make the shots they needed.
Fort Mill didn’t score a lot in the fourth quarter but was able to maintain their lead getting the 10-point win.
Wolf led the Jackets with 14 points and Heberling added 10 points. Kayla Wilmore led the Falcons with 11 points and Ariah Heard added 10 points.
Fort Mill finished the regular season 16-10 overall and 9-3 in the region. The Falcons finished 12-14 overall and 6-6 in the region. Both teams will have first round home playoff games starting Monday, Feb. 17.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
