The Catawba Ridge boys’ basketball team pulled away in the third quarter to take a commanding win over the Forestview Jaguars.
The Copperheads won 71-41 over the Jaguars in a game that saw Catawba Ridge offensively make long runs to pull away.
“We showed some heart in the third quarter,” said Catawba Ridge head coach Brett Childers. “We aren’t were we want to be yet, but we are building. We can see the future and where we want to be.”
Catawba Ridge went down after the first basket, but went on a 9-0 run to get a good lead early.
That allowed the Copperheads to go into the second quarter up 13-5 over the Jaguars.
Isaiah Thomas stepped up in the second quarter for Catawba Ridge scoring six of their first eight points.
Forestview got into foul trouble midway through the period sending the Copperheads to the foul line. The Jaguars increased the defensive pressure in the quarter as things went on, but Catawba Ridge was able to withstand it and made most of their foul shots.
The Copperheads took a comfortable 28-16 lead into the locker room and then started the second half on another run. Catawba Ridge opened the third quarter on a 13-0 run to go up 41-16.
Like the second quarter, the Copperheads did a lot of damage at the charity stripe in the quarter and took advantage of Jaguars’ turnovers.
Catawba Ridge outscored Forestview 29-12 in the third quarter and was a perfect 10-for-10 from the foul line as they took a 57-28 lead to the fourth quarter.
The Copperheads set the cruise control in the fourth quarter and rolled to a win to improve to 4-1 with the 30-point victory.
Thomas led Catawba Ridge with 27 points. Kevin Butler added 13 points in the win for the Copperheads.
Girls’ basketball
A back-and-forth game for the Catawba Ridge girls’ basketball ball team came out with the Copperheads getting a 51-45 win over Forestview to improve to 4-2 on the season.
Both teams struggled to score early in the game. Catawba Ridge went up 4-0 to start before the Jaguars scored. Forestview came back to tie the game at six as neither team was able to establish their dominance.
The Copperheads were able to go on a 5-0 run before the end of the first quarter with the help of a Camryn Davis 3-pointer to go up 14-10 with about 30 seconds remaining.
Catawba Ridge opened the second quarter on a 6-0 run to widen the deficit allowing them to go up by nine.
That run didn’t last long as Forestview went on a 11-0 run to cut the Copperheads lead to just two points with a minute to play in the first half.
Catawba Ridge got a much needed 3-pointer from Rilyn Grinch with about five minutes left in the third quarter to give the Copperheads a five-point lead. That lead allowed the flood gate to open for the Copperheads as Brooke Berninzoni got more involved on the block for Catawba Ridge to carry a 36-30 lead into the fourth quarter.
As well as they played in the third quarter, the Copperheads struggled in the fourth quarter as Forestview rallied to pull within three with about four minutes left in the game.
Catawba Ridge used their foul shooting in the fourth quarter to stay one step ahead of the Jaguars. The Copperheads went 8-of-16 from the foul line in the final period.
Kayleigh Freeman led Catawba Ridge with 13 points and Grinch added 12 points. Berninzoni dropped in 10 points for the Copperheads.
Catawba Ridge will host another North Carolina team in South Point on Tuesday, Dec. 9 next week.
Dec. 5 Roundup
The Fort Mill girls’ and boys’ basketball programs split games against Gaffney at home. The Fort Mill girls lost 58-35 to fall to 3-4 on the season, while the Fort Mill boys won 61-47 to improve to 5-1 on the season.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
