A third quarter rally by the Catawba Ridge Copperheads allowed them to pick up a win over the South Point Red Raiders of North Carolina.
Catawba Ridge won 66-53 despite being down by seven at the half. They improved to 5-1 with the win.
“We were sluggish in the first half,” said Catawba Ridge head coach Brett Childers. “Every time, we go out there we learn a lot.”
South Point went up 4-0, while Catawba Ridge struggled to score missing their first nine shots, most of which were on the block at the basket.
Once the scoring started, the Copperheads were able to keep pace with the Red Raiders, until they opened things up and went on a 5-0 run to go up 14-5 after the opening period.
Catawba Ridge struggled to get shot attempts early in the second quarter. The Copperheads also ran into an issue with ball handling as it led to turnovers resulting in points for the Red Raiders.
Catawba Ridge’s Mark Caslaru was able to keep the Copperheads competitive scoring six points in the quarter as they went to the locker room trailing 28-21. Caslaru and Kevin Butler helped to play Catawba Ridge back into the game as they pulled within one with about five minutes left in the third quarter.
The Copperheads were able to get to the basket better in the third quarter hitting shots from the block as they went up 35-33 with less than three minutes left in the quarter. Catawba Ridge hit their first nine shots, with only one of them being a 3-pointer.
The Copperheads also only had two turnovers in the third quarter as they carried a seven-point lead to the fourth quarter. Caslaru opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer extending the Catawba Ridge lead. Both Caslaru and Isaiah Thomas kept the Copperheads ahead midway through the fourth quarter.
Catawba Ridge was able to close the game out down the stretch by hitting free throws.
Butler, Thomas and Caslaru each scored 17 points for the Copperheads. Childers said he likes his team having balanced scoring.
“That is how we hoped it would be,” he said. “Kevin and Isaiah have stepped up.”
Girls’ basketball
A fourth quarter rally by the Catawba Ridge girls’ basketball team was enough to beat South Point 31-29 and improve to 5-2.
“Our starting lineup is a junior, a senior, a sophomore, a freshman, and an eighth grader,” said Copperheads head coach Sheridan Pressley. “I am proud of them. We have potential. One thing about this team is they don’t quit. The third quarter was ugly and they could have folded, but they didn’t. We found a way to win.”
Neither team was able to establish a consistent rhythm in their offense. Catawba Ridge edged ahead with a 9-6 lead with about two minutes left in the first quarter. The Copperheads struggled with turnovers in the first quarter, but still were able to take a 12-8 lead into the second quarter.
South Point opened the second quarter scoring the first two baskets to tie the game at 12. Offensive struggles for both teams led to a low scoring second quarter as the Copperheads were able to tie the game at 13.
Catawba Ridge went on a 5-0 run as they went up 18-13 to create some distance between the Red Raiders. That allowed the Copperheads to eventually take an eight-point lead into the half.
Catawba Ridge started the second half struggling to score as South Point was able to go on an 8-0 run to take a 23-22 lead.
The Red Raiders went to the fourth quarter up by three, but the Copperheads finally scored on a couple of free throws by Karsyn Heffner to end the drought.
Despite that, Catawba Ridge couldn’t find any momentum and struggled to hit any high percentage shots.
The Copperheads finally regained the lead in the fourth quarter with 90 seconds left in the game on a Brooke Berninzoni lay-up. Catawba Ridge was able to ice it with foul shots down the stretch to get the win. Berninzoni led with 15 points for the Copperheads.
Dec. 9 Roundup
The Fort Mill boys’ and girls’ basketball teams swept the Lancaster Bruins at home. The Fort Mill boys’ won 52-45 to improve to 6-2 on the season. The Lady Jackets won 63-17 to improve to 4-4 on the season.
The Nation Ford boys’ team on the road won 67-63 against Covenant Day to improve to 4-3 on the season.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
