Catawba Ridge head coach Brett Childers said he slowed down Monday’s practice session way down.
He said his players worked hard on the smallest details – a cut here, a screen there, an extra pass – so that they could play at a higher tempo come game time.
That attention to detail paid off Tuesday night.
Senior center Mark Caslaru (21 points) led all scorers, senior guard Kevin Butler (16 points) knocked down three important treys, while junior guard Isaiah Thomas (14 points) picked up clutch buckets in the third quarter to help the Copperheads earn a 66-50 road win at crosstown rival Nation Ford.
Catawba Ridge outscored Nation Ford 23-8 in a pivotal third quarter. Childers’ team carried a 19-5 run through the middle of the quarter, with the visitors holding Nation Ford to just two
buckets.
The Copperheads (11-5, 2-2 in Region 3-5A) led by just two heading into halftime, leading Childers to ask his team to double its effort coming out of the break.
“That’s the best third quarter that this group has put together in the past two years,” Childers said. “We kept attacking. At first, we got on our heels, let (Nation Ford) be the aggressor. But we tried really hard yesterday, worked on our execution, cuts, screens, and it really showed. We found the open guy a lot.”
Senior point guard Chase Walters led the Falcons (14-4, 3-1 in Region) with 17 points, including four 3-pointers, while freshman guard AJ Cureton picked up 13 points. Noah Patrick and Banks Swanson chipped in six points apiece, with each of their shots coming from beyond the arc.
Patrick opened the game with two treys, but Catawba Ridge’s Caslaru scored his team’s final six points of the quarter to cut the lead to 12-11.
Butler hit a 3 pointer and got the foul throw to give Catawba Ridge its first lead of the game 15-12 just 30 seconds into the second quarter.
Nation Ford scored three treys between Walters, Cureton, and Zadrian Herediah to take a 21-19 lead with four minutes to go. Thomas tipped in two easy layups near the basket in the final two minutes of the half to give Catawba Ridge a slim 25-23 halftime edge.
Catawba Ridge’s strong third quarter helped push the lead past 20, and Nation Ford couldn’t catch up. Four scorers were responsible for eight buckets during the 19-5 run. Caslaru picked up three layups midway through the fourth to extend the lead.
Childers said he’s a firm believer that student-athletes crave structure and attention to detail. While he said his team does a little scouting on upcoming region opponents, he told his team that they need to focus on themselves.
“If we can be consistent like tonight, play that kind of way, ” Childers said. “I see the potential of what we can be. Each possession can turn into a quarter, each quarter can turn into a good half, each good half can turn into full games.”
Nation Ford next travels to play at Clover 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 16. Catawba Ridge next travels to play at non-region Forestview Wednesday, Jan. 14, then returns home for a region game 7:45 p.m. Friday against Rock Hill.
Girls’ basketball
Sophomore Ariah Heard led all scorers with 14 points, senior Kaitlyn Garvin added 10 points, and four different Lady Falcon scorers nailed at least one three-pointer to help Nation Ford earn a region win over their crosstown rival with a 52-24 score.
Heard nailed a trey from the far corner to give Nation Ford a narrow 12-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Nation Ford (8-9, 3-1 Region 3-5A) outscored Catawba Ridge 13-3 in the second quarter.
Heard and sophomore Makayla Washington (8 points) both turned steals into fast-break layups, while eighth-grader Haven Land (9 points) nailed a trey to kick off a run of six unanswered field goals as Nation Ford took a 25-13 halftime lead.
Nation Ford’s Mia Kurowski and Garvin hit buckets from beyond the arc to start the third quarter, while Jordyn Kerr and Washington’s layups helped push the lead to 22.
Nation Ford held Catawba Ridge to just one field goal in the fourth.
Nation Ford coach Kelly Bennett said his team got off to a slow start, but played its brand of basketball soon after.
“We feel like we’ve really got our momentum going now,” said Bennett. “The more we continue to grow and work with each other, the better we are.”
Bennett praised Heard as a competitor. He said the team is willing to give Heard whatever she needs as the “motor” of the team.
Jolina Bowen led the Copperheads (8-6, 2-2) with eight points, while Kayleigh Freeman pitched in seven, and Rilyn Grinch picked up four points.
Catawba Ridge next travels to play non-region opponent Forestview 6 p.m. Wednesday before hosting Rock Hill 6:30 p.m. Friday. Nation Ford next travels to play Clover 6:30 p.m. Friday.
