Fort Mill head coach Myron Lowery said he found out that his starting senior shooting guard AJ Washington would be out (illness) for Monday night’s first-round playoff game at noon that day.
That “curveball” set into motion a series of major adjustments, Lowery said, including a special pre-game walkthrough to make sure the rest of his team was ready to face Northwestern High in a win-or-go-home battle. Lowery’s team stepped up in Washington’s absence.
Senior guard Wallace Campbell led all scorers with 19 points, sophomore point guard Jermier Nelson added 14 points (10-of-12 from free throw line), and the Yellow Jackets (20-7) overcame a slow start to top Northwestern 53-48 in the opening round of the Class 5A Division II state playoffs.
“We had to make sure everyone knew what’s going on,” Lowery said. “I’ve been doing this for 36 years, and this is the most amount of adjustments I’ve had to make for a game, including in-game adjustments. But everyone adapted well, and did what we wanted them to do… I’m proud of my guys.”
The Yellow Jackets will next travel to play T.L. Hanna Friday, Feb. 20 in the second round.
Washington has led the Yellow Jackets in rebounds per game (7.4) and assists per game (4), while earning the second-most points per game (17.8) so far this year. Lowery said he expects Washington to be good to go by Friday’s game.
Freshman shooting guard Grant Pursley nailed three 3-pointers in the opening six minutes to give Northwestern a 14-12 lead. Both teams traded a pair of treys to open the game, but Pursley knocked home three of his team’s four 3-pointers to help the visitors take a six-point lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Trojans ended the quarter on a 10-2 run in the final two minutes, including two layups at the rim in the final minute.
Fort Mill senior guard Canyon Hall hit a trey from the elbow to cut the Northwestern lead before senior guard Campbell drove to the lane for a pair of fast-break layups as Fort Mill took the lead and forced Northwestern into a timeout with 5 minutes left in the first half.
Fort Mill outscored Northwestern 16-6 in the second quarter and took a 28-24 advantage into the halftime break.
“That stretch was where we really passed the ball well, we got up by nine, and we were hitting what we needed to hit,” Lowery said. “Wallace was really good tonight, and he does so many things between passing and taking care of the ball, rebounding, shots.”
Fort Mill stretched its lead to nine early in the third quarter, thanks to two Caleb Topper layups and a George Stewart jumper.
Northwestern closed the third quarter with an 8-0 run of its own in the final 2:30 of the third.
Campbell was pivotal in a 7-0 fourth-quarter run. He hit a mid-range jumper, then dunked at the baseline soon after before playing provider to Nelson on a fast-break layup to push the lead to 11 with four minutes to play.
Northwestern quickly responded with a 7-0 streak of its own in the next 90 seconds, including a trey and two fast-break layups. Freshman forward Dash Holley hit a clutch 3-pointer in front of his own bench with 25 seconds to go to cut the lead to 51-48.
Nelson hit one of his two free throws on the next possession, giving Fort Mill a 4-point advantage. Senior guard Ryland Meszaros missed two shots from beyond the arc, and Campbell recovered to help Fort Mill stop the rally and earn the win.
“I think once we gained the lead, we could control more things,” Lowery said.
Lowery added Nelson was a “closer,” who takes care of the ball and makes smart decision. He said T.L. Hanna is a “beast on the boards.” He said it is a physically demanding team with quickness and athleticism that can cause problems.
Girls’ basketball
Junior guard Colbie Wolf (12 points), senior forward Ava Shave (12 points), and eighth-grade point guard Journi Berry (11 points) enjoyed double-digit days to help the Fort Mill girls’ basketball team earn its first playoff win since Feb. 13, 2007, when they beat Aiken High School on the road, with a 61-15 pounding of the Northwestern Lady Trojans.
The Yellow Jackets hit five layups in the opening five minutes, and junior guard Vivian Bunting, senior forward Kate Marker, and Wolf all hit 3-pointers in the final two minutes to give Fort Mill a 20-point lead at the end of the first quarter.
Sophomore guard Naynay Ford turned a steal into a fast-break layup on an athletic one-girl highlight in the second quarter. Senior forward Zoe Williams’ hard-fought layup a few minutes later pushed the Fort Mill lead to 35.
Northwestern was held to just one bucket in the second quarter; Niyah Colvin’s layup with a minute left in the first half ended a 16-1 Fort Mill run. The Yellow Jackets entered the halftime break up 46-9.
Wolf nailed two more treys in the third quarter, while Northwestern was shut out.
“These girls have been building this program for the past four years,” said Fort Mill girls’ head coach Nathan Wruble. “It’s great to see all the energy they put in the weight room, in practice, and see it pay off.”
Wruble rotated much of his team in and out throughout the second half – seven different Lady Yellow Jackets recorded at least a bucket in program’s first playoff victory in more than 19 years.
Fort Mill (15-12) will next travel to Taylors to play Eastside High School on Saturday, Feb. 21 in the second round of the Class 5A Division II state playoffs. Northwestern’s season is over at 4-19.
No. 4 seed Eastside earned a bye into the second round after finishing fifth in Region II. Wruble said Eastside is a fast team with good guard play that shares the ball well. He said his team will need to maintain a strong team defense.
