For the second straight game, the Catawba Ridge Copperheads were able to push the pace and sail to a blowout win.
The Copperheads beat the Aiken Green Hornets 82-34 Friday to get to the finals of the Copperhead Classic.
“They played well,” said Catawba Ridge head boys coach Brett Childers. “They came out and Zyan (Hager) got us off to a great start.”
Catawba Ridge picked up where they left off on day one of the tournament by opening the game against the Green Hornets with a 12-0 run before Aiken called timeout. The run was part of a 15-0 start for the Copperheads. Catawba Ridge ended the first quarter with a 20-2 lead as Hager scored 9 of the Copperheads 20 points in the first quarter.
The scoring slowed down in the second quarter for Catawba Ridge, but they were still able to control the game. The Copperheads took strong 34-11 lead into the locker room at the half.
Catawba Ridge opened the second half on a 10-0 run and kept their fast pace offense on the attack. Aiken played better in the third quarter, but wasn’t able to make up much ground on the superior Copperheads.
Catawba Ridge outscored Aiken 24-11 in the third quarter. The Copperheads soon went up by 40 in the fourth to again cruise to the win.
Catawba Ridge was led by Lance Barnes with 20 points and Hager with 19 points.
The Copperheads will play in the finals against Conway at 6 p.m. Saturday. Catawba Ridge is 12-2 on the season.
Girls’ bracket
Lady Copperheads to play for third
A fourth quarter rally by the Palisades Panthers led to a 50-46 win over the Catawba Ridge Lady Copperheads in day two of their host tournament.
Catawba Ridge started well opening the game with an 11-0 run over Palisades.
The Copperheads were able to score mostly on fast breaks and handled the ball well for the most part.
Morgan Davis paced the Copperheads scoring 6 of their 15 first quarter points. Davis would leave the game in the third quarter with an injury.
Catawba Ridge led by nine to start the second quarter. Their offense slowed to start the second quarter, as turnovers started to become an issue. The turnovers allowed Palisades to climb back into the game giving them more opportunities as they were down by just five at the half, 23-18.
Palisades started the second half on a 10-0 run to gain control. It took a while for the Copperheads offense to start being effective, but once it was, they were able to keep pace with the Palisades. Catawba Ridge was able to close the third quarter on a 9-0 run to lead 39-31.
Just like they did in the third quarter, the Palisades started strong scoring the first 11 points of the fourth quarter to regain the lead. Catawba Ridge kept it close, but was unable to regain the momentum they had earlier in the game.
The Copperheads were led by Taylor Reilly with 15 points. Both Addison Cunningham and Davis had 10 points.
Catawba Ridge will play at noon Saturday, Dec. 30 against Marvin Ridge for third place. The Copperheads fall to 2-11 on the season.
Jackets rebound for win
Fort Mill Lady Jackets advanced to the consolation finals to play for fifth place beating the South Point Red Raiders 63-51.
This was the third time Fort Mill played South Point this season winning the previous two games as well.
“There are a few things we have to work out, but the girls are playing hard and having fun,” said Fort Mill head girls coach Nathan Wruble.
Both teams played each other close with the score going back and forth in the opening period. Fort Mill led 13-12 to open the second quarter and went on a 9-0 run to start led by Clare Moore. South Point was resilient and stayed close making Fort Mill keep the intensity up. The Jackets were able to do so getting second chance points on the offensive side.
Both Moore and Jada Chambliss kept the Jackets ahead as they were able to score both in the paint and beyond the 3-point arc.
Fort Mill opened the third quarter leading 34-28. The Jackets were able to stay a step ahead of South Point in the early part of the second half.
The Jackets went on a 5-0 run near the end of the third quarter to go up by 10. Fort Mill created turnovers and took advantage of them in the quarter to lead 52-37.
With a nice lead, Fort Mill was more patient with the ball on offense. On defense, the Jackets had a lapse as South Point opened the fourth on a 12-2 run. South Point put a lot of pressure on them defensively leading to multiple turnovers. Despite the chaos of the quarter, Fort Mill was able to hold on to win.
Fort Mill was led by Moore with 17 points. Chambliss and Reagan Reyes had 12 points each.
The Jackets are 12-2 on the season and will play at 6 p.m. Saturday against Broome.
Dec. 29 Roundup
The Fort Mill boys’ basketball team improved to 7-6 on the season with a 57-43 win over Hickory Grove Christian School. AJ Washington led with 16 points and Logan Parker added 11 in the win.
On day two of the Carolina Invitational in Charleston, the Nation Ford girls won 37-31 to improve to 9-3 overall. The Nation Ford boys lost their second straight game falling to Covenant Day 59-48. The Nation Ford boys lost to North Oconee 64-54 on day one of the tournament Dec. 28.
The Catawba Ridge wrestling team went 1-5 on day one of the Lexington Duals at Lexington High School. The Copperheads beat Travelers Rest, but lost to James Island, Eastside, Lexington, Lugoff-Elgin and Pierce County (Ga.). Catawba Ridge is now 12-9 on the season.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
