CLOVER – The Clover Blue Eagles hit the go ahead shot with 10.2 seconds left in the game to take a one-point lead as they downed the Fort Mill boys’ basketball team 52-51 giving the Jackets their first Region 3-5A loss on the season.
Fort Mill tried for a shot in the closing seconds, but came up short. The loss now puts Clover a half game ahead in the region standings at 6-1, while Fort Mill falls to 5-1. The Jackets still have two games left, while Clover has just one region game left next Tuesday at Boiling Springs. Fort Mill still has to go to Gaffney next Tuesday and will host Nation Ford to end the regular season next Friday. The Jackets need to win both of their final two games to stay in contention for the region title.
“There is still a lot of basketball left,” said Fort Mill head coach Dwayne Hartsoe said. “We got to win the next game. We didn’t make a play when we needed to.”
Fort Mill trailed at the half by three at 23-20 as Clover was able to keep the Jackets out of a rhythm in the first half. The Jackets were able to find that rhythm in the second half as Zach Jennings led Fort Mill with 16 points, nine of those coming in the third quarter.
Fort Mill outscored Clover 15-11 in the third quarter and took a 35-34 lead into the fourth quarter. The Jackets jumped out to a nice lead in the fourth quarter as Darryl Carrington scored nine of his 12 points in the game in the final period.
The Jackets went up 49-42, but Clover went on a 5-0 run and pulled within two points with three minutes left in the game. Fort Mill tried to hold the ball to run the clock down, but costly turnovers gave the Blue Eagles the time they needed to regain the lead.
Clover held both of Fort Mill’s leading scorers under 10 points as Kyle Neibch was held to nine points and Gabe Tooper was held to seven points.
The loss now puts Fort Mill at 17-5 on the season overall.
Fort Mill girls fall as Clover clinches region title
The Fort Mill girls fell 39-30 to Clover as the Blue Eagles clinched the region title with the win over the Jackets.
Fort Mill played well in the first half and kept pace with Clover for the most part as the two teams went in the locker room tied at 18-18 at the half. Nadia Dial led Fort Mill with 13 points, nine of those coming in the first half.
Both teams started off the second half slow and Fort Mill struggled to get many good looks as they hit just two third quarter field goals. The poor shooting and turnovers allowed Clover to pull ahead and take a five-point lead heading to the final quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Fort Mill’s shooting woes worsened as they hit just one of 10 shots from the field further allowing Clover to pull away. Fort Mill drops to 3-3 in region play at 9-15 overall.
Basketball
In other local games, Nation Ford was swept by Gaffney as both the Falcons’ boys and girls team lost.
The Nation Ford boys fell 47-41 as they were led by Ryan Smith and Quadier Hand each with nine points. Gaffney took a 35-34 lead at the end of the third quarter and then outscored Nation Ford 12-7 in the fourth quarter.
Nation Ford played Gaffney close the majority of the game as they led by one at the half 26-25 after ending the first quarter leading 19-10. The loss drops the Falcons to 6-15 overall and 1-5 in the region.
The Nation Ford girls fell to Gaffney 60-42 and was led by Camille Kerridge with 24 points in the loss. The loss puts the Nation Ford girls at 5-17 on the season and 1-5 in the region.
The Falcons will next play at Northwestern on Tuesday, Feb. 8.
Catawba Ridge splits with Lancaster
The Catawba Ridge girls beat Lancaster 49-44 to improve to 19-2 on the season and 6-1 in Region 3-4A, while the Copperhead boys fell to the Bruins 54-44 and are now 19-5 on the season and 4-3 in the region. The Catawba Ridge boys were led by Grant Lovette with 11 points and Landon Foley with 10 points in the loss.
Catawba Ridge will next travel to Indian Land Tuesday, Feb. 8 to finish their regular season.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
