LANCASTER – In one of the loudest environments they have ever played in, the Catawba Ridge Copperheads weathered the storm and edged the second ranked Lancaster Bruins to get a key Region 3-4A win Friday night.
The fourth-ranked Copperheads won 73-70 as Landon Foley hit two free throws with 9.3 seconds in the fourth quarter to give the Copperheads the breathing room they needed, as Lancaster missed a final 3-point attempt to tie the game as time expired.
“I love it,” said Catawba Ridge head coach Brett Childers. “We fought off a lot of stuff to get this one. Our guys kept playing. Our guys stepped up. It was special. It’s huge for us. We can’t rest on this. We got another one Tuesday.”
The win puts Catawba Ridge at 20-4 overall on the season and ties them with Lancaster at 6-2 for the region lead. Zyan Hager led the Copperheads with 25 points, 19 of them coming in the first half as Catawba Ridge used a 5-0 run towards the end of the first quarter to take a 20-15 lead.
The game started slow as after about six minutes in the first quarter the game was tied at six, when both teams started hitting shots. Catawba Ridge shot the ball well all night, with the worse shooting quarter coming in the first despite having a five point lead.
In the second quarter, the Copperheads shot 75 percent from the field and outscored Lancaster 25-17 in the period. Lance Barnes was key in the first half as well for Catawba Ridge scoring 10 of his 16 points as the Copperheads took a 45-32 lead into the locker room.
Catawba Ridge started the second half on a 4-0 run before the Bruins started picking up the pace. Both teams matched each other basket-for-basket and the Copperheads held a 61-48 lead heading into the final period.
In the fourth quarter, a rowdy and loud crowd got behind the hometown Bruins and saw them outscore the Copperheads 22-12. Lancaster forced Catawba Ridge to turn the ball over eight times in the quarter as they managed five shots from the field. The saving grace for the Copperheads was they did go 4-for-5 from the foul line. Hager hit two big 3-pointers and Foley scored four of his eight points in the quarter.
Lady Copperheads run away with win
The Catawba Ridge girls’ team was able to get an easy 61-34 win over Lancaster as the game was well in their control by the half.
Catawba Ridge led 26-4 at the half, as Lancaster came on later in the game and scored 30 second half points. Brielle Windisch led the Copperheads with 21 points, including 15 points in the second half after Makailah Davis went down with an injury in the second quarter.
The Copperheads jumped out to a 16-2 lead after the first quarter and didn’t shoot the ball well in the second quarter, but still carried a strong lead at the half.
Catawba Ridge opened the second half with a 7-0 run as Lancaster started playing better, but couldn’t overcome such a gap. Tatum Postel scored 11 points in the game for the Copperheads.
“We came out and played well,” said Catawba Ridge head coach Sheridan Pressley. “I was pleased with our effort.”
The win puts the Copperheads at 18-4 overall and 7-1 in region play. Up next for Catawba Ridge is a game against Indian Land at home Tuesday, Feb. 7.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
