The Catawba Ridge Copperheads got a Region 3-5A sweep over the Northwestern Trojans to reopen their regular season.
The boys team ended the nightcap on Friday, Jan. 3 with a 45-31 win over the Trojans.
“The first game off a break is always rough,” said Catawba Ridge head boys coach Brett Childers. “We came out a little sluggish. We are building a little bit each day. Every night will be an adventure for us.”
Northwestern opened the game with an 8-2 run in the first three and half minutes. Catawba Ridge started playing better later in the quarter as the Trojans held a small four-point lead heading into the second quarter.
The second quarter was sloppy midway through for both teams with a lot of turnovers for both. Catawba Ridge finished the second quarter strong with a 3-pointer by Elijah Peters which aided them going into the locker room up 14-12.
Peters hit a 3-pointer to start the third quarter for the Copperheads. The game slowed down for both teams after the opening basket. Towards the end of the quarter, the scoring picked up for both teams as Catawba Ridge held the edge.
The Copperheads opened the fourth quarter with a nine-point advantage as they shot a little over 50 percent from the field in the third quarter.
Isaiah Thomas got things started for Catawba Ridge in the fourth quarter. Thomas pushed their lead to 10 at 31-21 about two minutes into play. Mark Caslaru also was key in the quarter scoring both in the paint and beyond the 3-point arc.
The Copperheads used a big fourth quarter surge, where they outpaced the Trojans 17-12, to pick up their first region win.
Catawba Ridge was led by Caslaru with 15 points and Thomas added 11 points as the Copperheads improved to 6-8 overall and 1-1 in the region. Caslaru had 16 rebounds and seven blocks, both school records for a single game, to go with his point total.
Late jumper gives Lady Copperheads win
Catawba Ridge’s Brooks Dority stole the ball and hit a baseline jumper to give the Lady Copperheads their first Region 3-5A win of the season.
The jumper gave the Copperheads a 32-30 win over Northwestern as they improved to 1-1 in the region and 6-7 overall.
Catawba Ridge outscored Northwestern 19-7 in the fourth quarter.
“We made some adjustments going into the fourth quarter,” said Catawba Ridge head coach Sheridan Pressley. “We got good stops and capitalized on getting to the free throw line. That put us in a position to win.”
Things started slow for both sides in the girl’s game. Turnovers were an issue early for Catawba Ridge and then became an issue for the Trojans as well.
Northwestern was able to take advantage some as they went up 5-0 to start. Camryn Davis’ foul shot with about a minute left in the first quarter was Catawba Ridge’s first point of the game. The Copperheads went 0-for-7 from the field in the first quarter.
Lillie Peleponuk scored the first basket for Catawba Ridge to open the second quarter. The Copperheads quickly tied the game at five in the second quarter as they started the second quarter on a 5-0 run.
Catawba Ridge was more patient with the ball in the second quarter and was able to get cleaner looks at the basket. They were able to play better, but struggled stopping the Trojans on defense The Copperheads took a 13-12 lead at the half.
Northwestern came out more patient and took their time on offense to regain the lead in opening the third quarter.
The third quarter was much like the first as scoring was at a minimum for both teams. Catawba Ridge wasn’t able to cut off the lane allowing the Trojans to get to the basket and pull away some in the quarter.
Northwestern went into the final quarter up by six points. The Trojans extended their lead starting the fourth quarter on a 5-0 run.
Catawba Ridge played their best quarter of the game in the fourth and pressured the Trojans on defense. That allowed turnovers by Northwestern and a rally by the Copperheads. Dority hit a pair of free throws with about 37 seconds to tie the game at 30 for Catawba Ridge.
Both Dority and Addison Cunningham each had eight points to lead Catawba Ridge in the win.
Both the boys’ and girls’ varsity teams head to Lexington High School on Monday, Jan. 6 for their next game.
Jan. 3 Roundup
The Nation Ford Falcons split their games with the Weddington Warriors in non-region action Friday. The Nation Ford boys’ won 62-54 to improve to 6-6 on the season, while the Lady Falcons fell 59-37 to drop to 7-7 overall.
The Fort Mill Yellow Jackets also split a pair of games in Region 3-5A play. The Fort Mill boys won 51-46 and was led by Wallace Campbell with 16 points. Fort Mill boys are 13-2 overall and 2-0 in region play. The Lady Jackets fell 38-32 and dropped to 7-7 overall and 1-1 in region play.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
