GREENVILLE – It was a tale of two halves for the Catawba Ridge Copperheads as they lost in the third round of the 4A state playoffs to the Greenville Red Raiders.
Greenville ended the Copperhead season with a 71-60 win Monday night to end the Catawba Ridge season at 24-5. The Red Raiders will now take on the Lancaster Bruins for the 4A Upper State championship Friday, Feb. 24 at Bob Jones University in Greenville.
Catawba Ridge opened the fourth quarter down 46-42 and managed to fight their way back into the game after struggling in the third quarter.
Catawba Ridge was able to pull within one at 50-49 after a Zyan Hager 3-pointer, but the Red Raiders continued to get to the basket which led to converting foul shots.
The Copperheads struggled in the second half at answering runs by Greenville. After pulling within one, the Red Raiders outscored Catawba Ridge 21-11 through the rest of the game.
The Copperheads had a 30-27 halftime lead, but Greenville took the momentum into the locker room ending the first half on a 10-0 run.
That momentum picked up in the third quarter as Greenville hit their first five shots of the second half and opened on a 5-0 run.
“It was a catch 22 for us,” said Catawba Ridge head coach Brett Childers. “They got hot and we went cold. I am proud of our effort. The 10-0 run in the second quarter was the difference. We never got back to even after that.”
Catawba Ridge was able to get to the basket in the first half however, they struggled from the field in the third quarter as the Red Raiders surged ahead.
The Copperheads hit just 5-of-12 shots in the third quarter and trailed 46-42 to end the period.
The second quarter was more back and forth with the Copperheads holding a comfortable lead until Greenville went on the 10-0 run in the final minute of the first half.
Catawba Ridge opened the game and went on a small 6-0 run to take a 6-3 lead early. They would add a 9-0 run in the quarter and take a 17-8 lead after the opening period.
Grant Lovette led Catawba Ridge with 19 points. Hager added 13 points and Lance Barnes finished with 12 points.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
