The Catawba Ridge boys’ basketball team got their first ever win over in-town rival Fort Mill edging them 56-54 on the road Tuesday night.
Catawba Ridge had three players score in double figures as Tyler France carried a strong presence inside and ended up leading the Copperheads with 12 points. Jacob Stevens and Zyan Hager each added 10 points as well.
Catawba Ridge head coach Brett Childers, who coached at Fort Mill before moving over to Catawba Ridge, had a hard time wiping the smile off his face after the game.
“We played really well,” Childers said. “We played 30 good minutes of basketball. We still have a lot to work on, but it was a good win for us on the road.”
The game was back and forth for the majority of time as Fort Mill ended the third quarter with a 47-44 lead. The third quarter was big for Fort Mill as they outscored Catawba Ridge 21-16, hitting four 3-pointers in the period ending the quarter on a surge.
However, the Copperheads opened the fourth quarter on an 8-1 run taking the lead and never looking back. In the fourth, Catawba Ridge hit 5-of-10 shots from the field and outscored Fort Mill 12-7. The Jackets hit just 3-of-17 shots from the field in the final quarter.
Both teams struggled from the foul line in the game, but it was Fort Mill that struggled the most hitting just 6-of 15 attempts.
“We missed a bunch of free throws,” said Fort Mill head coach Dwayne Hartsoe. “We are very evenly matched. They are bigger than us, but I thought we defended well.”
Despite the foul line struggles, Fort Mill missed a chance at the end of the game to tie it at 56 as a jumper rattled out of the basket at the buzzer. Fort Mill was led by Zach Jennings and Kyle Neibch, who both scored 17 points in the game. Gabe Tooper added 11 points for the Jackets in the loss.
The win evens the season series at 1-1 between the two teams as Fort Mill edged Catawba Ridge last week 45-44 in the Milltown Classic tournament. Fort Mill still has to make a trip back over to The Arena for a regular season game at Catawba Ridge and the two teams may collide down in Chesnee over the Christmas break during the Roundball Classic at Chesnee High depending on how they do in their opening round games.
The Copperheads improved to 4-1 on the season, while Fort Mill drops to 2-2 overall. Up next on the schedule for Catawba Ridge is another game against in-town rival Nation Ford as they play them Tuesday, Dec. 7 at Nation Ford. Catawba Ridge’s game against South Point of North Carolina scheduled for this Friday, Dec. 3 has been rescheduled for Monday, Dec. 13.
Fort Mill next plays at home Friday against North Carolina’s Marvin Ridge.
Catawba Ridge girls make quick work of Fort Mill
The Copperheads opened the game up outscoring Fort Mill 20-7 and used a very quick transition game to take a commanding 65-30 win.
Catawba Ridge was led by Skyla Tuthill, who scored 27 points in the win for the Copperheads, as Tatum Postel added 12 points and Makailah Davis dropped in 10 points.
“We came out and played really hard,” said Catawba Ridge head coach Sheridan Pressley. “We played well defensively and we took care of the ball better.”
The Copperheads kept its foot on the gas in the second quarter and nearly put in another 20 points going up 39-15 at the break.
Fort Mill was without two key players in Nadia Dial and Dylan Harder, who are both dealing with injuries. They were led by Lydia Laney with 11 points.
Catawba Ridge improves to 4-1 overall, while Fort Mill drops to 1-3 on the season.
Nation Ford falls to Rock Hill
Across town Tuesday night, the Nation Ford boys lost to the Rock Hill Bearcats 45-38 to fall to 1-3 on the season. The Falcons were led by Sheldon Joseph with 11 points and Quadier Hand with 10 points in the loss. Only the Nation Ford varsity boys played. The varsity girls will play Rock Hill later in January. Both the Falcons’ varsity teams will travel to York Comprehensive High Friday to play the Cougars.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
