The Nation Ford Falcons boys’ basketball team ruined a sweep for the Fort Mill Yellow Jackets with an overtime victory in Fort Mill’s first games back in the Hive.
The Falcons won 68-62 outscoring Fort Mill 12-6 in the extra period.
“It was a big win for our guys,” said Nation Ford head coach Charles Brown. “They are starting to play together. They were ready to play today. They decided to play together and trust each other.”
Nation Ford went up early in overtime and Fort Mill was unable to catch back up like they did at the end of regulation.
“We were in a position to win it at the end of regulation,” said Fort Mill head coach Myron Lowery. “We got into overtime and with (Nation Ford’s Jackson) Burnham out, we should have won. We just couldn’t make stops. Our margin of error is zero now.”
Fort Mill opened the game on a 5-0 run. After the quick start, things slowed some as the Jackets controlled the momentum for most of the first quarter.
Jackson Burnham nailed a 3-pointer and Cade Giles hit a hook shot to tie the game before Nation Ford took a small 11-9 lead after the opening period.
The two teams got into a rhythm of trading baskets to open the second quarter. Fort Mill had a difficult time holding on to the ball during the first half. Neither team was able to make a run until the final 90 seconds of the half as the Falcons went on a 7-0 run to go up 25-18. Nation Ford would lead 25-20 at the half.
The Falcons came out strong in the third quarter as the Jackets were unable to get to the basket as easily as they did in the first half.
Giles was big inside for Nation Ford and Drew Robertson came up with some key baskets to go up 34-24. Burnham then pushed their lead to 15 points before a Fort Mill timeout.
The Jackets started putting more full court pressure on the Falcons which led to several Nation Ford turnovers and allowed Fort Mill to get back within 10 points. Many of their points came from the foul line as the Jackets were fouled after getting turnovers.
Nation Ford had a 43-36 lead entering the final period, but the Jackets had a lot of momentum leaning in their direction.
As the fourth quarter wore on, the Falcons continued to struggle with the press. Fort Mill cut it to three at 44-41 with 6:30 left in the game.
Despite getting close, Fort Mill had trouble getting below that deficit. The Jackets finally cut it two points with 65 seconds left at 56-54.
Logan Parker hit a pair of free throws for the Jackets to tie the game at 56 with a minute left in regulation, before it would go into overtime.
Giles led Nation Ford with 18 points and Burnham dropped 16 points. Ben Chuttey added 14 points.
Nas Berry led Fort Mill with 23 points and AJ Washington added 19 points for the Jackets.
Nation Ford improved to 10-10 overall and 3-2 in Region 3-5A, while Fort Mill dropped to 3-2 in the region as well and 13-8 overall.
Lady Jackets roll to victory
The Fort Mill Lady Jackets used a big second quarter to pick up their second region win of the season beating the Nation Ford Falcons 68-40.
In the first game back at the Hive, Fort Mill’s Reagan Reyes opened the game with a 3-pointer only for Nation Ford to come down on their first possession and do the same.
The game was close for the first four minutes of play as neither team was able to get an advantage. The Falcons struggled with turnovers in the opening period, but Fort Mill couldn’t take advantage. Colbie Wolf hit a 3-pointer to give the Jackets a 9-5 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Reyes drained a 3-pointer to start the second quarter as Fort Mill opened the second quarter on a 21-0 run. Nation Ford missed their first six shots of the period and didn’t hit a field goal until 1:15 left in the quarter.
“We took care of the ball and got a lot more patient,” said Fort Mill girls head coach Nathan Wruble. “We worked the ball around.”
Fort Mill took a 33-7 lead to the locker room as Nation Ford hit just two field goals in the first half.
The Falcons played better to open the third quarter, but the deficit was too much to overcome. Ariah Heard helped to get Nation Ford back into the game cutting it 40-19 with about 3:30 left in the third quarter.
The Chambliss sisters, Julienne and Jada, helped to put together a run in the second part of the quarter as they combined for a 9-0 run. That run was part of a 12-0 run as Fort Mill went up 52-19 after three quarters.
The Jackets emptied its bench in the fourth quarter as they would go on to win by 28 points.
Despite being winless in the region, Nation Ford head coach Kelly Bennett said he feels like his team can still make the playoffs.
“I have confidence in our kids,” he said. “My kids are playing with heart. I feel like we will sneak up on some people.”
Izzie Barber led Fort Mill with 11 points and Julienne Chambliss added 10 points as Fort Mill had 11 different players’ score. Nation Ford was led by Heard with 15 points and Aubrey Morrow added 12 points in the loss.
Nation Ford dropped to 10-10 on the season and 0-5 in the region. The Jackets improved to 16-5 overall and 2-3 in the region.
Fort Mill heads to Blythewood Friday, Jan. 26 and Nation Ford heads to Clover the same day.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
