The Nation Ford Falcons basketball teams were swept by the Marvin Ridge Mavericks and across town Catawba Ridge got the best of Fort Mill in their series.
Nation Ford boys were edged by the Mavericks falling 46-42 on the help of a controversial travel call with about five seconds left in the game when they were down by just two points. While the call didn’t cost the Falcons the game, it killed any momentum they had.
“It was a wild finish,” said Nation Ford head coach Jared Adamson. “We had a bad second quarter. We struggle to be consistent. We are getting better and getting closer every day. Defensively we had a good game, we just got to put the ball in the basket.”
Both teams were tied at the end of the first quarter, but Nation Ford was outscored in the second quarter 15-7 and went down 22-14 at the half.
The Falcons did rally in the third quarter as they opened the second half on a 10-0 run to go up 24-22 with some high percentage shots and good penetration along the baseline. Nation Ford clawed their way back in the game outscoring Marvin Ridge 15-7 in the quarter and trailed by one to start the fourth.
The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth battle between the two teams as they traded points in the early going. Nation Ford was more patient in the quarter and took their time looking for a good shot, which fell about half the time. The Falcons did go on a 5-0 run to go up 38-34, but Marvin Ridge came back to close the game and take the small lead.
Nation Ford called a time out with about 13 seconds left to set up a play, but then got called for a travel with about five seconds left on a delayed call that sent the Falcons faithful into a frenzy. That forced Nation Ford to have to foul a couple times sending Marvin Ridge to the line with less than two seconds left to ice the game.
Nation Ford was led by Quadier Hand with 10 points. The loss drops the Falcons to 2-5 on the season.
Girls struggle in loss
The Nation Ford girls fell hard 70-31 to Marvin Ridge as they struggled to get any rhythm in their offense.
Again, the Falcons had another player step up besides freshman Camille Kerridge, as Ebonee Barnes scored 10 points in the game. However, there was little offensive help for her and Kerridge, who led Nation Ford with 12 points.
“Ebonee showed up and we didn’t show up to help her,” said Nation Ford head coach Coretta Richmond. “We didn’t play basketball. We got beat in transition.”
Marvin Ridge showed their strength early and went up 20-8 after the first quarter. The second quarter was even more difficult for Nation Ford as they only managed three points and went down 40-11 at the half.
Nation Ford played better in the second half, but it was not enough as Marvin Ridge continued to pull away. The loss drops the Falcons to 2-6 overall on the season.
The Falcons host York next Tuesday, Dec. 14 and then travel to Catawba Ridge Friday, Dec. 17.
Copperheads sweep Fort Mill
Both the Catawba Ridge basketball teams got wins over rival Fort Mill Friday night in The Arena.
The Catawba Ridge girls won 55-26 to improve to 6-1, while Fort Mill dropped to 1-6 on the season.
The Catawba Ridge boys won 41-37 to also improve to 6-1, while Fort Mill fell to 4-3 on the year. Landon Foley led the Copperheads with 13 points as Grant Lovette and Carter Hendrick each added six points in the win.
Fort Mill is back in action next Tuesday at White Knoll, while the Copperheads play South Point (of North Carolina) at home Monday.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
