INDIAN LAND – A second half surge by the Fort Mill boys’ basketball team allowed them to pull away from the Indian Land Warriors for a win Tuesday night.
Fort Mill topped Indian Land 77-51 in their highest offensive output of the season as the Jackets had three players score in double figures. Kyle Neibch led Fort Mill with 18 points. Gabe Tooper dropped in 13 points and Will Stumpf added 10 points for the Jackets.
“We knew we would have a chance to score points,” said Fort Mill head coach Dwayne Hartsoe. “A lot of kids got to play. We still had too many turnovers.”
The Jackets outscored Indian Land 43-31 in the second half, as Fort Mill put together three consecutive quarters of more than 20 points in the game. Fort Mill led by three at 14-11 after the opening period, but was able to find a new gear in the second quarter and outscored Indian Land 20-9 before the half.
All but two Fort Mill players scored and every one of them got to take a shot in the game. Indian Land struggled in the second quarter hitting just three of 10 shots from the field. The Warriors were led by both Jareece Breedan and Sam Jackson, who each had 18 points, in the game. Both players were relatively quiet in the second quarter when Fort Mill started to pull away.
In the second half, the Jackets relied on Neibch and Stumpf to score as Neibch dropped in eight in the quarter and Stumpf added six points also in the period. Fort Mill was able to pressure Indian Land into roughly 18 turnovers in the game and started the second half on a run to extend their lead.
Fort Mill outscored Indian Land 22-14 in the third quarter and then 21-17 in the fourth quarter.
The Jackets improve to 4-2 on the season, while Indian Land dropped to 2-2.
Lady Warriors finish strong against Fort Mill
The Indian Land Lady Warriors beat Fort Mill easily 62-30 with Carrigan McCloud leading the way for Indian Land with 35 points.
The two teams started off pretty evenly matched, as Fort Mill went up 9-4 after the opening quarter. Indian Land was able to get hot in the second quarter as they outscored Fort Mill 22-13 with McCloud scoring 13 points herself to give the Warriors a 26-22 halftime lead.
In the second half, the Fort Mill offense went completely cold as they only managed eight points, four in each quarter and was outscored 36-8. Both teams struggled offensively in the third quarter combining for 13 points, but in the fourth quarter Indian Land was able to score 27 points.
Fort Mill was led by Ella Marker with eight points, while Reagan Reyes and Lydia Laney each scored seven points for the Jackets as well.
The Jackets were still without junior Dylan Harder and senior Nadia Dial, who could be out for some time, each with leg injuries.
Fort Mill returns to action Friday night making the short drive over to Catawba Ridge.
Catawba Ridge sweeps Nation Ford
Both the Catawba Ridge varsity basketball teams swept Nation Ford Tuesday night.
The Copperheads boys team won 45-28 as Nation Ford started off well, but stalled in the second half scoring just one point in the fourth quarter. Catawba Ridge led 31-27 after three quarters and outscored Nation Ford 14-1 in the fourth quarter. The Copperheads were led by Landon Foley with 11 points and Carter Hendrick with 10 points. Nation Ford was led by Nas Berry with nine points.
Catawba Ridge boys are now 5-1 on the season and the loss drops the Falcons to 2-4.
The Catawba Ridge girls beat Nation Ford 72-50, but the game was a lot closer than the final score indicated. The game was tied at 46 at the end of the third quarter, but the Copperheads outscored Nation Ford 26-4 in the fourth quarter.
Catawba Ridge improved to 5-1 with the win and was led by 25 points from Makailah Davis, while the loss dropped Nation Ford to 2-5 as Camille Kerridge led the Falcons with 24 points.
Nation Ford host Marvin Ridge Friday night, while Catawba Ridge host Fort Mill.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
