WAXHAW – After back-to-back road wins, the Fort Mill boys’ basketball team were hoping to win three in a row closing out the long road trip at the Marvin Ridge Mavericks.
They did just that winning 65-51 to improve to 9-6 on the season as they had a solo game without the Lady Jackets playing also.
The Mavericks came out firing from three led by Brady Dunn, who was 5-5 from long range as Marvin Ridge built a 23-13 after one period of play. After having so much success in the opening stanza, the Mavericks only made one three the rest of the game.
Turnabout is fair play as they say and Fort Mill came alive on both ends of the floor in the second period.
The Jackets used a swarming press along with an extended zone defense to cause turnovers. A 3-pointer by AJ Washington then another by Kishwan Anderson were big as the Yellow Jackets turned an 11-point deficit into a one-point lead at halftime 33-32.
The Mavericks came out swinging in the second half outscoring Fort Mill 5-0 in the opening two minutes.
But that is when the law of averages caught up with Marvin Ridge as they would only score 9 points in the entire third period.
Conversely, Fort Mill continued to attack the front of the rim scoring basket after basket while also causing Marvin Ridge to get just one shot off per possession on the defensive side. The Yellow Jackets would outscore the Mavericks 17-9 in the period to take a 50-41 lead into the fourth and final period of play.
Marvin Ridge tried to stay in the game, but as soon as they would hit a shot Fort Mill retaliated almost immediately. Foul trouble then bit the Mavericks as one of their starters had to sit the final three minutes which had a negative effect on both ends of the floor.
Fort Mill took full advantage by continuing to attack down the sides of the lane hitting easy shots, while also earning trips to the charity stripe.
Balanced scoring has been the theme over the last two weeks for Fort Mill and Wednesday was no exception. AJ Washington led the way with 18 points and Nas Berry dumped in 16 points. Christian McCain added 14 points as well.
The next game up for Fort Mill is Friday, Jan. 5 at home at the Rock Hill Sports and Events Center against Lancaster. Both the boys and Lady Jackets will be back in action then as well.
Jan. 3 Roundup
The Catawba Ridge Lady Copperheads fell 66-47 to South Point (NC) Wednesday and dropped to 2-13 on the season. The Catawba Ridge boys’ game against South Point was cancelled by South Point.
The Nation Ford wrestling team dropped both ends of a tri-match against South Pointe and Byrnes. The losses put the Falcons at 8-15 this season.
