With key foul shooting in overtime, the Fort Mill boys’ basketball team grabbed a 62-55 home win over the Indian Land Warriors Tuesday night.
Fort Mill’s AJ Washington hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game at 49-49 and send things into the extra period, as Fort Mill had three players scoring in double figures led by Washington with 18 points. Braylen McCain and Zach Jennings added 10 points each as well in the win.
“We are getting better,” said Fort Mill head coach Dwayne Hartsoe. “We are still turning it over too much. We still got issues to work on. Once we get into a more regular routine it will help us.”
Since the start of the season, Fort Mill hasn’t played but one game a week for the past two weeks instead of their normal two games a week routine. The win Tuesday put the Jackets at 2-4 overall on the season.
In overtime, Fort Mill outscored Indian Land 13-6 with nine of those points coming on foul shots. The Warriors received two technical fouls in overtime which helped to get Fort Mill to the line as they took 14 foul shots in overtime. The Jackets took 19 in regulation through four quarters.
Indian Land opened the game up on an 8-2 run, while Fort Mill struggled with turnovers.
Fort Mill stormed back in the second quarter after being down by seven to start at 18-11 by going on a 11-4 run. Washington tied the game at 22-22 by hitting a 3-pointer with about four minutes to go in the half, as Fort Mill had a slim one-point lead when they entered the locker room.
Both teams struggled shooting the ball in the third quarter as the Jackets increased their lead by just one from the half at 38-36 after the third quarter. Indian Land started the second half on an 8-0 run off five Fort Mill turnovers, but the Jackets were able to chip away to again tie the game at 34-34 with about 3:30 left in the quarter.
Fort Mill led 38-36 to open the fourth quarter, but Indian Land was able get to the basket as they were led by Mike Jones, who scored 20 points in the game. Indian Land took a 47-46 lead with 46 seconds left in regulation and then had Jones knock down two free throws to get a three-point lead for the Warriors, before Washington saved the day for Fort Mill with the buzzer beating 3-pointer.
Once in overtime, Indian Land struggled from the field hitting just three shots. Fort Mill only shot two field goals, hitting both as the majority of the damage they did came from the foul line.
Fort Mill 35, Indian Land 17
The Fort Mill girls’ basketball team improved to 4-3 on the season with a 35-17 win over Indian Land as the Lady Jackets had seven players score in the game.
Fort Mill was led by Reagan Reyes who scored nine points as they controlled the game from the first quarter despite the final score looking closer than it was. The Jackets took a 17-9 lead at the half and then outscored Indian Land 13-0 in the third quarter to lead 30-9.
In the fourth quarter, the Warriors did outscore the Jackets 8-5, but Fort Mill never lost their momentum. Defensively, Fort Mill held Indian Land to more than 12 minutes without scoring at one stretch in the game.
Fort Mill head coach Nathan Wruble said he feels like they are buying into his philosophy. Almost everything is clicking for them, he said.
“Everything except for 3-pointers and free throws,” he said. “But they are working their tails off.”
Up next for Fort Mill is a home game Friday night against the River Bluff Gators.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
