A fourth quarter surge by the Nation Ford Falcons pushed them into the third round of the 5A Division II boys’ basketball playoffs.
Nation Ford beat the Greenwood Eagles 53-48 outscoring them 21-17 in the fourth quarter. The Falcons improved to 20-7 overall and will move on to play at No. 2 seed Greenville High School on Monday, Feb. 23.
“We were anxious to start,” said Nation Ford head coach Charles Brown. “I thought we played well in the second half. Jovani (Spencer) came in and gave us some scoring. He rebounded well tonight.”
Nation Ford came out shooting, but don’t score until three minutes into the game. Their struggles shooting led to a slow start in a low scoring first quarter. Greenwood would go up 7-2 before a Nation Ford timeout as they hit just one of their first seven shots to open the game.
The Falcons climbed back into the game after the timeout going on a 6-0 run with the help of Makai McKnight and AJ Cureton. Greenwood would add a basket before the end of the quarter to go up by one at 9-8 after the opening period.
A Drew Robertson 3-pointer put Nation Ford back on top soon after the start of the second quarter. Greenwood tied the game at 12, but Robertson’s inside play kept the Falcons on top. Despite maintaining the lead, the Nation Ford offense was spotty throughout the second quarter as their shooting struggles continued. Unofficially, the Falcons hit just seven of 23 first half shots from the field.
Turnovers also became an issue as Greenwood tied the game at 20 before the half, sending the two teams into the locker room tied at that score.
The Eagles opened the second half on a 5-1 run by getting to the basket early and capitalizing on offensive rebounds. McKnight kept Nation Ford within striking distance and was able to rally them to tie the game at 25. The game continued to be a low scoring contest, as the Falcons and Eagles never found a consistent rhythm on offense. McKnight hit a 3-pointer near the end of the third quarter to put the Falcons up 32-31.
Greenwood tied the game at 32 soon after the start of the fourth quarter. Nation Ford became more methodical on offense and looked to get the best shot as they would jump ahead off two short range jumpers with about four minutes left in regulation.
Spencer came in off the bench for the Falcons as a fresh set of legs to help keep them ahead, if only by a couple. The resurgence seemed to bolster McKnight and Nation Ford, as he was able to get out in transition to give the home team a six-point advantage with about 90 seconds remaining.
Greenwood started sending the Falcons to the foul line, where they were able to ice the game hitting 6-of-8 to advance to the third round.
Feb. 20 Roundup
The Fort Mill boys’ basketball team beat the TL Hanna Yellow Jackets on the road 62-59 in the second round of the 5A Division II playoffs to improve to 21-7 overall. Jermier Nelson led Fort Mill with 23 points and AJ Washington scored 19 points, while Wallace Campbell dropped in 10 for the Jackets. They will travel to No. 1 seed Riverside High School on Monday, Feb. 23 for a third-round playoff game.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
