The Fort Mill Yellow Jackets held off a rally by the Catawba Ridge Copperheads to open Region 3-5A play.
Fort Mill won 40-36 as the Copperheads fought back in the third quarter to make a game of it.
“We knew it was going to be a game with long possessions and limited possessions,” said Fort Mill head coach Myron Lowery. “We did a good job of being locked in. It was a good win. It’s a great start to the region.”
Fort Mill went up 6-2 to start, but Catawba Ridge went on a 7-0 run to take the lead before an AJ Washington 3-pointer tied the game at nine.
The Copperheads took a one-point lead into the second quarter, but Fort Mill was able to stay about two baskets ahead.
A lot of the Jackets’ points came from transitions runs and short jumpers. Fort Mill’s defense was also strong in defense allowing just one shot for the most part on defense.
Fort Mill took a six-point lead into the half at 21-15, but it felt like more based on the flow of the first half.
In the third quarter, a 3-pointer by George Stewart gave the Jackets a seven-point lead about three minutes into play.
Consecutive 3-pointers by Kevin Butler kept the Copperheads in the game. Butler was able to answer many of Fort Mill’s field goals with baskets of his own.
A traditional 3-point play by Mark Caslaru brought the Copperheads to within three heading into the fourth quarter.
Two minutes into the fourth quarter, Caslaru hit an inside jumper to cut into the Jackets’ lead as they soon took a timeout to regroup.
Fort Mill started to slow things down offensively as they took their time looking for a good shot.
The Jackets struggled to open a gap that they had earlier in the game. Jermier Nelson hit two foul shots with about 45 seconds left in the game to give Fort Mill a small three-point lead.
Fort Mill improved to 9-3 on the season and was led by Washington, who had 14 points. Nelson added 12 points in the win.
Catawba Ridge was led by Caslaru with 13 points and Butler had 11 points.
“Defensively, we played tough,” said Catawba Ridge head coach Brett Childers. “We didn’t shoot well enough.”
The Copperheads dropped to 8-2 on the season and 0-1 in the region and will next play Dec. 29 at Irmo in a post-Christmas tournament. Fort Mill next plays on Dec. 26 at a tournament at Lexington High School.
Girls’ basketball
A strong start by the Fort Mill girls’ basketball team led to a 50-15 win over Catawba Ridge.
Both teams struggled early on with turnovers, but it was Fort Mill that was able to capitalize the most going up 10-2 early on.
Catawba Ridge also struggled to get any shots off, mostly because of the turnovers. Neither team seemed to find a rhythm as the Copperheads ended the first quarter with 10 turnovers.
Fort Mill’s defense continued to apply pressure on Catawba Ridge at the start of the second quarter, using traps and a half-court defense.
Most of the Jackets’ points in the first half came from easy layups off screens. Fort Mill went up by 20 with about 90 seconds left in the first half.
Scoring again became an issue for both teams early in the third quarter. Fort Mill would get better as the third quarter went on going inside to Kate Marker to do most of the damage.
Fort Mill continued to hold a commanding lead as the Copperheads struggled with turnovers. The Jackets took a 27-point lead into the fourth quarter.
Fort Mill was led by Marker with 16 points. Colbie Wolfe added 10 points for the Jackets. Catawba Ridge was led by Rilyn Grinch with seven points.
The Copperheads dropped 6-5 on the season and 0-1 in region play, while Fort Mill improve to 5-7 and 1-0 in region play. Fort Mill next plays in a tournament in Greensboro after Christmas, while the Copperheads play in a tournament after Christmas at South Point Heigh School in Gaston County.
Dec. 19 Roundup
The Nation Ford basketball teams opened Region 3-5A play hosting Northwestern and both came away with wins. The Lady Falcons won 67-25 to improve to 4-6 on the season and 1-0 in the region, while the boys’ team won 64-57 to improve to 8-3 and 1-0 in the region.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
