GREENVILLE – The North Augusta Yellow Jackets edged the Fort Mill Yellow Jackets in overtime in the finals of the Poinsettia Classic in Greenville.
North Augusta hit two free throws with 2.3 seconds to edge Fort Mill 58-55 dropping them to 12-2 on the season in the Saturday, Dec. 28 game at Greenville High School.
North Augusta came into the game as the No. 1 team in 4A at 9-0. Fort Mill is currently ranked sixth in 5A Division II.
North Augusta opened the game going up 7-0 on Fort Mill before a timeout to regroup. Nas Berry scored out of the timeout for Fort Mill to get them on the board.
Fort Mill struggled getting to the basket early in the quarter, but also had trouble on defense stopping North Augusta mid-range shots. Fort Mill made a late surge towards the end of the quarter to cut the North Augusta lead to 18-14.
Neither team started the second quarter well as Fort Mill stayed close. Fort Mill finally got a 23-22 lead on a Logan Parker steal and basket. Fort Mill edged ahead by three at the half 27-24.
North Augusta soon tied it up in the opening minutes of the third quarter. Neither team was able to make a run as they traded baskets for most of the quarter.
About midway through the third quarter, North Augusta was able to get the surge they were looking for as they went on a 6-0 run. Parker then hit consecutive 3-pointers to neutralize the momentum North Augusta had. Parker led the Jackets in the quarter with 10 of their 16 points.
The teams entered the fourth quarter tied at 43.
Parker put Fort Mill ahead to open the fourth quarter, but scoring came to a crawl afterwards for both teams. North Augusta was able to take a late lead with about 90 seconds left, but Parker tied the game at 50 with five seconds left in regulation before it went into overtime.
Parker led Fort Mill with 22 points. Wallace Campbell added 11 points and Jermier Nelson had 10 points.
Nation Ford wins Blacksburg tournament
BLACKSBURG – In the finals of the Founders Federal Credit Union Christmas tournament at Blacksburg, Nation Ford took on the host Blacksburg Wildcats also on Saturday at Blacksburg High School.
Nation Ford breezed to a 71-42 win over the Wildcats to improve to 5-6 on the season.
The Falcons jumped out to a 12-2 start with the help of Blacksburg turnovers and baskets in transition. Nation Ford extended that lead to 23-4 before a second timeout by the Wildcats as the Falcons stayed hot shooting from behind the arc.
The Falcons hit 10-of-15 shots in the opening period led by nine points from Ben Chuttey as Nation Ford led 26-6.
The pace slowed down in the second quarter as Nation Ford substituted most of their starters. The Falcons’ subs didn’t keep the offense flowing so, the starters came back in. That reenergized the Nation Ford offense as they picked up the attack offensively.
Nation Ford pushed their lead to 41-20 at the half, despite not shooting as well in the second quarter.
The Falcons started the second half a little shaken as Blacksburg opened on a 5-0 run after three Nation Ford turnovers. Nation Ford started the third quarter going 1-for-7 with their starters back in the lineup.
Blacksburg continued with their hot shooting to pull within 13 at 43-30 with three minutes left in the third quarter. Both Chuttey and Anthony Pryer came up with big 3-pointers to push the Falcons lead back to nearly 20 to start the fourth quarter.
Nation Ford slowed down their offensive pace in the fourth quarter trying to drain the clock.
Pryer led the Falcons with 15 points. Chuttey added 14 points in the win and Drew Robertson added 12 points.
Dec. 28 Roundup
The Nation Ford girls’ basketball team beat Pendleton 52-26 at the Charleston Invitational at Summerville High School.
The Nation Ford wrestling team went 3-2 at the Cavalier Clash at Dorman High School with wins against Easley twice and Whitmire.
The Catawba Ridge boys’ basketball team lost to Independence High School 55-31 at the New Years Bash at Chambers High School in Charlotte. Mark Caslaru led with 12 points for the Copperheads. The Copperheads are 4-8 on the season.
The Catawba Ridge girls’ basketball team lost to South Point 51-26 at their tournament in Belmont to drop to 5-7 on the season.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
