ROCK HILL – Both the Fort Mill girls and boys basketball teams struggled Friday night holding onto the ball as they each fell to the Rock Hill Bearcats on the road.
The losses for both the varsity teams dropped them to 0-2 in Region 3-5A play.
The Fort Mill boys fell 42-32 in a low scoring affair as they are now 7-10 overall on the season. The Jackets struggled hitting just 11 shots from the field the entire game.
Fort Mill started off well as each team scored nine points in the opening quarter. The Jackets struggled the entire game with turnovers as unofficially they had 26 in the game.
Rock Hill started pulling away in the second quarter as they opened the period on a 6-0 run. Fort Mill struggled to keep pace as turnovers continued to plague their offense. Rock Hill went up 26-18 at the half as the Jackets hit just five first half shots.
The third quarter started much like the second as again Rock Hill opened the second half with a 6-0 run before a Fort Mill time out. Fort Mill was able to get to the basket often in the third quarter, but the Jackets struggled missing their first eight shots.
Fort Mill hit just two of 12 shots from the field in the third quarter as Rock Hill extended their lead going up 34-23 to open the final period.
The Jackets played their best in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t to close the gap with the Bearcats. Gabe Tooper led Fort Mill with eight points in the game.
Turnovers hamper Lady Jackets as well
The Fort Mill girls fell 47-23 to Rock Hill dropping them to 7-11 overall on the season.
Rock Hill opened strong and never looked back leading 18-5 after the opening quarter. Fort Mill didn’t struggled hitting shots, but struggled to even get shots off in the first quarter taking just four shots total for the period.
Turnovers started taking a toll on Fort Mill in the second quarter as the Jackets shooting woes continued. This time Fort Mill got open looks at the basket, but the shots didn’t fall. Rock Hill held a 25-12 lead at the half.
Fort Mill hit just one shot in the third quarter on nine attempts as Rock Hill’s offense sputtered some as well.
Rock Hill was able to pick up the pace in the fourth quarter, and just like the boy’s game, Fort Mill had their best quarter at the end of the game scoring eight points. Fort Mill was led by Lydia Laney, who dropped in seven points.
The Jackets return home for the first time in nearly a month Jan. 16 as they play their first home region game against Spring Valley. Fort Mill’s teams haven’t played at home since Dec. 16 when they played River Bluff.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
