Fort Mill’s Gabe Tooper swings on the rim after dunking the ball early in the Jackets game against Nation Ford. Photo by Rob Upton

When asked before the game if he was ready, Fort Mill basketball player Gabe Tooper responded, “I stay ready.”

Tooper and the entire Fort Mill boys’ basketball team showed how ready they were Friday night as the Jackets’ walked away with a share of the Region 3-5A title Friday night beating rivals Nation Ford 40-33.

Fort Mill finished the regular season at 19-5 and tied with Clover at 7-1 in the region as they are co-champions. The Jackets will get the top seed out of the region and will host Spring Valley in the first round of the playoffs Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Jackets’ head coach Dwayne Hartsoe said in rivalry games anything can happen.

“It was about what we expected,” he said. “It is a rivalry game. You never know how it is going to go. We had an unbelievable crowd and the student section was great.”

Nation Ford fell to 6-18 to finish the regular season and dropped to 1-7 in the region. The Falcons did have a chance at the playoffs, but Boiling Springs beat Gaffney 52-49 Friday to knock them out of the playoff picture.

“We struggled all season to find a rhythm,” said Nation Ford head coach Jared Adamson. “It was a game of runs. Hartsoe has done a great job with his group.”

Both Fort Mill and Nation Ford played each other tight, but the game was a defensive battle which favored the Jackets in the second half as they held the Falcons to just eight points in each quarter of the second half.

Neither team lit the scoreboard up, but Fort Mill was able to take advantage of the foul situation and get to the free throw line 16 times in the game, while Nation Ford shot just two free throws the entire game.

Fort Mill opened the game strong, but Nation Ford was able to keep pace with them until near the end of the first quarter when Kyle Neibch hit a long-range 3-pointer to put the Jackets up 15-8 at the buzzer.

The scoring dropped off in the second quarter for both as Fort Mill carried a 22-17 lead to the locker room at the half. The Jackets opened the second half on a small 5-0 run, which was enough to give them some breathing room as Nation Ford missed their first five shots from the field.

Fort Mill led 33-25 entering the fourth quarter as Tooper, who led the Jackets with 12 points, was able to keep the momentum in Fort Mill’s favor. The Jackets again started a quarter with a small run, which pushed their lead to 12 points early in the period.

Fort Mill only got off eight shots in the final quarter, but it was their foul shooting that allowed them to really put some distance between the two teams. The Jackets hit seven of 10 foul shots in the second half and all six of their first half foul shots.

Nation Ford was led by Nas Berry with 11 points in the game.

Nation Ford girls grab playoff spot

The Nation Ford girls edged Fort Mill 36-32 to punch their ticket to the playoffs needing to win to get in. The Falcons finished the regular season at 6-19, but were 2-6 in region. Fort Mill finished the regular season at 9-17 overall and 3-5 in region play.

“I am very proud of the ladies,” said Nation Ford head coach Coretta Richmond. “They have worked hard. They did a good job executing. They did a good job on defense.”

The Falcons opened the game going up 10-0 after the first quarter as Fort Mill struggled throughout the game shooting the ball, especially in the first half. The Jackets didn’t score in the game until 4:56 left in the second quarter.

Nation Ford took a 16-5 lead to the half as Fort Mill hit just one of 25 shots in the first half. The Jackets did play a lot better in the second half and made a game of it in the third quarter outscoring Nation Ford 14-9 to pull within seven points at 25-18.

Fort Mill tired to rally in the fourth quarter by throwing up 25 shots, but their shooting woes continued. Nation Ford was able to get to the foul line and convert in the fourth quarter hitting six of 10 free throws.

Nation Ford was led by Kayla Wilmore with 14 points and Camille Kerridge with 13 points, while Fort Mill was led by Clare Moore with 12 points. Nadia Dial finished with 11 points for the Jackets as well.

Both teams will open the playoffs next Thursday, Feb. 17 as Fort Mill will travel to Spring Valley and Nation Ford will take the short bus ride over to Rock Hill to take on the No. 1 team in the state in the first round.

Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep

Nation Ford’s Kayla Wilmore leads a fast break for the Falcons as they punched their ticket to the playoffs by beating Fort Mill.