As region play opened up on the hardwood Tuesday night, all the local teams took it on the chin.
Both Fort Mill and Nation Ford were swept in their Region 3-5A openers and Catawba Ridge was swept in the Region 3-4A opener. All three schools were on the road to open region play and all are now 0-1 in their respective regions.
Fort Mill was on the road at Blythewood with head boys coach Dwayne Hartsoe looking to tie the school record in wins at 177. However, both the boys and girls teams came up short as Fort Mill boys lost 66-63 despite leading for the majority of the game.
Fort Mill held a 51-45 lead heading into the fourth quarter and were tied at 34-34 at the half. The boys team drops to 7-9 overall on the season.
The Lady Jackets fell 60-44 as Blythewood led early and never looked back to get the win. The Fort Mill girls fall to 7-10 overall on the season.
Fort Mill will head to Rock Hill High Friday, Jan. 13 for their second region game as both teams will try and get their first region win. The defending 5A state champion Lady Bearcats are ranked ninth in 5A in the latest polls.
The Nation Ford Falcons fell to Clover in their region opener as the losses stopped winning steaks for both the boys and girls teams.
Nation Ford’s boys team lost 66-64 and fell to 7-10 overall ending a two-game winning streak. The Lady Falcons lost 42-33 ending their five-game winning streak as they are now 9-7 on the season. The Clover girls are ranked fifth in 5A.
Nation Ford has to regroup quickly as they host Blythewood Friday.
The Catawba Ridge boys, ranked eighth in 4A coming into their first region game, lost to South Pointe 57-53 and fell to 14-3 overall on the season. South Pointe led at halftime 25-15 and held off the Copperheads in the second half.
The Lady Copperheads also fell 62-55 and dropped to 11-4 overall on the season.
Catawba Ridge teams will host York Friday in the Arena.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
