FORT MILL – Poor foul shooting and turnovers down the stretch allowed the South Pointe Stallions to slip past the Fort Mill Yellow Jackets on the hardwood.
Both the boys’ and girls’ teams lost for the Jackets, with the boys’ game coming down to the wire as they fell 53-51.
“We had a lot of missed opportunities,” said Fort Mill head coach Dwayne Hartsoe. “We had the lead and didn’t extend it when we needed too.”
In the boys’ game, Fort Mill and South Pointe entered the fourth quarter tied at 38. The Stallions slowed the pace of the game down for the most part and then with five minutes left and down 44-40, went on a 5-0 run to regain the lead.
Fort Mill went to senior Jordan Herman most of the time in the fourth quarter as he scored nine of his game high 17 points in the period. Herman’s presence on the block was beneficial to the Jackets in keeping them in the game.
The one aspect that Fort Mill struggled with in the final quarter was foul shooting as they hit just 50 percent from the line in the period and less than that in the game.
“We got a lot of work to do,” Hartsoe said. “We didn’t play as well as we needed too. We need to be more consistent.”
Fort Mill’s Keyan Mims added 16 points in the loss for the Jackets.
South Pointe 55, Fort Mill 42
In the girls’ game, Fort Mill stayed competitive with an athletic Stallions team, but allowed them to pull away in the fourth quarter.
Fort Mill was within striking distance for the first three quarters and trailed 38-32 entering the fourth. South Pointe outscored the Jackets 17-10 in the final period as they were able to penetrate the lane on most offensive possessions and set up easy baskets along the baseline.
The Jackets struggled shooting in the fourth quarter hitting just two of seven shots from the field.
Despite the loss, Fort Mill head coach Heather Klipa said she was proud of her team’s effort in how they stayed with a top 10 4A school like South Pointe.
“We have made a lot of great stride,” Klipa said. “We took some big steps forward over Christmas break. We have gotten some looks at some good competition.”
Fort Mill was led by senior Calli Wells, who scored 11 points, and sophomore Nadia Dial, who added 10 points, in the loss.
The Jackets now have to turn their attention to Region 3-5A play as they open at Rock Hill Friday, Jan. 17. They will host Clover Jan. 22 in their first home region game of the season.
Mac Banks: mbanks@comporium.net, @MacBanksFM
