FORT MILL -- Torrell Priest's five 3-pointers propelled Fort Mill to a 79-41 rout over crosstown rival Nation Ford on Tuesday.
The No.1-ranked Yellow Jackets (21-0, 11-0 Region 3-AAAA) showed no signs of exhaustion after playing their second game in as many days, placing four players in double figures, led by Priest's 19. Chalmers Rogers, the 6-foot-7 go-to guy, finished with 14 and eclipsed the 1,000-point milestone.
Garrett Copeland added 12 and Andrew Parra chipped in 16, including 11 in the fourth quarter.
Rogers couldn't have dreamed a better way to etch his name into the 1,000-point club. Leading 43-16 with just under three minutes into the third quarter, Rogers snatched a Falcons' pass into the lane and threw an outlet pass to Peyton Barker near midcourt. Barker then fed it back to Rogers and he barreled into the lane and dunked his way into the record books with a monstrous two-handed jam.
"It's a pretty good way to get 1,000 points," Fort Mill coach Bailey Jackson said.
Rogers had no clue he'd reached the milestone until he heard the P.A. announcer inform the near-capacity crowd in Nation Ford's gymnasium.
While both meetings this year between the two schools have been lopsided wins by the Yellow Jackets, Tuesday's fourth quarter provided a glimpse into the future of the rivalry.
Nation Ford, trailing by 40 entering the fourth, wasn't prepared to throw in the towel. The Falcons finally began to find open looks on the perimeter and three different players knocked down 3-pointers. Eddie Caldwell scored 7 points, including one of the 3-pointers, to give his team a 21-19 edge during the quarter.
Nation Ford (2-19, 0-11) also was able to attack the basket in the fourth, due in large part to a more equal size matchup, and converted 3-of-4 from the foul line.
Following Rogers' dunk with 5:00 left in the third, Jackson emptied his bench, allowing quality minutes for several players. During the final 13 minutes, the Yellow Jackets' reserves committed eight turnovers, which frustrated Jackson.
At that point in the game, Jackson said he's "coaching the guys that are going to be playing next year. No matter what the score, no matter what the situation, we expect them to play hard and make good decisions and those kids are going to be on the court next year, so I expect them to make good decisions now.
"We had some bright spots. I think Andrew Parra played great off the bench and we're going to be alright with those guys."
Fort Mill 79
Nation Ford 41
