Jackets get stung

Fort Mill (10-6) found itself down quickly as Josh Corry, who scored 10 of his game-high 23 points in the first quarter. He drilled back-to-back 3-pointers in the final 25 seconds of the first frame, giving Gaffney an early 20-11 lead after one.

Rion Herriot sank two buckets with just under a minute left in the first quarter to draw Fort Mill within three, 14-11, before Corry pushed the lead back to 9 in the final seconds.

The Yellow Jackets matched Gaffney shot for shot in the third and trailed by 6 entering the fourth. Rashawn Dupree, who led Fort Mill with 16 points, swished a 3 with 3:39 on the clock in the third to narrow the margin to 5, 37-32. Exactly one minute later his jumper closed the gap to three, 38-35, but Fort Mill wouldn't score again until Dupree's younger brother Jaquan finished a layup as the buzzer sounded.

"We did cut it to five there, but they're so athletic and so quick they throw it down the court and make a layup," Jackson said.

Well, it was actually a free throw by Chase Smith, who torched the Yellow Jackets for 13 of his 15 points in the second half.

Gaffney silenced the upset bid in the fourth with its smothering full-court press that the young Yellow Jackets couldn't seem to break.

"We believe that our press over the course of 32 minutes will wear the other team out," said Gaffney coach Mark Huff.

"That's just our bread and butter; we just like to get after people."

The Indians outscored Fort Mill 17-6 in the quarter en route to their 17-point road victory.

"(Gaffney's) a real good basketball team," Jackson said. "There's a reason they're ranked third in the state. There's a reason they were picked to win our conference, they're good."

Fort Mill will regroup and prepare for Nation Ford. The two Fort Mill schools will renew the Milltown Showdown Friday night, the first of two meetings for the cross-town rivals.