Fort Mill opens season with a pair of dramatic wins

The start of the 2016-2017 boys basketball season could cause some to Fort Mill fans to make an appointment with their cardiologist as the Jackets were able to win two nail bitters to open the season.

Fort Mill beat Marvin Ridge 58-55 and Cuthbertson 52-51 in dramatic fashion at the Thanksgiving Border Battle at Marvin Ridge High School over two days before the holiday.

The last win against Cuthbertson came in the closing seconds as senior Jamal White hit a put-back with 1.3 seconds to give Fort Mill the 52-51 lead. The game had been a back-and-forth battle for Fort Mill after going down early in the first quarter.

“I was proud of the way we battled back,” said Fort Mill head coach Dwayne Hartsoe. “These were two good games for us.”

Cuthbertson hit six 3-pointers in the opening quarter against Fort Mill and took a 22-9 lead after the first. Fort Mill came right back in the second to outscore them 17-1 as junior Ryan Heriot scored eight of his team leading 18 points in the quarter.

The Jackets trailed at the half and again after the third quarter, but were in striking distance both times. Fort Mill shot 50 percent from the field in the fourth quarter and held Cuthbertson to just three of nine shots in the final period. Fort Mill opened the fourth on a 7-0 run and began the back-and-forth battle with the Cavaliers.

In the opening game of the two day event, Fort Mill again battled from behind against host Marvin Ridge as senior Ryan DeLuca hit a running floater in the lane to put Fort Mill up with 27.4 seconds left. The Jackets were able to ice the game from that point hitting free throws down the stretch.

Heriot again led Fort Mill with 16 points and senior Keaton Griffin had 11 points to go with White’s 10 points. Marvin Ridge started the fourth quarter on a 5-0 run regaining the lead from the Jackets, but Fort Mill chipped away until Heriot tied the game at 54 with a 3-pointer with 2:15 left.

Fort Mill now has two games at home this week against South Pointe and York as it kicks off its regular season in an effort to keep momentum heading in the right direction.

This story was originally published November 25, 2016 at 7:23 PM with the headline "Fort Mill opens season with a pair of dramatic wins."