Third quarter slump dooms Nation Ford

A scoring slump in the third quarter by the Nation Ford Falcons boys’ basketball team allowed for a rally by the Marvin Ridge Mavericks who came from behind to get the 45-38 win.

The Falcons (3-2) met up with Marvin Ridge (5-3) for the second time this season. In their first meeting, Nation Ford fell to the Mavericks 63-54.

This time, a more cohesive Falcons team came out to try and exact some revenge for their only loss of the season and got off to a better start than previously – until the second half came around.

“We didn’t match their intensity,” said Nation Ford head coach Jared Adamson. “They picked up their defensive intensity and we struggled to get shots off.”

The Falcons opened the game with two buckets off two Marvin Ridge turnovers to take an early lead. The Mavericks came right back with a run of their own to take the lead. Both teams started to trade 3-pointers and swapping the lead. Nation Ford used mid-range jumpers to start pulling ahead as Falcons head coach Jared Adamson preached patience from the sideline.

Nation Ford did well at controlling possession through most of the first quarter to take an 11-5 lead. The Falcons shot 50 percent in the opening quarter with a solid midrange game from post players in Khydarius Smith and guard Eric Moulds. Nation Ford also capitalized on the Mavericks’ turnover problems.

Due to how well Nation Ford controlled possession, the Mavericks didn't have a lot of chances to set up an offense in the first half. In the second quarter, both teams started slow with Nation Ford staying with a strong inside presence in getting to the basket. Marvin Ridge went to try and go with a half-court trap which at times caused the turnovers the Mavericks were looking for. The Falcons held Marvin Ridge to just five of 19 shooting in the first half.

Both teams started the second half turning the ball over and struggling to get any of their shots to fall. The turnovers started to really put a kink in things for Nation Ford with back-to-back 3-pointers from the Mavericks. Moulds helped pace Nation Ford in the third quarter, hitting a critical 3-pointer to give them some breathing room, but his five points in the quarter would be all the Falcons could score.

In the fourth quarter, Nation Ford didn't score until about three minutes left in the game on a field goal from Malik Bryant. From that point, it was just a matter of the Falcons trying to catch up with Marvin Ridge, which they couldn’t down the stretch.

Turning point

Despite being down by only two to start the fourth quarter, Nation Ford again struggled from the field much like they did in the third quarter. Marvin Ridge was able to milk the clock and control possession much like the Falcons did in the first half once they got the lead. Marvin Ridge opened the fourth quarter on a 7-0 run in the first four minutes to put the Falcons down by nine points.

Critical

Nation Ford opened the second half with four turnovers and Marvin Ridge took advantage with a 6-0 run to cut the Falcons lead to just four points. The run was part of an 8-2 run by the Mavericks that got them right back into the game. Marvin Ridge didn't turn the ball over in the third quarter and outscored the Falcons 17-5 with the help of four 3-pointers from Josh Cardwell, who scored 14 of the Mavericks’ 17 points.

Star contributions

Moulds led Nation Ford with 12 points and Cardwell led Marvin Ridge with 24 points, including six 3-pointers. Moulds would have the only 3-pointers of the game for the Falcons.

On deck

Up next for Nation Ford is a trip to Lancaster to take on the Bruins next Wednesday. They return home Friday, Dec. 16 to host Chester.

This story was originally published December 9, 2016 at 11:22 PM with the headline "Third quarter slump dooms Nation Ford."