Jackets’ second half run sparks road win

With one more game before the Christmas break, the Fort Mill Yellow Jackets are sitting where they want to be at 8-1 on the season.

Fort Mill used a quick start against the Forestview Jaguars in the first quarter and kept the momentum going in the third quarter to get a 53-42 win.

“The third quarter has normally been bad for us,” said Fort Mill head coach Dwayne Hartsoe. “I thought we did a good job with that this time. I am glad to be where we are at.”

Both teams were tentative at the start and turnovers allowed Forestview to stay within striking distance of Fort Mill for much of the first quarter. Fort Mill shot 50 percent from the field in the first quarter while the Jaguars struggled to make much happen, hitting just one shot from the field.

Fort Mill had 3-pointers from Thomas Chrisley, Austin Grainger and Jamal White in the opening period which helped separate the two teams as the Jackets ended the first period with a 12-5 lead.

The second found both teams struggling to get their offenses going as neither could stop turning the ball over. The teams traded 3-pointers to open the quarter, but neither could get into a flow. Fort Mill was able to score about the same as it did in the opening quarter despite hitting fewer shots and the Jackets took a 25-14 lead into the locker room at the half.

In the fourth quarter, Forestview made a small run and outscored Fort Mill 17-9 as the Jackets hit only two shots from the field.

Turning point

The big key for Fort Mill was the 10-6 run the Jackets had to open the third quarter while jumping out to a 35-20 lead. Senior Ryan DeLuca led the way in the third quarter as he hit four of his six shots from the field, most of them running floaters in the lane.

In the third quarter, DeLuca, Ryan Heriot and Keaton Griffin combined to score all 19 of the Jackets’ points in the period.

Critical

Defensively in the second half, Fort Mill started trapping the ball more and caused Forestview to turn the ball over, leading to more fast-break points and scoring opportunities for the Jackets.

Star contributions

DeLuca led Fort Mill with 13 points and Heriot and Griffin added 12 each to lead the scoring.

On deck

Fort Mill now heads to Chester for their second game with the Cyclones this season and then has about a week off before heading to Chesnee High School for a three-day tournament as part of the Lowe’s Roundball Classic.

Box score

Fort Mill 53, Forestview 42

Fort Mill 12;13;19;9;-;53

Forestview 5;9;11;17;-;42

SCORING SUMMARY

Fort Mill – Ryan DeLuca 13, Ryan Heriot 12, Keaton Griffin 12, Austin Grainger 6, Thomas Chrisley 5, Jamal White 4, Josh Amigo 1.

Forestview – Malik Hatten 16, Darian Anderson 9, Tremayne Booker 4, Logan Stone 3, Robert Cherry 3, Ty Richards 3, Jalen Neely-Baldwin 2.

3-pointers: Fort Mill 6 (Heriot 2, White, Grainger, Chrisley, Griffin), Forestview 3 (Anderson, Cherry, Richards). Team fouls: Fort Mill 11, Forestview 15.

RECORDS Fort Mill 8-1, Forestview 0-7.

This story was originally published December 16, 2016 at 5:47 PM with the headline "Jackets’ second half run sparks road win."