Fort Mill outruns Jaguars, take aim at Region

The Fort Mill Yellow Jackets boys’ squad had no trouble finishing off their non-region schedule as they ran through the Forestview Jaguars 54-42 to improve to 12-3 on the season.

Fort Mill took early control of the game and kept its foot on the gas, running away with things before Forestview made the game a little closer in the fourth quarter.

“Everybody got to play a lot of minutes,” said Fort Mill head coach Dwayne Hartsoe. “We came out and played well in the first half. I am happy with where we are at.”

The Jackets shot a little under 50 percent from the field to open the game in the first quarter as senior Austin Grainger’s presence on the block was a benefit early on for Fort Mill as he scored five of his seven points in the first quarter.

Fort Mill opened the second quarter on a small 4-0 run to make it 17-5 as senior Rob McIntyre took over the scoring role from Grainger and paced the Jackets while scoring all seven of his points in the quarter. Fort Mill again shot well from the field, this time hitting six of 11 shots from the field to outscore Forestview 18-12 in the quarter and take a 14-point lead into the locker room at the half.

The second half was more of the same from Fort Mill as it controlled the clock and the game on both ends of the floor. In the fourth quarter with many of the Jackets’ younger players getting playing time, Forestview outscored Fort Mill 11-6, but the Jackets had a comfortable enough lead that it didn’t cause any panic.

Turning point

Despite having a comfortable lead to start the second half, the Jackets continued to improve their shooting as they hit seven of 11 shots in the third quarter, including three 3-pointers to start pulling away from Forestview. With about 45 seconds left in the third quarter, Fort Mill went up by 20 at 48-28.

Critical

Ball pressure by Fort Mill on defense in the second quarter led to seven turnovers for Forestview, much of which helped to add to the Jackets lead on fast-break points. Forestview struggled with their ball handling in the first half as Fort Mill was more than gracious to scoop up loose balls and cause turnovers for the visitors.

Star contributions

Fort Mill was led by junior Ryan Heriot, who scored 11 points. Senior Keaton Griffin added nine for the Jackets as both Granger and McIntyre ended the game with seven points as well.

On deck

The Jackets will open Region IV play this Friday at home hosting Rock Hill before hitting the road Jan. 17 at Clover and Jan. 20 at Northwestern.

Box score

Fort Mill 54, Forestview 42

Forestview 5;12;14;11;-42

Fort Mill 13;18;17;6;-54

SCORING SUMMARY

Forestview – Darran Anderson 10, Robert Cherry 7, Malik Hatten 6, Logan Stone 5, Tremayne Booker 5, John Gibbs 4, Ty Richards 3, Justin Fulcomer 2. Fort Mill – Ryan Heriot 11, Keaton Griffin 9, Austin Grainger 7, Rob McIntyre 7, Ryan DeLuca 6, Thomas Chrisley 3, Josh Amigo 3, Darius Patton 3, Devyne Washington 2, Jamal White 2, Cole Schlief 1.

3-pointers: Forestview 4 (Anderson 2, Cherry, Richards), Fort Mill 4 (Chrisley, Griffin, McIntyre, Heriot)

Team fouls: Forestview 11, Fort Mill 15.

Fouled out: None

Records Forestview 2-11, Fort Mill 12-3

This story was originally published January 6, 2017 at 5:03 PM with the headline "Fort Mill outruns Jaguars, take aim at Region."