Nation Ford has hands full with top ranked Dorman

The Nation Ford Falcons knew what to expect when walking into the arena at Dorman High School, but that didn’t change the fact of the outcome as the Cavaliers showed off their No. 1 ranking with authority while beating the Falcons 88-60.

Nation Ford was able to hang with Dorman early in the first half, but as the game wore on the Falcons’ defense wore down and was unable to stop a very talented and quick Cavaliers squad.

“They are the number one team in the state for a reason,” said Nation Ford head coach Jared Adamson. “We couldn’t keep up. We have to learn from it and grow from it.”

Dorman and Nation Ford came out matching each other shot for shot in the first quarter after the Cavaliers opened the game up with an 8-2 start. Sophomore Zeb Graham scored 13 first quarter points for Nation Ford, keeping the visiting squad in the game to start with.

But that soon changed.

In the second quarter, Dorman started to pull away and outscored Nation Ford 19-11. Dorman had three players in double figures and Zack Butler owned the second quarter for the Cavaliers scoring half of his 14 points as Dorman took a 16-point lead into the half.

While Nation Ford didn’t play poorly in the game, Dorman’s talent is on another level and its quickness is nearly off the charts as the Cavaliers forced the Falcons into several inbounds turnovers that resulted in quick baskets. The Cavaliers were also dominated in the paint as they gobbled up rebounds for multiple second chance scoring opportunities. Dorman had all 14 players on their roster take a shot in the game and all put two players scored.

Turning point

The turning point in the game took place in the third quarter as an already hot shooting Dorman squad got even hotter hitting 9-of-13 shots from the field including four of the 11 3-pointers in the quarter. By the end of the quarter, their 16-point halftime lead had grown to a 25 points lead entering the fourth quarter.

Critical

Dorman’s shooting was critical in the game, especially from behind the 3-point arc as they hit 11 3-pointers in the game and shot 49 percent from the field. Nation Ford didn’t shoot bad hitting 48 percent from the field in the game, despite hitting nine 3-pointers themselves.

Star contributions

Graham led Nation Ford with 21 points and junior Eric Moulds added 13 points for the Falcons as well. Dorman had four players score in double figures as they were led by Tyson McClain, who had 16 points.

On deck

Nation Ford takes on rival Fort Mill on the road this week and will also host Rock Hill Friday evening as well at home.

Box score

Dorman 88, Nation Ford 60

Nation Ford 20;11;15;14;-;60

Dorman 28;19;24;17;-;88

SCORING SUMMARY

Nation Ford– Zeb Graham 21, Eric Moulds 13, Khydarius Smith 8, Wayde Prince 7, Collin Hendrick 6, Cade Chatham 3, Malik Bryant 2.

Dorman – Tyson McClain 16, Zack Butler 14, Myles Tate 14, Tre Cannon 8, Chandler Tate 7, Bryson Woodruff 7, Harrison Finley 6, Ethan Parton 5, Gabe Bryant 3, Kamron Smith 1, Lucas Peppers 1.

3-pointers: Nation Ford 9 (Graham 4, Moulds 3, Prince, Chatman), Dorman 11 (McClain 3, C. Tate 2, M. Tate 2, Finley 2, Parton, Cannon).

Team fouls: Nation Ford 15, Dorman 4.

Fouled out: None

Records

Nation Ford 12-5, Dorman 13-4.

This story was originally published January 23, 2017 at 2:27 PM with the headline "Nation Ford has hands full with top ranked Dorman."