Buzzer beater denied, Jackets rebound for 5th in classic

A waved off three pointer from referees at the Lowe’s Roundball Classic changed the fate of the Fort Mill boys’ basketball team.

The team went from competing for a championship to playing for fifth place. Fort Mill senior AJ Foti hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer of the Jackets’ opening round game against Berea, which would have given the team a 60-59 victory. Instead, when the basket was denied, it took the 59-57 loss to drop just the team’s second game of the season.

However, the Jackets won the next two games to take fifth place beating Mid-Carolina 73-41 and Ninety-Six 76-46.

“We knew Berea was going to be tough,” said Fort Mill head coach Dwayne Hartsoe. “I was proud of the way we bounced back.”

Fort Mill is now 10-2 on the season. Senior Brandon Joseph was named to the All-Tournament team.

Against Berea, Fort Mill had a back and forth battle, but late turnovers with under a minute left in the game made the difference. The Jackets had four fourth-quarter turnovers, which hurt their chances despite hanging with Berea the majority of the game.

Down 32-28 at the half, Fort Mill started 0-7 from the field once play resumed, while Berea opened the third quarter on a 5-0 run. The Jackets made it 48-47 at the end of the third quarter with a 7-0 run of their own.

In the fourth, Fort Mill struggled from the field, hitting just four shots, while allowing Berea multiple shot opportunities in the final quarter. The Jackets were led by senior Tanner Mitchell, who had 17 points, and Foti, who had 12.

Against Mid-Carolina in the second game of the tournament, Fort Mill started hot and never let up. Led by Mitchell’s 21 points and Joseph’s 16, Fort Mill had a 30-17 lead at the half and started the third quarter scoring the first five points.

Fort Mill put up a game-high 24 points in the third quarter and then held Mid-Carolina to just 1-14 shooting in the fourth quarter in the win.

Junior Austin Grainger added 10 points in the win by Fort Mill over Mid-Carolina.

Fort Mill returns to regular season action this week against Westwood and then resumes Region III action against Clover. Both games are at home.

This story was originally published January 4, 2016 at 10:18 AM with the headline "Buzzer beater denied, Jackets rebound for 5th in classic."