‘We just believed’: Indian Land basketball begins anew with pair of wins over Chester
Against so many odds, Indian Land had a chance.
The team’s starting senior point guard Destin Clark dribbled across halfcourt — the clock ticking down from 10 seconds, the score tied at 72.
No one on this Indian Land basketball team had ever beaten Chester, the 3A powerhouse that made the Upper State Title game a season ago.
But now — after clawing its way back from being down 15 points late in the third quarter; after countless big jump shots from Deveon Qwick and Drew Hardin; after a couple traded baskets, two go-ahead free throws from Omarion Foster to make it 72-70, and another Chester bucket to knot it up — the chance to beat Chester presented itself. It rested in the hands of Clark, the team captain.
Clark drove right, and then, despite the defense collapsing on him with eight seconds left, he got up a clean look: a floater from the right block. It was true: 74-72.
Chester pushed the ball up the court without taking a timeout and had an open look from the corner that bounced off the rim as time expired.
Indian Land (7-4, 1-0) emerged victorious — beginning a new season (region play) with a new purpose.
“Last year, we came down here, and they put 100 on us,” head coach Nate Smith said (using hyperbole) after the game, the excitement still oozing from his hoarse voice. “I told these guys to use that as motivation. I told them, ‘If we go down, we’re going down fighting …’
“I told them: ‘We’re going to have to beat teams to play in Columbia.’ I want to get back to the big dance. We’re a blue-collar school.”
Clark only finished with six points, but he had the two that will be enshrined in the memory of the Indian Land fans that stood up and didn’t lose faith when the game looked bleak. In the timeout prior to the game’s decisive bucket, the gym was wild: Fans on both the visitor and home sides were standing and cheering as loud as they could, it seemed.
“Big players step up in big moments,” Indian Land’s Jordan Kaigler said. “And that’s what Destin did tonight.”
“My team was able to step up for me,” Clark said. “I was able to end it right. … We’re coming different this year.”
Indian Land was led by senior guard Markee Cauthen, who scored 21 points, and sophomore guard John Fuso, who scored 14.
Chester (5-4, 0-1) had admirable performances all around, too. Senior guard Jordan Coleman, who finished with 19 points, hit the floater that tied the score at 70 with less than 30 seconds left.
But it was ultimately Indian Land, propelled by its 41 second-half points — which trounced Chester’s 29 — that emerged victorious.
Coach Smith said the key to coming back in the game was “just heart.” With his team down big, he experimented with different lineups, putting freshmen and sophomores in positions they had never been in before. He changed his defensive scheme, imploring his team to attack the quick Chester guards who were getting to the basket at will in the first half.
It worked. And then once they were in striking distance, he turned to his seniors in the huddle: “I said, ‘Look here, seniors, this is it. This is it. You don’t get another chance no more.’
“Once we made that run and we caught them? I said, ‘Hey, take us home.’ ”
And they did. For the first time in what felt like too long.
Indian Land girls’ coach: ‘We can play with anybody’
As freshman guard Carrigan Mccloud walked with a smile on her face to the locker room after Indian Land’s 67-55 win over Chester on Friday night, the official scorekeeper told her something that made her scream in the best possible way.
“Thirty-three points!” he exclaimed.
She was either confused, unaware that he was talking to her, or she was good at keeping her cool in public. But once her total was confirmed, she said, she screamed.
“I didn’t realize I had scored that much,” McCloud said. “When I got notified that I had 33, I literally screamed my head off. This game was a team win. And I’m really excited.”
Wait, Sha’nya did she actually scream?
“Yes, screamed a little too loud,” Sha’nya Drakeford answered with a laugh.
As McCloud pointed out, much of her success on Friday night came from a team effort — specifically from the team’s suffocating 1-3-1 half-court trap that led to several fast-break layups. And when her team wasn’t playing in transition, it was give-and-go galore.
Indian Land is now 3-9 overall, 1-0 in the region. Chester is 6-3 overall, 0-1 in the region.
Other scoring leaders: Indian Land’s Kristen Zalk had 14 points. Chester’s sharp-shooting Zanyiaha Sanders had 22 points, and Ashanti Kelly had 10 points.
Indian Land head coach Paul Richardson said after the game that he was happy with the region game marking a new beginning for his team.
“We just had a good game tonight, and we played well,” Richardson said. “You never know how you’re going to play tomorrow night, but tonight, we were clicking on all cylinders.
“I think we showed we can play with anybody if we play like that. And I’ve been telling them that all along.”
The Chester basketball teams travel to Keenan on Tuesday. The girls tip off at 6 p.m., and the boys tip off at 7:30 p.m.
The Indian Land basketball teams host Catawba Ridge on Tuesday. The girls tip off at 6 p.m., and the boys tip off at 7:30 p.m.
This story was originally published January 10, 2020 at 11:01 PM.
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