Marcus Nastase of Clover High School is The Herald’s athlete of the week (Feb. 10)
This story has been updated.
Clover High School’s sharp-shooting Marcus Nastase is The Herald’s athlete of the week for the week of Feb. 1-7.
The senior guard scored 18 of his 25 points in the first quarter of Clover’s 59-33 win over Nation Ford on Feb. 4. Nastase was efficient from all spots on the floor, shooting 7-of-9 overall — including 5-of-7 from the three-point line, 2-for-2 on two-point shots and 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
Over 3,500 votes were cast in this week’s athlete of the week poll. Nastase earned a commanding 50 percent of all votes.
Bailey Wilkins, Rock Hill wrestling’s all-time wins leader, finished in second, capturing 15.8 percent of the vote. And Davante Gonzales finished in third with 7.9 percent of the vote.
Earlier this week, Clover defeated Fort Mill, 59-52, and the next day lost a heartbreaker to Rock Hill, 57-56.
Nastase and the Blue Eagles will finish their regular season at North Gaston on Friday night. The boys’ game starts at 7:30 p.m.
Athlete of the week award finalists
Trinity Adams, South Pointe girls basketball: The junior guard had 20 points, six rebounds and five steals to lead South Pointe to a 60-36 win at Richland Northeast on Feb. 4.
Adams is averaging 13.3 points, five rebounds and 2.7 steals per game for the Stallions (20-2).
Osha Black, Andrew Jackson girls basketball: The senior guard had a career-high 33 points in a 65-53 win over York Prep to give the Volunteers their ninth straight victory.
Black is averaging 11 points, four rebounds and 3.4 steals per game for Andrew Jackson (17-1).
DJ Ealey, Andrew Jackson boys basketball: The 6-foot junior hit the game-winning three-pointer with four seconds left in Andrew Jackson’s 48-46 win over York Prep on Feb. 4.
Ealey only had eight points in the game but he came up big when his team needed him most.
Ealey is averaging 14 points per game for Andrew Jackson (13-5), which has won four straight.
Isabella Giarrizzi, Fort Mill girls basketball: The 5-9 senior scored 18 points, grabbed four rebounds and took four charges to spark Fort Mill’s 42-38 upset win over Rock Hill on Feb. 4.
Giarrizzi is averaging 7.5 points, four rebounds and two steals per game for Fort Mill (11-9).
Soccer is Giarrizzi’s primary sport and she has signed to play at Winthrop beginning this summer.
Davante Gonzalez, Catawba Ridge boys basketball: The 5-8 junior scored 17 points and had four rebounds, four assists, two steals and drew two charges in Catawba Ridge’s 60-58 overtime upset win over Indian Land on Feb. 4.
Gonzalez helped the Copperheads avenge a 72-53 loss at Indian Land last month.
Gonzalez leads Catawba Ridge (10-14) in scoring, averaging 11 points per game.
Marcus Nastase, Clover boys basketball: The 6-2 senior guard scored 18 of his 25 points in the first quarter of Clover’s 59-33 win over Nation Ford on Feb. 4.
Nastase was efficient from spots on the floor, shooting 7-of-9 overall — including 5-of-7 from the three-point line, 2-for-2 on two-point shots and 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
Clover is 16-7.
Weston Nguyen, Indian Land wrestling: The Indian Land senior and his team had a big week on and off the mat. Nguyen, who wrestles at 132 pounds, signed to wrestle with Limestone College on Feb. 5. Three days later, he helped Indian Land beat Mid Carolina (82-0) and Powdersville (57-21) in the first and second round of the 3A state playoffs.
The Warriors are defending state champions and will host Crescent with a berth in the 3A Upper State championship on Feb. 10. Nguyen was also the 126-pound, 3A state runner-up individually last year.
Indian Land — the Region 4-3A champion for a fourth consecutive year — is currently No. 1 in the state (in 3A), according scmat.com
AJ Thompson, Northwestern boys basketball: The junior point guard again filled up the stat sheet in Northwestern’s 99-66 win over Elevation Prep on Tuesday, Feb. 4. Thompson had 22 points — making all six of his three-point attempts — and added five assists and two steals in the game.
Thompson has been hot of late, averaging 20.3 points in the last four games, shooting 62 percent from the field and 74 percent from the 3-point line in that same span.
Thompson averages 16.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, four assists and 2.4 steals per contest for a Northwestern team (19-4) that is 5-0 in Region 3-5A play.
Bailey Wilkins, Rock Hill wrestling: The Rock Hill senior and Region 3-5A wrestler of the year helped the Bearcats beat Dorman in the first round of the state playoffs before falling to Lugoff-Elgin in the second round on Feb. 8.
Wilkins, who improved to 64-2 this season individually, is 257-25 in his Rock Hill wrestling career — just five wins short of the all-time SCHSL record for career victories.
Wilkins is already the all-time winningest wrestler in Rock Hill history.
Wilkins, at 138 pounds, will look to add to his win total as he pursues a fourth straight individual state title this month.
La’Destiny Worthy, Clover girls basketball: The 5-11 junior nearly tripled her season average with 12 points to go with seven rebounds as the Blue Eagles earned their 20th-straight win in a 59-45 victory over Nation Ford on Feb. 4.
Worthy is averaging 4.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game for Clover (22-1) this season.
How to nominate
Want to nominate an athlete? Athlete of the week awards highlight high school players with outstanding performances. The goal is to recognize all athletes in all sports — both the most accomplished and the underrated or underappreciated players.
If you want to suggest someone to be included in the “Athletes of the Week” voting, send an email to Jay Edwards at edwardswork23@gmail.com. Please include the athlete’s name, school, class and applicable game performance statistics. Coaches must be willing to verify information.
Athlete of the week poll
If you can’t view the poll results on mobile, click here.
This story was originally published February 10, 2020 at 5:19 PM.
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