Playoff HS basketball: Fort Mill downs Byrnes in tight fight, Clover falls, more

When Fort Mill basketball senior Kyle Neibch bounced a backdoor pass to his sophomore teammate Gabe Tooper, the only question was how long the crowd was going to hold its breath.

The short answer? Not long at all.

With about two minutes left in the third quarter, Tooper collected the pass and only needed a gather step before slamming home a two-handed dunk that gave Fort Mill a 55-45 lead over Byrnes and a momentum the Yellow Jackets wouldn’t relinquish.

Thanks to a seven-point comeback in the first half and clutch shooting and a boisterous student section that undoubtedly impacted the game, Fort Mill (21-5, 7-1 Region 3-5A) defeated Byrnes (18-8, 4-4 Region 2-5A) at home, 75-68, in the second round of the 5A state playoffs on Friday night. Neibch led all scorers with 25 points; Tooper finished with 18.

“I’m just excited for our kids,” Fort Mill head coach Dwayne Hartsoe told reporters after the game. “They’ve worked really hard. They’ve worked hard to get to where they’re at. They play really well together. It’s just a fun group to be around.”

Friday night had so many runs, so many switches in momentum, that the score never seemed to reflect the energy in the building. Fort Mill pushed out to a 5-0 score. Then Byrnes responded to take a seven point lead in the first quarter — only to have that beset by a Fort Mill run right at the end of the quarter that was capped off by a Tooper and-one to make the first quarter score 18-16.

The rest of the game was also up-and-down: Byrnes held a 38-33 lead heading into halftime and, for a moment in the third, started to settle into control of the game, operating with a steady five- to four-point cushion.

But then Neibch came alive with 3s on back-to-back possessions to give Fort Mill a lead, and the Yellow Jackets kept that lead until about two minutes left in the third.

Then, of course, came Neibch’s assist to Tooper’s dunk to give Fort Mill its aforementioned 10-point lead — the one that wouldn’t be undone.

“When Kyle gets the ball, all eyes go to him,” Hartsoe said of that backdoor play. “So that gives other guys an opportunity. And he made a good pass and a good read, and Gabe was able to slam it down.”

Fort Mill saw five players besides Tooper and Neibch score on Friday night. Will Stumpf finished with 12 points, Zach Jennings finished with nine, Darryl Carrington finished with seven and Wade Blythe and Logan Gillepsie each had two.

Byrnes saw admirable performances from several players: Jesse Singh finished with 19 points; Kayzzin McDowell had 12 (four 3s); and Will Fowler had 18.

The Yellow Jackets are set to play Ridge View on Monday night at home for a third-round matchup. Ridge View has won three state title the last four years and boasts the No. 1 player in South Carolina — 5-star, 6-foot-8 power forward GG Jackson.

The Fort Mill basketball team is looking forward to the challenge, Hartsoe said. The rest of the student body probably is, too.

“The last three games that we’ve played here, our student section and the crowd has been unbelievable,” Hartsoe said. “They make a difference in the game. That’s why it’s so important to be that No. 1 seed and be able to host games during the playoffs.

“That’s a good team. Byrnes is a well-coached team, with a good basketball tradition. So I was proud of our kids. But our student section has been unbelievable three nights in a row, and we need them to be here on Monday night as well.”

Here’s what else you need to know.

Boys scores from earlier this week

Twelve boys’ basketball teams from York, Chester and Lancaster counties made the high school basketball playoffs.

As of Saturday evening, these teams have been eliminated: Catawba Ridge (first-round loss - finished 20-6), Indian Land (first round loss - finished 6-15), Chester (first round loss - finished 5-14), Lewisville (first-round loss - finished 2-15), Northwestern (second-round loss - finished 19-7), Clover (second-round loss - finished 19-8), Lancaster (second round loss - finished 20-7).

And these teams are still alive: Fort Mill (currently 21-5) , South Pointe (currently 15-5), York Prep (currently 24-0), Andrew Jackson (currently 20-7), and Great Falls (currently 16-7).

Here are the scores from this week.

Wednesday

5A

Fort Mill 64, Spring Valley 51

Northwestern 55, Gaffney 30

Clover 59, Blythewood 47

4A

South Pointe 46, Dreher 45

3A

Seneca 81, Chester 44

Thursday

4A

AC Flora 57, Catawba Ridge 41

Lancaster 60, Westwood 54

Irmo 71, Indian Land 60

2A

York Prep 85, Lee Central 47

Andrew Jackson 91, Eau Claire 25

1A

Great Falls 85. Allendale-Fairfax 40

Calhoun Falls 68, Lewisville 49

Friday

5A

Fort Mill 75, Byrnes 68

Mauldin 52, Clover 41

Dorman 61, Northwestern 50

Saturday

4A

South Pointe 75, Laurens 28

Travelers Rest 75. Lancaster 70 (OT)

2A

York Prep 79, Marion 47

Andrew Jackson 77, Batesburg-Leesville 47

1A

Great Falls 83, High Point 62

Girls scores from earlier this week

Thirteen girls’ basketball teams from York, Chester and Lancaster counties made the high school basketball playoffs.

As of Saturday evening, these teams have been eliminated: Nation Ford (first-round loss - finished 6-20), Fort Mill (first-round loss - finished 9-18), York (first-round loss - finished 6-19), Lancaster (first-round loss - finished 12-9), York Prep (first-round loss - finished 5-13), Great Falls (first-round loss - finished 5-11), Lewisville (first-round loss - finished 6-12); Clover (second round loss - 18-6), Northwestern (second round loss - finished 17-8), South Pointe (second-round loss - finished 16-8).

And these teams are still alive: Rock Hill (currently 23-3), Catawba Ridge (currently (22-2), and Andrew Jackson (currently 21-3).

Here are the scores from this week.

Wednesday

4A

Catawba Ridge 64, Irmo 31

South Pointe 79. Dreher 60

AC Flora 43, Lancaster 38

Westwood 51, York 33

2A

Andrew Jackson 81, Burke 46

Saluda 54, York Prep 10

1A

Ridge Spring-Monetta 38, Lewisville 37

Williston-Elko 48. Great Falls 44

Thursday

5A

Rock Hill 70, Nation Ford 28

Clover 43, Ridge View 29

Northwestern 43, Gaffney 38

Spring Valley 49, Fort Mill 36

Friday

4A

Catawba Ridge 68, Easley 54

Westside 65, South Pointe 50

2A

Andrew Jackson 64, Ridgeland-Hardeville 35

Saturday

5A

Rock Hill 64, Woodmont 57

JL Mann 45, Clover 27

Mauldin 60, Northwestern 38

Sam Copeland contributed to this report.

This story was originally published February 18, 2022 at 10:02 PM.

Alex Zietlow

The Herald

Alex Zietlow writes about sports and the ways in which they intersect with life in York, Chester and Lancaster counties for The Herald, where he has been an editor and reporter since August 2019. Zietlow has won nine S.C. Press Association awards in his career, including First Place finishes in Feature Writing, Sports Enterprise Writing and Education Beat Reporting. He also received two Top-10 awards in the 2021 APSE writing contest and was nominated for the 2022 U.S. Basketball Writers Association’s Rising Star award for his coverage of the Winthrop men’s basketball team.