Northwestern basketball earns split with Rock Hill on Trojans’ hall of fame night

On a night when Northwestern High School honored some of its stars of the past, the Trojans fought to earn a split of a special doubleheader against Rock Hill on Friday.

After a ceremony to honor the newest inductees into the Northwestern Athletics Hall of Fame, the Trojans’ boys’ team capped the festive evening with a thrilling victory.

Despite blowing a 13-point, fourth-quarter lead, the Northwestern boys clawed their way to a 46-45 win over Rock Hill to post a fifth consecutive win, their fourth by two or fewer points in that stretch.

“Coming into the game, we wanted to apply a lot of pressure to them and get (Rock Hill) playing fast and out of control,” Northwestern head coach Michael McCray said. “It worked favorably for us for the majority of the night. But you know how it goes, we got a lead and kind of relaxed and they kept fighting. They didn’t quit.”

The game was tight throughout the first half, with Northwestern taking a 26-22 lead at the break thanks to junior Jaylan Moore scoring all 16 of his points in the first half.

The third quarter saw Northwestern expand its lead using an aggressive defense, forcing Rock Hill into turnovers. The Trojans led after three quarters, 41-28.

Rock Hill mounted a furious fourth-quarter comeback, taking a 45-44 lead on a 3-pointer from senior Malik Ashe with 45 seconds to play.

“We finally played defense the way we’re capable of playing defense,” Rock Hill head coach Douglas Pearson said. “And we got the stops and we rebounded the basketball, which is what we preach all the time: finish the play. And that’s how you finish the play, whether you get a steal or a rebound. And we got the rebounds, and we were able to get out and run in transition. We got some easy looks at the basket, and we finished around the rim.”

Northwestern snatched the lead right back on two free throws from senior point guard Theron Young with 33 seconds left.

The Bearcats had multiple chances to take the lead late, but could not get a shot to fall. Northwestern held on to win 46-45.

“We’ll take the win,” McCray said. “This team likes drama, I’ll say that. Rock Hill is a very competitive team. Hats off to Coach Pearson. He had his guys prepared tonight, and they came in and competed at a high level. Thankfully for us, we came out victorious.”

Moore’s 16 points led all scorers, while Ashe led the Bearcats with 14 points.

Northwestern (8-7) will begin its region schedule as it travels to play Lancaster on Jan. 8 at 7:45 p.m., while Rock Hill (5-10) will look to bounce back in a home matchup against Spring Valley on Jan. 9 at 8 p.m.

Rock Hill girls roll

The Rock Hill girls played spoiler to Northwestern’s evening in the first game of the night, earning a 71-18 win over the host Trojans.

Rock Hill got out to a large lead early, heading into halftime leading 37-6.

“I saw some pretty good play,” Rock Hill head coach Kenny Orr said. “I didn’t like the first quarter and the little stretches where we got very, very sloppy. And then, we got into this whole rut of just shooting too many 3s, not quality 3s. Other than that, pretty satisfied. Any time you get a win against a crosstown rival, it’s pretty good.”

The loss was a tough way for Northwestern to end its non-region schedule.

The Trojans got their first win last week, a 61-15 victory over North Central on Dec. 29. But Friday’s loss to Rock Hill felt like a step in the wrong direction to head coach ShaRon Robertson.

“I saw a different team than what I saw the last three games,” she said. “Not necessarily in the direction that we wanted to go, especially since we’ve started to score more than what we started like our first seven or eight games. We started to gain some momentum offensively. Even when losing, we still started to gain some momentum on the offensive side, and we didn’t see that (Friday).”

Region play starts up for both teams next week.

Orr said that his team has had a tough non-region schedule and hopes it’ll pay dividends for the next two months.

“If you pay attention to us and how we play, there’s really no cupcakes on our schedule,” Orr said. “We’re always trying to play some of the better opponents that’s going to help us, not only just for region play, but if we are fortunate enough to make it into the state playoffs. So if you look at it, we’ve played some of the best teams in South Carolina, out of Ohio. Just trying to challenge us.”

Rock Hill junior Aubrey Stevenson led all scorers with 19 points.

Rock Hill (12-3) will next play at home against Spring Valley on Jan. 9 at 6:30 p.m., while Northwestern (1-12) will go on the road to face Lancaster on Jan. 8 at 6:15 p.m.

Northwestern Hall of Fame induction

Northwestern inducted nine new members into its Athletics Hall of Fame Friday night during a ceremony between the two basketball games, honoring the achievements of those who helped build and add to the school’s athletic legacy.

Members of the Class of 2023 include (alphabetically): Sean Barnette, James Blake, Patrick Burris, Sammie Dixon, Myron “Dee” Feaster, Samuel R. Foster, Calvin Hudgins, Leah B. Moody and Windy Sharp.

“It felt amazing,” said Burris, who graduated in 1987 as a three-sport athlete for Northwestern. “To be blessed to be able to join an elite group. If you look out on the wall, it’s a lot of athletes, players, administrators that’s in this hall of fame that’s done a whole lot for the community and for these young adults. And I’m just blessed to be able to be a part of it.”