High school basketball rewind: Indian Land downs Catawba Ridge; teams race winter weather
Once again, a victory was never in doubt for Indian Land boys’ basketball.
Catawba Ridge rallied to a single-digit deficit during the fourth quarter of its 50-36 loss on Thursday night, but the nearly-unbeaten Warriors prevailed.
Indian Land (15-1, 2-0 Region 3 5A), the seventh-ranked team in South Carolina, built an early advantage and didn’t look back. Checking in at No. 2 in The Rock Hill Herald’s latest Power 5 rankings, the Warriors earned their third straight victory in convincing fashion.
“We take a lot of pride defensively,” Indian Land head coach LJ Johnson said. “We’ve been holding teams to an average of 52 points a game, and we just feel like we’ll have the advantage when it’s time to score at the end. Teams have to chase us and get out of their comfort zones.”
Racing out to a 16-2 lead to start the night, Indian Land’s offense was dominant. That early run included a strong reverse layup through contact from sophomore guard Sequel Patterson on a drive along the baseline.
The game completed a back-to-back for Catawba Ridge (7-9, 1-2), which was victorious in a close one at South Point in Belmont, N.C., on Wednesday night. The Copperheads’ four-game win streak ended, but not without a second-half push.
Catawba Ridge trimmed its deficit to single digits during the fourth quarter. While it played strong defense to limit the Warriors’ chances, the home team prevailed as the Copperheads matched their second-fewest point total of the season.
Patterson paced Indian Land with 17 points, while standout junior Mike Jones posted a 12-point night. Catawba Ridge captain Elijah Peters’ 12 points came on a quartet of deep shots, while 6-foot-11 junior Mark Caslaru dropped 11 points.
The forecast for wintry weather across the Rock Hill area Friday and early Saturday has caused big changes in this week’s high school basketball schedule.
In other action Thursday:
BOYS
Andrew Jackson 73, Buford 27: The Volunteers roared to a 30-2 first-quarter lead and scored a big Region 4 2A victory. Kash Bracey led Andrew Jackson with 15 points, and he got help from Bryce Peterson (12) and Jackson Wilson (10).
Fort Mill 62, Northwestern 37: Logan Parker scored 18 points, Wallace Campbell added 17, and Jermier Nelson had 16 in the Yellow Jackets’ lopsided Region 3 5A victory.
Gaston Christian 56, Westminster Catawba 44: Brycen Redmon scored 22 points, but it wasn’t enough for Westminster Catawba in this Metrolina Athletic Conference game.
McBee 109, Riverwalk Academy 29: McBee (11-4, 1-2) was an easy winner over Riverwalk (1-9, 1-6) in this Region 2 1A contest.
South Pointe 76, York 61: Tre Raymon scored 19 points in the first half, helping the visiting Stallions build a 37-23 lead in this Region 3 4A game. Raymon finished with 32 points and eight rebounds. Christian Smith led York with 13.
GIRLS
Catawba Ridge 51, Indian Land 44: The visiting Copperheads (7-8, 2-1) made several key baskets down the stretch and held off Indian Land (4-12, 0-3) in this Region 3 5A game.
Clover 64, Camberwell Dragons 38: The Blue Eagles rolled to a big victory in this nonconference game against a traveling team from Australia.
Gaston Christian 63, Westminster Catawba 43: Myana Fore scored 21 points, and Leah Ross added 10 for Westminster Catawba in this Metrolina Athletic Conference game. Emily Haux led the victors with 20 points.
Rock Hill 57, Nation Ford 32: Chloe Hudson scored 23 points, and Emine Hollis added 15, as Rock Hill rolled to a Region 3 5A victory.
South Pointe 69, York 12: The Stallions raced to a 36-0 first-quarter lead in this Region 3 4A game and were never threatened. Their defense had 19 steals and the offense was led by JaNyia Cunningham (25 points) and Kaleigh Lucas (18). Cunningham also had eight rebounds.
Scores, schedule
THURSDAY
BOYS
Region 3 5A
Fort Mill 62, Northwestern 37
Indian Land 52, Catawba Ridge 36
Rock Hill 63, Nation Ford 57
Region 3 4A
South Pointe 76, York 61
Region 4 2A
Andrew Jackson 73, Buford 27
Pageland Central 66, Cheraw 61
Region 2 1A
Lee Central 76, Midlands STEM 38
McBee 109, Riverwalk Academy 25
Metrolina Athletic Conference
Gaston Christian 56, Westminster Catawba 44
GIRLS
Region 3 5A
Catawba Ridge 51, Indian Land 44
Fort Mill 49, Northwestern 12
Rock Hill 57, Nation Ford 32
Region 3 4A
South Pointe 69, York 12
Region 3 2A
Eau Claire at Chester
Region 4 2A
Andrew Jackson 77, Buford 16
Cheraw 55, Pageland Central 44
Metrolina Athletic
Gaston Christian 63, Westminster Catawba 43
Nonconference
Clover 64, Camberwell Dragons 38
WEDNESDAY
BOYS
Region 3 4A
Dreher 54, Richland Northeast 38
Lancaster 58, A.C. Flora 53
South Pointe 69, Camden 61
Nonconference
Catawba Ridge 51, South Point 49
GIRLS
Region 3 4A
A.C. Flora 57, Lancaster 40
Richland Northeast 52, Dreher 26
South Pointe 66, Camden 54
A.C. Flora at Lancaster
Nonconference
Queen’s Grant Charter 73, York Prep 12
SATURDAY
Nonconference
Andrew Jackson vs. South Florence (boys), in MLK Showcase at Florence Wilson High, 4 p.m.
Butler at Legion Collegiate (girls), 2 p.m.
This story was originally published January 8, 2025 at 8:48 AM.