Fort Mill Yellow Jackets hold off Clover with 3-pointers

If shooting is contagious, the Fort Mill Yellow Jacket boys’ basketball team was so sick Friday night against the Clover Blue Eagles it was in need of medical care.

Fort Mill held off several comeback attempts by Clover to get a 59-52 win and improve to 3-0 in Region III-4A play this season. The Jackets are 12-2 overall.

The Jackets hit 12 3-pointers in the game with seniors Tanner Mitchell and Brandon Joseph hitting four each.

“That is part of our game,” said Fort Mill coach Dwayne Hartsoe. “We were able to play at our pace and our style. The experience of our kids showed tonight.”

Both teams came out looking for the long ball by shooting 3-pointers, but were also methodical in trying to establish an offense early in the first quarter. Three minutes into the game, neither team had scored until Clover’s Noah Lindsay broke the drought with a 3-pointer. Fort Mill’s Mitchell came back with one of his own.

From there, both squads started trading baskets, with neither team getting much of an advantage. Clover took a slight lead after the first quarter with two consecutive baskets by Andrew White.

Fort Mill tried trapping Clover at half court, causing them to not get their offense established as quickly as they wanted.

Clover’s Quise Robbins struggled in the first half shooting the 3-pointer for the Blue Eagles, taking most of his shots in front of a noisy Fort Mill student section. When he did move to the other side of the court, he was able to find the bottom of the basket without any trouble.

Clover started the third quarter by going inside to Aaron Milner, while Fort Mill kept the ball outside, draining shots from beyond the 3-point line. Fort Mill hit three of the first five 3-pointers it shot in the third quarter to begin to distance itself from Clover; however, by the time the third quarter had ended, the Blue Eagles found themselves back in the game and down by just two at 45-43.

Turning point

Fort Mill opened the fourth quarter on a 6-0 run hitting back-to-back 3-pointers from Joseph and AJ Foti to make it 51-43. Clover clawed its way back into the game, as Fort Mill missed critical rebounds, giving the ball back to the Blue Eagles within the final minute. Fort Mill was able to make up for their mistakes hitting lay-ups and free-throws down the stretch to close the game out.

Critical

Fort Mill started pulling away in the second quarter with the help of the 3-pointer as they went up 18-14. Clover’s long-range game sputtered some while the Jackets got 3-pointers from Mitchell and Joseph.

The Jackets also did a good job crashing the boards on the defensive end to give Clover just one shot opportunity on most possessions.

For Clover, the Blue Eagles charged back to pull within one point at the half. Robbins hit two critical 3-pointers after moving away from the Fort Mill student section, which was constantly in his ear when he shot.

Robbins hit just four of 19 3-pointers he attempted in the game.

Star contributions

Fort Mill was led by Joseph, who scored 17 points, and Mitchell, who scored 14. Clover was led by Robbins with 14 points and Milner added 12 points, most in the second half.

Overheard

Clover coach Bailey Jackson said the loss wasn’t the end of the world, but his team needed to improve in several areas.

“We aren’t a very good shooting team,” Jackson said. “If we can get on the glass, we are able to score. (Fort Mill) is a tough place to play.”

On deck

Fort Mill hosts home games against Gaffney and Rock Hill next week. Clover has games against Oakbrook Prep and Northwestern next week.

Fort Mill 59, Clover 52

Fort Mill 29, Clover 18

This story was originally published January 8, 2016 at 10:09 PM with the headline "Fort Mill Yellow Jackets hold off Clover with 3-pointers."