Fort Mill boys keep pace at the top of Region 3-4A
Sometimes the best offense is a good defense.
For Fort Mill, that is exactly what happened Tuesday night as the fourth-ranked Yellow Jacket boys improved to 8-1 in Region 3-4A and 17-3 overall with a 31-26 win over the Clover Blue Eagles.
The pace of play was slow for both Clover and Fort Mill. The Blue Eagles jumped out to an eight point lead, but Fort Mill rallied to get back in the game. Both teams struggled with turnovers throughout the first quarter.
The two teams combined for just nine points in the second quarter, while each hit just one field goal. Fort Mill struggled even more offensively by hitting just one of 10 shots, while Clover hit just one of five shots. The one edge Fort Mill did have in the second quarter was from the foul line where they hit three of four shots. Clover went to the line just once, hitting one of two shots.
The Jackets outscored Clover 12-5 in the third quarter. The Blue Eagles again struggled with turnovers in the third quarter helping to push Fort Mill to the lead for good. Fort Mill attacked the basket in the third quarter and ended up shooting nine foul shots in the quarter, hitting four.
Fort Mill led 26-19 heading into the fourth quarter. Again both teams’ offenses stalled, while Clover outscored Fort Mill 7-5 in the final period.
Turning point
Coming out of the locker room with the game tied at 14, Fort Mill opened the third quarter on a 6-0 run and was led by Tanner Mitchell who scored seven of the Jackets 12 points in the period.
Critical
After Clover opened the game on a 8-0 run, Fort Mill was able to come right back and tie the game with the help of back-to-back 3-pointers from Mitchell. While Clover took a small 11-8 lead after the first quarter, the rally by the Jackets was able to keep the team in the game.
Star contributions
Mitchell scored 15 to lead Fort Mill’s offensive attack; Clover was led by Aaron Milner, who had 11 points.
Overheard
Offensively the game wasn’t high scoring, but Fort Mill head coach Dwayne Hartsoe said defensively it was something to behold saying the score doesn’t reflect the closeness of the game.
“They (Clover) are a good defensive team,” Hartsoe said. “We played a pretty good defense. It was a great defensive game on both ends of the floor.”
On deck
Fort Mill travels to Gaffney Friday night, while Clover travels to Shelby for a late season non-region game.
Box score
Fort Mill 31, Clover 26
Fort Mill | 8 | 6 | 12 | 5 | - | 31 |
Clover | 11 | 3 | 5 | 7 | - | 26 |
Clover-Aaron Milner 11, Quise Robbins 8, Justin White 6, Dre Starr 1. Fort Mill-Tanner Mitchell 15, AJ Foti 6, Rogan Wells 5, Brandon Joseph 3, Keaton Griffin 2.
3-pointers-Clover 1 (Robbins), Fort Mill 3 (Mitchell 2, Foti).
Team fouls-Clover 14, Fort Mill 13.
Records Fort Mill 17-3, 8-1 Region III-4A; Clover 12-9, 5-5 Region III-4A.
This story was originally published February 3, 2016 at 9:46 AM with the headline "Fort Mill boys keep pace at the top of Region 3-4A."