Northwestern boys harm Nation Ford region title hopes

The Northwestern Trojans put a major dent in the Nation Ford Falcons’ Region 3-4A title hopes with a 60-50 win Friday night.

The loss for Nation Ford was just its second in the region, while Northwestern evened its region record at 5-5. Fort Mill beat Gaffney and now has the outright lead in the region. Northwestern opened the scoring about two minutes into the game with the help of a Grant Kirk 3-pointer and then a steal and lay-up by Gianni Cabrera-Gonzalez to go up 6-0. Nation Ford struggled early shooting the ball as they couldn’t get into an offensive flow. The Trojans on the other hand used screens and cuts to the basket to get an open lane to the hoop.

Northwestern caused three turnovers in the first quarter by the Falcons, which helped to add to their lead. Two 3-pointers near the end of the first quarter by Nation Ford cut the lead to just a basket by the Trojans.

Northwestern kept the momentum in their favor for most of the first half, despite sending Nation Ford to the foul line often. The Falcons continued to struggle with turnovers throughout the second quarter.

Nation Ford missed its first four shots of the second half, while both teams struggled to handle the ball. Northwestern’s Ali Shockley helped to extend the Trojans lead with four straight foul shots for the home team. The Trojans used their long arms to get offensive rebounds, and although they didn’t convert as often as they wanted, they were able to keep the ball out of the hands of Nation Ford for the most part.

Nation Ford tied the game at 34-34 with 1:41 left in the third quarter, but Northwestern came right back on the next possession to regain the lead with a Myliek Durham basket.

Turning point

Northwestern and Nation Ford traded the lead to open the fourth quarter. However, it was the Trojans that started the quarter on a 5-2 run to give themselves some breathing room. The Falcons had five turnovers in the first four and half minutes of the fourth quarter as the Trojans pulled away. Northwestern out scored the Falcons in the fourth quarter 24-15.

Critical

Northwestern pushed a two-point lead to a six point lead early in the second quarter by scoring the first two baskets of the period, both coming from Jaquarius Clowney. Clowney scored eight points in the quarter. Nation Ford got off several shots to start the second quarter, but couldn’t get anything to fall as they hit just two field goals in the period.

Star contributions

The Trojans were led by Clowney with 13 points, while Nation Ford was led in scoring by Cameron Holmes with 15 points.

Overheard

Northwestern head coach John Bramlett kept telling his team to be patient and it paid off for them in the end.

“This was a game we needed to have,” Bramlett said. “We are still trying to make the playoffs. We had to be patient because there were so many gaps in their zone. We wanted to limit their opportunities.”

On deck

Nation Ford host Gaffney at home next Tuesday, while Northwestern travels to Clover.

Boys box score

Girls box score

This story was originally published February 5, 2016 at 11:25 PM with the headline "Northwestern boys harm Nation Ford region title hopes."