Fort Mill beats rival Falcons to win boys' basketball region title

After nearly 12 games of Region 3-4A basketball, it came down to one half between Fort Mill and Nation Ford to decide the championship as the Jackets beat the Falcons 54-49 to split the season series, but more importantly win the region title.

“We were pretty lucky,” said Fort Mill head coach Dwayne Hartsoe. “Our kids played well. Our senior leadership helped us. We had a lot of guys make free throws for us.”

Nation Ford started the game by scoring the first five points with the help of a 3-pointer by Terry Galloway. The Jackets started with two early turnovers until Tanner Mitchell was a able to hit a running lay-up in transition. Fort Mill’s Malik Hayman came right back on the Jackets next possession to tie the game.

The streak was part of a 7-0 run by Fort Mill before Nation Ford took their first time out of the game. Nation Ford struggled afterward shooting the ball while Fort Mill allowed them just one shot attempt on most possessions with a stifling 3-2 zone defense. Fort Mill scored 10 straight points to end the first quarter.

The second quarter for Nation Ford turned into the Cameron Holmes show early as he scored 15 points to put the Falcons into the lead. Turnovers by Fort Mill only frustrated the situation for them giving Nation Ford ample opportunity to extend their lead.

Fort Mill regrouped and was led by Mitchell, who hit a trio of 3-pointers of his own, to tie the game at 26 at the half.

Fort Mill started the second half more methodical running different offenses to set up a shot.

Nation Ford was just as patient in choosing their opportunities. The Falcons’ Will Lawhon finally broke the halftime tie with a basket about 2:30 into the third quarter.

Mitchell would tie the game with two free throws and then Fort Mill would score the next two baskets to go on a 6-0 run and get some breathing room forcing Nation Ford into a timeout. Nation Ford would come out of the timeout and hit back-to-back 3-pointers by Holmes and Hank Tuipulotu to regain the lead and force Fort Mill into a 30 second time out.

Turning point

With a tie game shortly after the start of the fourth quarter, Mitchell scored five straight points for Fort Mill, including a 3-pointer as the Jackets took the lead. Once they got the lead, Fort Mill started to drain the clock and slow their offense down. That helped to push the Fort Mill lead to 46-41 with baskets from Brandon Joseph and Rogan Wells. From there, Fort Mill was able to ice the game with the help of free throws down the stretch by AJ Foti.

Critical

Both teams traded baskets to open the second quarter, which lit a fire in Nation Ford as they would then go on a 6-0 run and pull within one. Nation Ford’s Holmes and Zeb Graham combined to score all but two of the Falcons’ points as momentum quickly shifted to Nation Ford. That gave the Falcons a 23-15 lead after Holmes’ third 3-pointer of the quarter.

Not to be undone by Holmes, Mitchell scored 11 of Fort Mill’s 16 points in the second quarter to drag the Jackets back into the game by the half.

Star contributions

Mitchell led Fort Mill with 21 points. Holmes paced the Falcons with 18 points. Foti had nine points for Fort Mill, including hitting six free throws down the stretch.

Overheard

Falcons’ head coach Michael Tew said he was proud of his team, which started 2-9 on the season, in rallying to get to a point where they could play for a region championship.

“They knocked down shots and we didn’t,” Tew said. “They hit shots when they needed to. They just played better than us.”

Box score

On deck

Both teams start the playoffs next week. The first round is scheduled for Wednesday with both teams playing home games.

Girls

The Fort Mill girls basketball team clinched a spot in the 4A state playoffs with a win over rivals Nation Ford 35-25.

Fort Mill had a run in the second quarter and out scored the Falcons 13-6. The run was enough along with a good fourth quarter to give the Jackets a win.

Fort Mill was led by Ericca Chappell with 12 points and Nation Ford was led by Sami Tuipulotu with nine points.

This story was originally published February 13, 2016 at 9:43 AM with the headline "Fort Mill beats rival Falcons to win boys' basketball region title."