Published: Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010 / Updated: Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010 07:41 PM
Jackets survive scare from Nation Ford
FORT MILL --
The Fort Mill Yellow Jackets edged the crosstown rival Nation Ford Falcons 51-50 on Friday night after two last-second efforts by the Falcons fell short.
Nation Ford freshman Jaylen Reid missed a free throw that would have tied the game with 2.9 seconds left, and junior D.J. Dinwiddie missed a shot that would have won it for the Falcons on the attempted putback, allowing Fort Mill fans to storm the court at Nation Ford High.
“I don’t know what to say,” Nation Ford coach Donnie Holland said. “We just came up one point short. I was proud of their effort.”
Fort Mill trailed 26-18 at the half but fought its way back in the second half as it used defense and free-throw shooting to get back into the game. Fort Mill hit 6 of 10 free throws in the third quarter and got Nation Ford into foul trouble early in the quarter to get the momentum swinging its way.
“The goal was to take it one possession at a time and to attack them and be aggressive,” Fort Mill coach Bailey Jackson said. “We knew we couldn’t make up eight points in one possession. We did a good job of getting inside. Our kids played with a lot of intensity and effort.”
Yellow Jackets junior Rion Heriot put Fort Mill ahead for good with 28 seconds left, hitting two free throws to make it 50-49. Junior Jaquan Dupree blocked a shot by Reid on the other end of the court and passed to sophomore Mark Blackmon on the other end of the court. Blackmon missed a layup attempt, but junior guard Stephen Auslander grabbed the rebound and got fouled and went to the line for two shots. Auslander made the second one to give Fort Mill a two-point lead.
Fort Mill was led by Blackmon and junior Andrew McCartney, each of whom had 13 points. All of McCartney’s points came in the second half.
Blackmon rallied Fort Mill back as the Yellow Jackets trailed 49-45 with 31 seconds left before a 3-pointer put them within striking distance.
Both teams started off slow as Nation Ford took a 9-4 lead. The Falcons, led by Dinwiddie’s 15 points, crashed the boards often and got several second-chance points.
Fort Mill left many open opportunities for the Falcons, and they took advantage in opening an 18-7 lead. Nation Ford went on a 7-0 run in the second as the Jackets struggled to score early in the second quarter, not converting a basket in the first three minutes of the period.
The Jackets then scored six straight points to claw their way back into the game and make it 22-15.
After trailing by eight in the third quarter, Fort Mill drew seven Nation Ford fouls before the Yellow Jackets were called for one. Those fouls sent Fort Mill to the line, where it converted 3 of 6 shots to start.
Dupree’s 3-pointer with just over four minutes left in the quarter put Fort Mill ahead 29-27, and what looked to be a Nation Ford blowout early turned into a tug-of-war between the rivals.
The teams entered the final period tied at 33. A three-point play by Fort Mill’s Dwayne Grainger gave the Jackets a 36-35 advantage, but the game then started to go back and forth.
Nation Ford took a 41-38 lead on a basket by sophomore J.J. McCullough, but Fort Mill rallied to tie the game at 45 with two minutes to go.
Baskets by Falcons senior Sam Hirsch and sophomore T.J. Jones extended Nation Ford’s lead to 47-45. However, things started to unravel for Nation Ford as it lost the inbound pass after Blackmon’s 3-pointer to put Heriot at the line with just under 30 seconds left.
FORT MILL 51, NATION FORD 50
Fort Mill — Mark Blackmon 13, Andrew McCartney 13, Jaquan Dupree 10, Rion Heriot 5, Aaron Chapin 4, Stephen Auslander 1.
Nation Ford — D.J. Dinwiddie 15, Jaylen Reid 11, Sam Hirsch 7, T.J. Jones 7, Eddie Caldwell 4, J.J. McCullough 4, Andrew Komornik 2.
Fort Mill;7;11;15;18;—;51
Nation Ford;13;13;7;17;—;50
3-pointers — Fort Mill 2 (Dupree, Blackmon), Nation Ford 1 (Hirsch). Team Fouls — Fort Mill 15, Nation Ford 22. Fouled out — Jones (NF), Komornik (NF).
Records: Fort Mill 12-5, 3-1 Region 3-AAAA; Nation Ford 9-9, 2-2
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