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Published: Friday, Feb. 05, 2010 / Updated: Friday, Feb. 05, 2010 12:25 PM

Fort Mill falls to 2nd in region mix

FORT MILL -- 

All within a matter of a week Fort Mill High went from being on top of the ladder in Region III-AAAA to falling down a rung.

The Jackets (13-6, 4-2) started the week leading the region and are now in second place after losing to Clover High School 66-62.

Fort Mill allowed Clover to pull away in the second half of its game last Friday after blowing an eight-point lead in the third quarter. Clover went on an 11-2 run to take the lead and despite being behind; Fort Mill tried to claw its way back into the game, but came up short.

The Jackets pulled within two with 30 seconds left, but let a game-tying possession slip through their hands and turned the ball over as Clover would ice the game at the line down the stretch.

Sophomore Mark Blackmon led the way with 18 points for Fort Mill, as he hit four three-pointers for the Jackets. Juniors Rion Heriot had 14 points and Jaquan Dupree added 11.

Earlier in the week, a 16-1 run in the fourth quarter gave Fort Mill enough distance over Northwestern High as they would go on for the 57-43 win.

Led by junior Andrew McCartney and Blackmon, Fort Mill used the run to go from being up just five points at 35-30 to start the final period to 51-31.

McCartney scored six and Blackmon added seven during the run as the two teammates each scored 14 points in the game.

Despite Northwestern outscoring Fort Mill the rest of the quarter, the damage was severe enough there was no way for a comeback.

Coming into the game ranked ninth in the state in the latest Class AAAA poll, Fort Mill jumped out to a quick start in the first quarter, going up 9-2. The low-scoring effort by both squads set a methodical defensive pace for the game.

The Trojans opened the second quarter on a 5-0 run to catch Fort Mill as both squads slowed things down afterwards. Fort Mill struggled for consistency in the quarter, while Northwestern played the best it would in the game, scoring 20 points in the period compared to a lone bucket in the first quarter.

The Trojans’ foul shooting gave them the boost they needed in the first half as they put in a 9-11 performance from the charity stripe in the second quarter to take a 22-18 lead at the half.

“We knew they were good on defense and that they were just as good as any other team we have played,” said Fort Mill head coach Bailey Jackson.

Fort Mill came out in the third quarter knowing that if it didn’t change things, the team would continue to have its hands full.

“I told them if we didn’t do what we were supposed to do, we wouldn’t win,” Jackson said. “We played better offensively in the second half.”

The Jackets came out and quickly tied the game at 22 on back-to-back hoops from Dupree.

For part of the third quarter both teams traded baskets until Blackmon’s three-pointer put Fort Mill up 29-26 with three minutes left. Fort Mill’s press started to stall Northwestern’s offense as the Trojans hit just two of 11 shots in the third quarter. The Jackets, on the other hand, surged offensively by shooting 58 percent from the field.

The Jackets went 11-16 down the stretch in the fourth quarter from the foul line on top of the 16-1 start. McCartney hit all four of his free throws and Heriot went 4 of 5 from the foul line and scored six of his eight points in the fourth quarter.