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Published: Saturday, Feb. 09, 2013 / Updated: Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013 02:48 PM

Jackets edge Falcons, keep playoff hopes alive

FORT MILL -- 

The Nation Ford High gym was decked out with banners for its rivalry game against Fort Mill, with one of the banners reading: “Silence the Buzz.”

With a potential playoff spot still on the line, that is exactly what Nation Ford tried to do to Fort Mill, but was unsuccessful as the Jackets pulled off a 48-43 win over their cross-town rivals.

Fort Mill senior Harrison Lancaster drained a 3-pointer with just under a minute that gave the Jackets a 45-43 lead.

After a costly turnover on the Falcons'next possession, the Jackets’ Mike Scurlock was fouled and hit two key free-throws to give Fort Mill a 47-43 lead with 19.1 seconds left. Fort Mill’s Rylan Wells added one more free throw before the end of the game, helping secure the Jackets' win.

“Our defense was pretty good,” said Fort Mill coach Dwayne Hartsoe. “We tried to make some adjustments at halftime and offensively, Harrison making that big three for us really help.”

The Falcons struggled with turnovers, coughing it up 19 times compared to just six turnovers from Fort Mill.

“We played horrible,” said Falcons coach Brian Turner. “We had so much miscommunication. They played better than us. They had more of a purpose on offense.”

Nation Ford’s Riley Hilton tied the game at 31 to start the fourth quarter with a baby-hook shot.

Both teams played tight and Hilton was strong in the paint for the Falcons early in the quarter. Hilton led Nation Ford with 16 points – 10 of which came in the fourth.

However, Fort Mill had an answer for everything Nation Ford threw at the Jackets and vice versa.

The Falcons’ play in the fourth quarter was all Hilton and senior Carson Smith, who accounted for all of Nation Ford’s 14 points in the quarter.

Defense was the name of the game to start the second half. The Falcons struggled early with three turnovers, but converted two baskets, as Fort Mill struggled to hit just one. The Jackets started the quarter just 1-for-6 from the field.

Fort Mill kept shooting and clawed its way back into the game going on a 10-0 run to make it 31-28 in favor of the Jackets.

Jackets senior John Paris did the majority of the work for Fort Mill. He scored eight of the points on the run dominating the lane.

Neither team had an impressive start to the second quarter as they combined for just one field goal on 10 shots in the first three minutes of the period.

Falcons junior Jordan Causey put Nation Ford up 18-14 with a 3-pointer, but Fort Mill’s Preston Jordan kept things at bay with a three of his own.

Fort Mill hit just 3-of-17 from the field in the second quarter and shot just under 25 percent for the half. Nation Ford shot around 41 percent in the first half.

Nation Ford concentrated on the higher-percentage shot by going to the hole in the lane, while Fort Mill took the outside route and drained three 3-pointers in the first six minutes of the game.

Fort Mill 48, Nation Ford 43

Fort Mill 11 8 12 17 - 48 Nation Ford 13 11 5 14 - 43 Fort Mill – Harrison Lancaster 18, John Paris 8, Mike Scurlock 6, Preston Jordan 5, Rylan Wells 4, Devan Thacker 3, Matt Ferguson 2, Mitchell Johnson 2. Nation Ford – Riley Hilton 16, Carson Smith 9, Nick Turner 5, Jordan Causey 5, Justin Sergent 4, Hank Tuipulotu 2, Ben Sidebothom 2.

3 – pointers: Fort Mill 5 (Lancaster 3, Jordan 1, Wells 1), Nation Ford 2 (Turner 1, Causey 1).

Team fouls: Fort Mill 10, Nation Ford 17.

Records: Fort Mill 10-14, 5-9 Region III-AAAA; Nation Ford 9-15, 5-9 Region III-AAAA.