Greg Hollis | ghollis@newberryobserver.com
PROSPERITY, S.C. — The Rebels lose a late season heart breaker at home. Mid-Carolina(4-16, 2-6 region 3-AA) fell 44-41 at home to Fairfield Central(12-6, 7-0 region 3-AA) on last Thursday.
The number one team in the region were put to test by the Rebels when the two faced off for the first time this season on Thursday, Feb. 6th.
It was a slow start for both teams with the game starting off scoreless in the opening two minutes, but Mid-Carolina were able to hold a slim lead, 11-9, after the first quarter.
Both teams continued to struggle scoring the basktball in the second quarter, but the visiting Griffins were able to put together a nice run to get their first lead of the game and carried the momentum into hafltime. Fairfield Central led Mid-Carolina 25-23 at halftime.
Believe it or not, the scoring totals for both teams didn’t approve after the half. The two teams combined to score 11 total points in the third quarter, but the Griffins held onto their slim lead after three quarters, 30-29.
The pace picked up tremendously for both teams in the fourth quarter and all of sudden nobody could miss. Fairfield Central started the quarter on a 7-2 run to take control of the game. Then, Mid-Carolina started to full court pressure the Griffins and created turnovers that lead to easy baskets.
The Rebels went on a 8-0 run to get back into the game behind the sharp shooting of Kaden Myers. The senior guard knocked down a deep three-point shot and made another tough mid-range basket to cut the deficit. Mid-Carolina found themselves trailing 40-38 with under one minute left in regulation after a spirited come back.
Fairfield Central took a lot of time of the clock following the timeout and it forced the Rebels to foul after not being able to get a turnover. They split the free throw attempts and the Rebels were quickly able to tie the game on a huge made three-point shot from Ryan Crooks.
After a clutch shot from the visitors, Mid-Carolina put themselves in position to send the game into overtime with about 12 seconds left in regulation. The Rebels called a timeout and drew up a beautiful out of bounds play to get junior guard Jay Gallman open. Gallman caught the ball in the right corner, but slipped as he began to make his move and lost the ball. Fairfield Central snatched the loose ball and dribbled out the remaining seconds left on the clock.
Myers finished with a team high of 14 points and Gallman had eight points along with four assists. The two teams will meet again on Monday, Feb. 10th at Fairfield Central. Then, Mid-Carolina closes their regular season on Tuesday, Feb. 11th at Clinton.
Reach Greg Hollis @ 803-768-3117 or on X @TheNBOnews