Basketball Recap: Rock Hill Comes Up Short

On Friday, the Rock Hill Bearcats opened the new year with a less-than-successful 67-56 defeat to the Indian Land Warriors. While losing is never fun, the Bearcats can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' South Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 135th, while the Warriors are ranked sixth).

Despite the loss, Rock Hill saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Nigel Lightner posted 15 points. That's the most points Lightner has posted since back in November of 2023. Another player making a difference was Kaiden Watkins, who put up ten points.

Even though they lost, Rock Hill smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 12 offensive boards in three consecutive matchups.

Leading Indian Land to victory were Michael Jones and Sequel Patterson. Jones went 8 of 17 on his way to 21 points and three steals, while Patterson went 6 of 12 on his way to 14 points and five steals. Jones has been hot for a while, having posted 16 or more points the last 20 times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Brent Michael Terrell, who had eight points and eight rebounds.

Rock Hill's defeat was their 11th straight on the road dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 5-8. As for Indian Land, their record now sits at 13-1.

Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Rock Hill will head out to take on Fort Mill at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Rock Hill has been dominant on offense recently, having racked up an incredible 197 points over their last three contests. As for Indian Land, they will venture away from home to challenge Nation Ford at 7:45 p.m. on Tuesday. Nation Ford will roll in looking for their fifth straight victory, something Indian Land surely won't give up without a fight.