Team effort carries A.C. Flora past Lower Richland in matchup of top-ranked teams

A.C. Flora coach Joshua Staley always preaches to be ready for anything because you never know when your number might be called.

That was the case Friday night at a packed A.C. Flora gym when the Falcons relied on guys that don’t necessarily always receive the spotlight. JB Moore scored 18 points to lead A.C. Flora to a 47-43 win over Lower Richland in a clash of two of the top three in the rankings in Class 4A.

“It was a team effort,” Staley said. “That’s what I’m preaching. If you want to be successful in sports, it takes team effort. It takes team mindset, it takes team attitude, it takes team love. That’s what we were able to do tonight and fight through.”

Junior Robert McCray and senior Patrick Iriel had off nights for the Falcons (18-2, 4-0). They combined for 12 points but did pull down 19 rebounds between them.

That left the bulk of the scoring to Moore. He had 11 of his 18 points in the second half but he also received help for a group of younger guys as well. Freshman Markel Townsend came off the bench to give them several key minutes and help be a ball-handler when McCray was out.

“That’s why you practice every day. You practice to develop depth,” Staley said. “We had to trust some young guys, some freshmen to go in there to get it done. JB Moore did a great job leading that group.”

It wasn’t the cleanest of games for either side. A.C. Flora was forced in 26 turnovers, with 23 of those coming in the first three quarters. But they shot it well enough and were able to make 7-of-11 free throws in the final 2:39 to keep the lead.

Lower Richland (13-5, 3-1) had a horrid shooting night. The Diamond Hornets were 14-of-61 from the field (23 percent) and was only 7-of-43 during the first three quarters when they fell behind by 10 points to start the fourth. They finished 7-of-25 from the 3-point line.

They got as close as two points at 36-34 in the fourth quarter, but Moore responded with seven points over the final three minutes to seal the win.

“We’ve had games where we’ve shot it pretty well from three but obviously tonight wasn’t one of those nights,” Lower Richland coach Caleb Gaither said. “I think they saw that early on and I think their game plan was to sit back in the zone and force us to take outside shots.”

First place in Region 4-4A

A.C. Flora is in first place with one game remaining in the first half of the region schedule. But Staley was quick to point out that means nothing at this point.

“This region is crazy,” Staley said. “It’s so competitive. It’s one of the best regions pound for pound in the state, no disrespect to anyone else. We have to get prepared for a very good Dreher team on Tuesday.”

Missing stars

It’s unlikely that A.C. Flora’s McCray and Lower Richland’s Korey Richardson will play as poorly in the rematch slated for February 11 at Lower Richland. McCray missed nearly seven minutes of the second quarter and the entire third quarter after picking up his third foul. He finished with three points but did pull down 10 rebounds in just two quarters of action. When McCray went to the bench with his third foul at the 7:18 mark of the second quarter, it was tied at 9-all. When he returned to start the fourth quarter, the Falcons held a 32-22 advantage.

Richardson didn’t score until the fourth quarter and finished with six points.

A glimpse to the playoffs

The atmosphere was electric and had a playoff feel despite being a late January contest. Both teams are capable of making deep postseason runs, but they must play better than they did on Friday night.

A lot of that had to do with the similarity of the players and coaching staffs and some of it had to do with the intensity of the game. The 23 turnovers by A.C. Flora in the first three quarters will not get it done in the playoffs.

Lower Richland will have to attack the basket more and not settle for so many 3-pointers. They have a guard-oriented lineup, but they need to find ways to get into the paint and create offense that way.

Boys Basketball

A.C. Flora 47, Lower Richland 43

LR – Anthony Huff 14, Quenton Flood 13, Richardson 6, Archie 4, Townsend 4, Clinton 2. ACF – JB Moore 18, Iriel 9, Green 7, Townsend 4, Wilson 4, McCray 3, McDaniel 1, Rice 1.

Girls basketball

Lower Richland 56, A.C. Flora 47

LR – Anala Nelson 19, Tyra Floyd 15, Jones 8, Tillman 7, Kelley 6, Jackson 1. ACF – Trinity Delaney 14, Wright-Thompson 8, Sessions 8, Frierson 6, Glover 6, Quattlebaum 4, Eargle 1.