Eastside Christmas Classic: Fountain Inn vs. Belton-Honea Path

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The onset of late December's Holiday period means students can put exam season in the rear view mirror. If one is a basketball player, that only means finding the correct answers on said exams gives way to finding the correct answers on the hardwood.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Midseason tournament season is in full swing – including this year's Christmas Classic held at the home court of 4A Eastside. Saturday's action included the host Eagles along with Fountain Inn, the Greenville Hurricanes and Belton-Honea Path.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We at Prep Girls Hoops made the trip up to upstate for Sunday's contest between the Fury and Bears. Without further adieu, here is how Sunday's play unfolded. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Play that day at the Eagles' nest featured the consolation matchup between one of the state's older schools and one of the state's newer ones.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What Belton-Honea Path and Fountain Inn do have in common is that they are both 3A schools. Since both are in the consolation contest, that means they suffered defeat in their first round games at the Eastside Christmas Classic.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Bears suffered defeat at the hands of the Greenville Hurricanes with the final being 59-41. As for the Fury, it was on the receiving end of a 60-38 defeat thanks to the host Eagles. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Third place in this year's tournament would be claimed by Fountain Inn following its narrow 51-50 victory over Belton-Honea Path.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong><em>Remember What Happened Last Time? </em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Since Fountain Inn is a newer school, one would not think it has that much history against other Palmetto State schools. Belton-Honea Path is an exception. Last season in late January, the Bears eked out a 46-44 win over the Fury.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong><em>Quarter-By-Quarter</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>At one point in the first quarter, Fountain Inn jumped out to an early 9-4 advantage, prompting a timeout from Belton-Honea Path. The Bears managed to trim the deficit as the opening stanza elapsed. It was Fury 11, Bears 8 after one frame.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That changed in the second in Belton-Honea Path's favor. At first when the second quarter commenced, it appeared to foretell Fountain inn pulling away. Effective defense and timely offense yielded better fortunes for the Bears and they went into halftime leading 23-21.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The evenly matched nature of this game continued into the third quarter as neither team put a great deal of distance between the other. With three complete, it was a 35-32 score in favor of Fountain Inn.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Fury had a 51-50 lead late in the fourth quarter and Belton-Honea Path had one more chance to win the game. The Bears got a good look at the basket in the closing seconds, but could not connect, sealing the victory for Fountain Inn.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Primetime Performers</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":823740,"width":"389px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/12/IMG_6566.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-823740" style="width:389px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Fury were the beneficiaries of a 12-point performance courtesy of junior guard <strong>Zipora Sullivan</strong>. She particularly made clutch plays in the second half when the contest could have gone either way. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":823741,"width":"387px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/12/IMG_6563.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-823741" style="width:387px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An 11-point outing from junior <strong>Madison Garnett</strong> was also crucial in ensuring Fountain Inn would be in the win column. She plays either as a three or four while also spending time as a guard. Rebounding is another of her strong points. Garnett also plays varsity soccer. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":823742,"width":"391px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/12/IMG_6568.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-823742" style="width:391px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='541372' first='Kamiyah' last='Christian']</strong> did everything she could to earn her Bears the win. The sophomore 5-foot-7 guard concluded her afternoon with 29 points to lead all point-getters. Christian played her travel ball with [program_tooltip program_id='715024' first='Tempo' last='Sports Academy'] this past spring and summer.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong><em>What's Next?</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both the Fury and Bears will be at home on Tuesday. Fountain Inn will await a 5A team in Boiling Springs while Belton-Honea Path's next opponent will be 3A Chapman.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->