Union County was overwhelmed by a solid Gaffney team on the hardwood Wednesday night and the result was a 72-29 non-region loss.

The defending state champions went on a 16-0 run in the opening minutes before Union County’s Jared Booker knocked down a short jumper in the paint with 4 seconds remaining in the first quarter for the 16-2 score.

The Jackets tallied nine points in the second quarter but the Indians poured it on with 20 points and carried a 36-11 lead into intermission.

Gaffney led 52-17 through three quarters and used solid defense to hold the Jackets to nine points or less in every frame.

T.J. Foster and Keiston Smith each contributed six points for Union County. Jordan Spencer, Quan Hardy and Kalay Jones added four points apiece.

“Gaffney wants you to get in an up and down game with them and we told the kids that coming in,” said Union County Head Coach Will Hickson. “We didn’t do what we practiced and we need to work on that. On January 4 we start region play at Chapman so we’ve got a lot of growing up to do before then. We were hoping it wouldn’t take this long but we’ll see where we’re at when we get back from the tournament.”

Girls Action

Union County dropped a heart-breaker to Gaffney on Wednesday, 58-48 for its second loss of the season.

The Jackets trailed by one point, 39-38, heading into the fourth quarter but Gaffney pulled away late to claim the victory and the season sweep. Union County falls to 6-2 with both losses coming by way of Gaffney.

“One of the things the girls did tonight was that they fought hard,” said Union County Head Coach Angela Burke. “They dug deep and fought harder this game than they did the first time we played Gaffney. At the end we kind of fell apart and just weren’t able to finish.”

No games are scheduled for Union County until tournament play in Kentucky on Dec. 27.