Dallas County relied on clutch free throw shooting to pull off a 65-61 upset victory over sixth-ranked Sumter Central on Friday night in Plantersville.

Darrius Ellis led the Hornets with 16 points, Kendall Thomas added 15. Octavious Palmer was the Hornets’ other double-figure scorer with 12 points.

The Hornets (10-5, 1-0) won their Class 4A, Area 6 opener and nearly blew a nine-point second-half lead.

Ellis and Thomas each hit a combined six free throws over the last minute to hold off the Jaguars (12-3, 1-1).

“We got Sumter Central in foul trouble and we kept hitting free throws,” Hornets coach Cliff Nix said. “We’ve been working on our free throws a lot lately in practice. We missed 29 free throws against Selma.”

Ellis, a sophomore, said winning the first Area contest was a priority for the Hornets.

“Beating Sumter Central was big because we really needed this win,” Ellis said. “It’s all we talked about this week.”

Thomas, a senior, credited Nix for the heavy emphasis on teamwork.

“It was a tough game for us,” Thomas said. “We had a good game plan, we listened to Coach Nix and we played together.”

Nix said he told the Hornets about brotherhood and being united.

“Beating Sumter Central says a lot when we stuck together,” Nix said. “When we play together, anybody can be beat on any given day.”

The game went back and forth in the first half. Dallas County led 14-12 after one quarter and 26-21 at halftime.

The Hornets extended their lead to 49-41 after three quarters, only to see the Jaguars make a furious rally in the game’s final eight minutes.

The game was tied at 50-50 midway in the fourth quarter, but Ellis and Thomas made key plays to hold off  Sumter Central in the end.

Kenterrion Blakely led the Jaguars with 15 points, while Calvin Finch added 13. Deaont’e Pope added 11.

Sumter Central girls 67, Dallas County 18: Chardai Watkins led the Lady Jaguars (18-2, 1-1) with points and 12 assists. Kia Dent added 15 points, Ladacia Giles scored 10.

Dallas County missed its first 10 shots from the field and was 1-for-24 in the first half. By the time Dallas County put together offense, the game was out of hand.

Ebony Simmons led the Lady Hornets with eight points. Sumter Central hosts Dallas County next Friday night in York.