Balanced scoring leads Fairfield past Manchester
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
LEESBURG — Balanced scoring and not losing the lead after the early stages of opening quarter allowed the home team to defend their home court in Southern Hills Athletic Conference action against the Manchester Greyhounds.
Fairfield (1-1, 2-1) scored in double figures each frame played, while also having three players score in double figures as well for a 61-39 victory at Grandle Gymnasium, Friday for a SHAC win.
Scoring in double figures for the Lions were James Bentley, Sam Buddelmeyer and Bryson Simmons. Bentley led the Lions with 17 points, three rebounds and two steals.
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Buddelmeyer scored 15 points with nine rebounds, two assists and two steals. Simmons totaled 13 points, three rebounds, one assist and four steals.
“We had balanced scoring,” Howland said. “We’ve averaged, for the first two games, 42 rebounds a game, and we weren’t near that many rebounds. We were actually shooting a little better tonight, and that helps.
“James Bentley played super hard and better offensively. He’s kind of finding his rhythm a little bit. Sam Buddelmeyer gave 100-percent, and then Bryson Simmons played a good game. He controlled it for us."
The Lions opened the first frame with a layup by Buddelmeyer, and later after losing the lead, Austin Setty tied the score at 4-4, and Simmons sank a 3-pointer, followed with a layup by Wyatt Willey for a 9-4 lead. Setty finished the game with eight points, one rebound and two steals.
As the quarter continued, Bentley scored three points on two possessions, and later he had a block at the 1:57 mark of the first. Bentley continued with a basket with 38 seconds left in the quarter, and later a 3-pointer from Buddelmeyer gave the Lions a 17-8 lead with nine seconds left in the first.
Manchester scored one more point to end the first, but the Lions opened the second with two consecutive baskets by Simmons and a layup from Willey for a 23-9 lead. Willey finished with four points for the game, along with two rebounds and four assists.
The Lions had more points from Simmons off another basket in the paint, and later from the free-throw liner a 27-15 advantage with 3:03 left in the first half.
Setty scored two points off a fast-break layup and later a steal and layup by Simmons for a 33-17 advantage with 1:20 left on the clock in the second frame. Manchester scored three points to end the first half, but the Lions led by a 33-20 at halftime.
A big difference in the first-half lead was the free-throw shooting differential with the Lions being 5-of-6 while the Greyhounds were 2-of-8 in the first half.
“The first half kind of got us to where we controlled things with the free throws,” Howland said.
The Lions outscored Manchester in the third at 14-9 with Fairfield having six points from Buddelmeyer, while Bentley had three buckets in the paint for six points as well. Conner Priest, who finished with four points, added two points in the third as well for a FHS lead of 47-29. Priest also totaled two rebounds and one assist.
Fairfield also won the fourth at 14-10 with the Lions having points from Setty, Buddelmeyer, Simmons, Priest and Bentley. Caleb Payne finished with one steal.
Also for the Lions, Ethan Saunders had three rebounds and two steals.
“If we can control the tempo, that goes a long way,” Howland said. “It’s hard for us to change and slow down. You can tell that. When we slow down, we get out of our rhythm.
“We had some seniors last year that really controlled things for us with their length and their athleticism. These guys are finding their own now. They’re starting to control it a little bit.”
Manchester was led in scoring by Brody Francis with nine points and Isaiah Scott with seven points. With six points each were Ryland Wikoff and Kyle Reeves. Rounding out the scoring for the Greyhounds were Isaiah Redmon with four points and Jacob Calvert with three points, and with two points each were Cody Thatcher and Dylan Colvin.
Next for the Lions is a home game on Tuesday, Dec. 11 as they face the Adena Warriors in non-conference action.
Fairfield (1-1, 2-1) scored in double figures each frame played, while also having three players score in double figures as well for a 61-39 victory at Grandle Gymnasium, Friday for a SHAC win.
Scoring in double figures for the Lions were James Bentley, Sam Buddelmeyer and Bryson Simmons. Bentley led the Lions with 17 points, three rebounds and two steals.
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Buddelmeyer scored 15 points with nine rebounds, two assists and two steals. Simmons totaled 13 points, three rebounds, one assist and four steals.
“We had balanced scoring,” Howland said. “We’ve averaged, for the first two games, 42 rebounds a game, and we weren’t near that many rebounds. We were actually shooting a little better tonight, and that helps.
“James Bentley played super hard and better offensively. He’s kind of finding his rhythm a little bit. Sam Buddelmeyer gave 100-percent, and then Bryson Simmons played a good game. He controlled it for us."
The Lions opened the first frame with a layup by Buddelmeyer, and later after losing the lead, Austin Setty tied the score at 4-4, and Simmons sank a 3-pointer, followed with a layup by Wyatt Willey for a 9-4 lead. Setty finished the game with eight points, one rebound and two steals.
As the quarter continued, Bentley scored three points on two possessions, and later he had a block at the 1:57 mark of the first. Bentley continued with a basket with 38 seconds left in the quarter, and later a 3-pointer from Buddelmeyer gave the Lions a 17-8 lead with nine seconds left in the first.
Manchester scored one more point to end the first, but the Lions opened the second with two consecutive baskets by Simmons and a layup from Willey for a 23-9 lead. Willey finished with four points for the game, along with two rebounds and four assists.
The Lions had more points from Simmons off another basket in the paint, and later from the free-throw liner a 27-15 advantage with 3:03 left in the first half.
Setty scored two points off a fast-break layup and later a steal and layup by Simmons for a 33-17 advantage with 1:20 left on the clock in the second frame. Manchester scored three points to end the first half, but the Lions led by a 33-20 at halftime.
A big difference in the first-half lead was the free-throw shooting differential with the Lions being 5-of-6 while the Greyhounds were 2-of-8 in the first half.
“The first half kind of got us to where we controlled things with the free throws,” Howland said.
The Lions outscored Manchester in the third at 14-9 with Fairfield having six points from Buddelmeyer, while Bentley had three buckets in the paint for six points as well. Conner Priest, who finished with four points, added two points in the third as well for a FHS lead of 47-29. Priest also totaled two rebounds and one assist.
Fairfield also won the fourth at 14-10 with the Lions having points from Setty, Buddelmeyer, Simmons, Priest and Bentley. Caleb Payne finished with one steal.
Also for the Lions, Ethan Saunders had three rebounds and two steals.
“If we can control the tempo, that goes a long way,” Howland said. “It’s hard for us to change and slow down. You can tell that. When we slow down, we get out of our rhythm.
“We had some seniors last year that really controlled things for us with their length and their athleticism. These guys are finding their own now. They’re starting to control it a little bit.”
Manchester was led in scoring by Brody Francis with nine points and Isaiah Scott with seven points. With six points each were Ryland Wikoff and Kyle Reeves. Rounding out the scoring for the Greyhounds were Isaiah Redmon with four points and Jacob Calvert with three points, and with two points each were Cody Thatcher and Dylan Colvin.
Next for the Lions is a home game on Tuesday, Dec. 11 as they face the Adena Warriors in non-conference action.