Fairfield Lions roar past rival Lynchburg-Clay
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
LEESBURG — The Fairfield Lions were back to their usual selves on Friday night as their quick start allowed them to set the tone of the game in which they never trailed, defending Grandle Gymnasium in a big way by a 86-53 score over the visiting and rival Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs.
Though the Lions got off to the big start, the Mustangs — following two timeouts within the first three minutes of the game — managed to trail by just seven points at the end of the first frame at 19-12. The Lions built a 21-point quarter in front of a jam-packed home crowd in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference game, while the Mustangs scored 13 points in the second for a 40-25 score at halftime.
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The largest scoring quarter for the Lions, and the quarter where they left no doubt in their lead, came as they outscored the Mustangs, 26-15 in the third for a 66-40 advantage. In the fourth, FHS added another 20 points to their side of the scoreboard, while LC scored 13 points for the 33-point final differential.
“We talked a lot since the Hillsboro game about the energy level and competitive spirit. That goes a long way,” Fairfield head coach Josh Howland said. “Really, a competitive spirit is everything. We all know that. Even when it comes to the fundamentals, a competitive spirit will win. Competitive spirit beats talent.
“We know Lynchburg’s down a little bit, but Coach (Matt) Carson had these boys playing hard. I think he got the most out of them he could. I was really impressed with them in the first half with their effort, being down a key player. Kudos to him.”
The Lions (4-4, 6-7) returned to having four players reach double figures after hitting a speed bump in a loss Tuesday night. On Friday night, though, the Lions had 20 points from Sam Buddelmeyer, followed by 15 points by Bryson Simmons, 14 points from James Bentley and 12 points from Wyatt Willey.
Lynchburg-Clay (1-8, 2-12) had two players reach double-figure scoring as Ray Conner totaled 20 points, while Noah Miller scored 10 points in the SHAC loss.
“Our defensive rotation was better, but really it’s all about the effort was better. We met with our captains, and they seemed to buy into it after the Hillsboro game. We have to keep that rolling all year,” Howland said.
Now back to the opening frame for the Lions and their 11-point outburst that consisted of the Mustangs being forced to call two timeouts within a span of less than three minutes to start the game. The Lions opened the game with fast break points from Willey, followed by back-to-back layups from Buddelmeyer to make it a 6-0 lead with 6:37 on the clock. Following a timeout, Bentley powered his way to a three-point play. That was equaled by teammate Buddelmeyer with a three-point play of his own for a 11-0 score, forcing LC to call a second timeout with 5:41 left in the first frame.
LC scored their first points of the game with a bucket by Miller with 4:26 left on the clock, but this time the Lions had two points from Austin Setty off a rebound and layup for a 13-2 advantage. Setty totaled five points in the win.
The Mustangs began to fight back with a put-back bucket by Conner and a three-point play by Miller at the 3:16 mark for a 13-7 score. Again, FHS was there with two points by Buddelmeyer, only to be answered with a jumper by Conner and a 3-pointer from LC’s Tyler Stevens for a 15-12 differential, getting the Mustangs to within three points of tying the score at the 1:59 mark of the quarter.
FHS scored the final points of the first to make it a seven-point lead with a basket in the paint from Ethan Saunders and two free-throw makes by Simmons for the 19-12 advantage. Saunders finished the game with five points for the Lions.
The second quarter saw the Lions stay steadily in the lead with their 21-point frame. Adding to the scoring was Simmons with five points (including a 3-pointer), along with five points by Bentley, four points by Conner Priest, three points from Willey and with two points each in the quarter were Buddelmeyer and Saunders.
Lynchburg-Clay kept the deficit reasonable at 15 points when halftime arrived by scoring 13 points in the second frame. Conner scored eight of the 13 points in the second, while the other four points were all from free throws by Andrew Cumberland.
“We talked just about winning every possession,” Howland said of what they discussed at halftime. “If we win every possession, that’s the way we should play no matter what. If you’re losing by 30 or winning by 30, you should win every possession. We started playing like that this game, finally. That’s what’s got to happen.”
The Lions made the game theirs in the third with a 26-15 frame, which included a 3-pointer from Setty at the 7:31 mark for a 45-27 advantage. Later in the third, Buddelmeyer scored consecutive baskets, and with 6:16 left in the frame, the Lions built their lead to 49-29.
As the quarter continued, the more in favor it was for the Lions, as they eventually led by 26 points at the end of three frames. LC in the third had eight points from Conner, three points scored by Miller and two points each from Blake Marcelino and David Giordano.
Fairfield’s scoring in the third came from the aforementioned trey by Setty, but also seven points from Willey, six points by Buddelmeyer, six points from Simmons and four points by Bentley.
Lynchburg-Clay head coach Matt Carson spoke about his team and spoke highly of the Fairfield Lions following the game.
“Our kids continue to play hard and battle … I’m proud of their effort,” he said. “We just have to take care of the basketball better.
“Credit coach (Josh) Howland and their staff, those guys had a great game plan and took us out of the pace we wanted to do. Those are my friends over on that sideline, and I have an assistant who I coached in high school, one who was my teacher in high school and another who was a coach when I was the AD at Fairfield. Plus, Josh coached with me. I wish them nothing but the best. They have their team clicking right now.”
In the fourth frame, the Lions had four points from Buddelmeyer and four points off a two-point basket and two free throw conversion by Reece Teeters. There was also three points by Priest, and two points each off field goals by Tucker Watson, Simmons, Bentley, Jon Bentley and one point by Saunders.
The final quarter by the Mustangs had two two-point baskets by P.J. Fiscus, along with a 3-pointer from Patrick Brown. LC finished the fourth-quarter scoring with two points each by Cumberland, Miller and Stevens.
Howland spoke about his team as he was happy with the win.
“This is exactly what we wanted. We wanted a big win,” he said. “We didn’t know what they were capable of without (Damin) Pierson, but we wanted to come out and have a good performance, and I thought we did. I thought we performed well.”
Though the Lions got off to the big start, the Mustangs — following two timeouts within the first three minutes of the game — managed to trail by just seven points at the end of the first frame at 19-12. The Lions built a 21-point quarter in front of a jam-packed home crowd in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference game, while the Mustangs scored 13 points in the second for a 40-25 score at halftime.
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The largest scoring quarter for the Lions, and the quarter where they left no doubt in their lead, came as they outscored the Mustangs, 26-15 in the third for a 66-40 advantage. In the fourth, FHS added another 20 points to their side of the scoreboard, while LC scored 13 points for the 33-point final differential.
“We talked a lot since the Hillsboro game about the energy level and competitive spirit. That goes a long way,” Fairfield head coach Josh Howland said. “Really, a competitive spirit is everything. We all know that. Even when it comes to the fundamentals, a competitive spirit will win. Competitive spirit beats talent.
“We know Lynchburg’s down a little bit, but Coach (Matt) Carson had these boys playing hard. I think he got the most out of them he could. I was really impressed with them in the first half with their effort, being down a key player. Kudos to him.”
The Lions (4-4, 6-7) returned to having four players reach double figures after hitting a speed bump in a loss Tuesday night. On Friday night, though, the Lions had 20 points from Sam Buddelmeyer, followed by 15 points by Bryson Simmons, 14 points from James Bentley and 12 points from Wyatt Willey.
Lynchburg-Clay (1-8, 2-12) had two players reach double-figure scoring as Ray Conner totaled 20 points, while Noah Miller scored 10 points in the SHAC loss.
“Our defensive rotation was better, but really it’s all about the effort was better. We met with our captains, and they seemed to buy into it after the Hillsboro game. We have to keep that rolling all year,” Howland said.
Now back to the opening frame for the Lions and their 11-point outburst that consisted of the Mustangs being forced to call two timeouts within a span of less than three minutes to start the game. The Lions opened the game with fast break points from Willey, followed by back-to-back layups from Buddelmeyer to make it a 6-0 lead with 6:37 on the clock. Following a timeout, Bentley powered his way to a three-point play. That was equaled by teammate Buddelmeyer with a three-point play of his own for a 11-0 score, forcing LC to call a second timeout with 5:41 left in the first frame.
LC scored their first points of the game with a bucket by Miller with 4:26 left on the clock, but this time the Lions had two points from Austin Setty off a rebound and layup for a 13-2 advantage. Setty totaled five points in the win.
The Mustangs began to fight back with a put-back bucket by Conner and a three-point play by Miller at the 3:16 mark for a 13-7 score. Again, FHS was there with two points by Buddelmeyer, only to be answered with a jumper by Conner and a 3-pointer from LC’s Tyler Stevens for a 15-12 differential, getting the Mustangs to within three points of tying the score at the 1:59 mark of the quarter.
FHS scored the final points of the first to make it a seven-point lead with a basket in the paint from Ethan Saunders and two free-throw makes by Simmons for the 19-12 advantage. Saunders finished the game with five points for the Lions.
The second quarter saw the Lions stay steadily in the lead with their 21-point frame. Adding to the scoring was Simmons with five points (including a 3-pointer), along with five points by Bentley, four points by Conner Priest, three points from Willey and with two points each in the quarter were Buddelmeyer and Saunders.
Lynchburg-Clay kept the deficit reasonable at 15 points when halftime arrived by scoring 13 points in the second frame. Conner scored eight of the 13 points in the second, while the other four points were all from free throws by Andrew Cumberland.
“We talked just about winning every possession,” Howland said of what they discussed at halftime. “If we win every possession, that’s the way we should play no matter what. If you’re losing by 30 or winning by 30, you should win every possession. We started playing like that this game, finally. That’s what’s got to happen.”
The Lions made the game theirs in the third with a 26-15 frame, which included a 3-pointer from Setty at the 7:31 mark for a 45-27 advantage. Later in the third, Buddelmeyer scored consecutive baskets, and with 6:16 left in the frame, the Lions built their lead to 49-29.
As the quarter continued, the more in favor it was for the Lions, as they eventually led by 26 points at the end of three frames. LC in the third had eight points from Conner, three points scored by Miller and two points each from Blake Marcelino and David Giordano.
Fairfield’s scoring in the third came from the aforementioned trey by Setty, but also seven points from Willey, six points by Buddelmeyer, six points from Simmons and four points by Bentley.
Lynchburg-Clay head coach Matt Carson spoke about his team and spoke highly of the Fairfield Lions following the game.
“Our kids continue to play hard and battle … I’m proud of their effort,” he said. “We just have to take care of the basketball better.
“Credit coach (Josh) Howland and their staff, those guys had a great game plan and took us out of the pace we wanted to do. Those are my friends over on that sideline, and I have an assistant who I coached in high school, one who was my teacher in high school and another who was a coach when I was the AD at Fairfield. Plus, Josh coached with me. I wish them nothing but the best. They have their team clicking right now.”
In the fourth frame, the Lions had four points from Buddelmeyer and four points off a two-point basket and two free throw conversion by Reece Teeters. There was also three points by Priest, and two points each off field goals by Tucker Watson, Simmons, Bentley, Jon Bentley and one point by Saunders.
The final quarter by the Mustangs had two two-point baskets by P.J. Fiscus, along with a 3-pointer from Patrick Brown. LC finished the fourth-quarter scoring with two points each by Cumberland, Miller and Stevens.
Howland spoke about his team as he was happy with the win.
“This is exactly what we wanted. We wanted a big win,” he said. “We didn’t know what they were capable of without (Damin) Pierson, but we wanted to come out and have a good performance, and I thought we did. I thought we performed well.”