Lions are district champions; headed to Sweet 16

ATHENS — The Fairfield Lions set a goal in the preseason to overcome their district semifinal defeat of last season, and four months later, that is exactly what they did.

For just the third time in the history of Fairfield High School, the Lions are district champions, defeating the Paint Valley Bearcats, 61-51 in the Division IV District Finals on Saturday morning at the Convocation Center in Athens on the campus of Ohio University.

The Lions (17-8) improved to 3-0 in the postseason as they battled the Bearcats in a tough first quarter but kept their poise and fended off the scrappy Bearcats for the remaining three quarters, as they held the lead at the conclusion of all four quarters.

Again, it was mission accomplished for the Lions, as head coach Everett Snyder was the coach the last time the Lions were district champions in 1996. The first time the Lions were crowned champions of the district was in 1978.

Coach Snyder said this championship was "just as sweet."

"For me, being my second trip back to regionals … it has been several years, but it is just as sweet," he said. "This group of boys have worked hard and made it their goal to get here."

Snyder later said this group of players on the 2013-14 Lions team didn't want to settle for just making it back to the finals of district play.

"They made it their goal at the start of the season to win the district championship, and I'm proud of the fact they met their goal," Snyder said. "Last year … we surprised Beaver Eastern and we were excited to be here, because we hadn't been here in a while. We had a bit of a letdown against South Webster, but the kids who were back this year were determined not to let that happen again."

FHS, with the win, are now 65-64 in district play all-time, as the reigning Division II Southern Hills Athletic Conference champions led by an 18-14 score following the conclusion of the first eight minutes of play at the Convo.

The opening frame consisted of three tied scores of 8, 10 and 12 points by both schools that are separated by 23 miles as they are from neighboring counties.

PV (12-13) were first to score in the district final as they took an early 3-0 lead following a 3-pointer by Anthony McFadden, and later, they built a 5-0 lead over the Lions with two more points by McFadden with 6:30 left on the first-quarter clock. McFadden finished with 15 points.

"Paint Valley played an excellent game the other night, and we saw them in the second game of the season (FHS won 70-49)," Snyder said. "We knew they improved a lot, and they were flying high to be here, but our goal was to limit their outside shooting and to try to limit their post players inside.

"Joey [Wilson] and Ryan [Bates] did a good job with their defense in the post this morning, and I thought Joey did a good job of keeping the ball alive and getting second-shot opportunities."

The Lions were led by seniors Ryan Bates and Joey Wilson with 13 points each as the Lions had five players score at least 10 points. Bennett followed with 12 points, while Blake Hildebrant and Gage Montgomery each added 10 points. Matthew Leach was the sixth Lion in the scoring column with three points.

Following the five points by the Bearcats, the game was taken over by senior Cody Bennett as he quickly put the Lions out in front by a 6-5 score following not one, but two 3-pointers in a span of 43 seconds.

"Cody came out and hit some big shots for us," Snyder said. "He hit two threes, and the two in the first gave us a push we needed at the time. All the boys stepped up, and again, I'm proud of them."

The Bearcats regained the lead, but it was Hildebrant of the Lions who tied the score at 8-8 with 3:57 left in the quarter, later followed by Montgomery with 2:59 on the first-quarter clock.

Again, the Bearcats took the lead, but Bennett brought the Lions back to a tied score with a two-point basket, tying the score at 12-12 with 2:35 still remaining in the first.

That basket by Bennett began a 8-2 run to end the first with Wilson scoring six points for the Lions as the opening frame expired with the Lions holding an 18-14 lead.

As for the second frame, the Lions ended it by holding a 33-25 advantage, with FHS outscoring PV, 15-11. In the second, PV tied the game at 20-20, as they began the third with a 6-2 run with 5:14 left in the quarter.

The Bearcats outscored the Lions, 15-13 in the third, with senior Michael Crabtree of the Bearcats (seven points) making the shot of his high school career with a half-court 3-pointer at the buzzer to end the third, though the Lions still held a 46-40 lead.

In the fourth, FHS didn't lose the lead, taking an eight-point advantage with 7:05 left in the quarter with two free throws by Hildebrant, for a 48-40 advantage.

Those points were followed with a basket in the paint by Montgomery, with the assist from Bennett, as he dribbled the ball behind his back before making the pass.

The Bearcats came back with four straight points, but the Lions, like they did all game, answered with two points from Bates, and later a free throw from Hildebrant for a 53-46 lead with under 3:00 remaining in regulation.

From there, each team attempted many free throws, but with 1:53 left in the game Bennett sank a free throw, followed by a quiet and short fist pump, as by that time it seemed the Lions were on their way to the regional semifinals with a 10-point lead at 57-47.

The Bearcats got to within six points of tying the score with points from Clay Stratton, but the Lions took advantage of free throws, making 4-of-6 in the final 39 seconds of the game. Stratton led all scorers with 19 points.

The Lions will play in the regional semifinals on Tuesday, March 11 at 8 p.m. in Athens at the Convo against Harvest Prep.