Lions clinch Div. II SHAC championship on homecoming night
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
LEESBURG — Division II of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference belongs to the Fairfield Lions. Moving to 9-2 within the conference, the Lions did so on homecoming night by defeating the visiting North Adams Green Devils, 69-58.
On the night where Wyatt Evans and Carly Arnold were selected as the homecoming king and queen, the Lions (14-5 overall) trailed after the first two quarters, but the second half was a whole different story for the hosts at Grandle Gymnasium as they opened the quarter by taking the lead with a 14-0 run, for an 11-point lead. The Green Devils came back with a 12-0 run of their own, regaining the lead in the third, though the Lions and Green Devils were eventually tied at 45 once three quarters were complete.
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Fairfield jumped out to a nine-point lead in the fourth, eventually building a 13-point lead late in the quarter as they cruised to win the Division II SHAC championship and in the process check off one of their preseason goals.
“I’m proud of the kids,” Fairfield head coach Everett Snyder said. “This is one of the goals they set out. We’ve taken it one game at a time.
“We haven’t looked forward and said ‘we’ve got to win this game, this game, this game.’ We just set our sights on the game ahead of us and worked at that, and the kids have done a great job of following the game plans we have set up for the teams that we’ve played so far.”
How the Lions got to the 11-point win was a roller coaster full of twists and turns in the homecoming game, beginning with Fairfield leading 5-2 early in the opening quarter with points from Cody Gragg, Wyatt Evans and Jesse Current. That lead didn’t last as the Green Devils went on a 12-0 run of their own, beginning at the 5:30 mark of the first and lasting until the 2:45 mark of the same frame when the Green Devils moved ahead by a 14-5 lead.
Tucker Ayres broke up the North Adams scoring with a three-point play with 2:41 left in the quarter, and that was followed with Current taking the ball full court for a layup. The two teams continued to play until time ran out in the first with the Lions trailing by a 18-14 score.
The Lions outscored the Green Devils, 12-11 in the second, but even with points from Evans, Jensen Daulton, Mason Cain, Ayres and James Bentley, the Lions still trailed 29-26 after two quarters.
“We didn’t play hard, we didn’t play smart, we didn’t play well the first half,” Snyder said. “I don’t know whether that was because we thought we were just going to come out and win, but we realized we were going to have to put some effort in and match their intensity in the second half.”
In the third, Fairfield had a different look to them at the start of the frame, gaining their 14-0 run from the start of the third until the 5:31 mark where they went from trailing by three points to leading by 11 points at 40-29.
The run began with Current scoring two points, then FHS taking the lead off consecutive jumpers from Evans, who totaled 10 points, for a 32-29 lead with 6:36 on the clock. From there, Gragg scored two points on a fast break layup off a steal followed by sinking a 3-pointer. Klay Walker tacked on a 3-pointer of his own to complete the 14-0 run by the Lions. Gragg finished the game with 16 points, as he was 7-of-9 from the free-throw line.
The Green Devils didn’t sit back and fold. Instead, they powered their way to regain the lead by scoring 12 straight points, erasing a 40-29 Fairfield lead to take the lead at 41-40 with 2:04 left in the frame.
Fairfield answered by grabbing back the lead with Daulton knocking down a 3-pointer, though the Green Devils answered by tying the score with a put-back basket for a 43-43 score. Daulton put the Lions back ahead with a steal and fast break layup, only to see NAHS tie the score at 45 with the third frame ending.
Daulton led the Lions with 21 points, including three 3-pointers, four two-point baskets and a 4-of-6 performance from the free-throw line.
The Lions outscored the visitors, 24-13 in the fourth to seal the win. Gragg put the Lions in front by scoring six of the first eight points in the fourth, including two layups and two free throw conversions for a 51-47 lead.
FHS increased their lead to 56-47 with a layup from Current (who finished with eight points) and a 3-pointer by Daulton with 5:37 remaining in regulation. The Lions never relinquished the lead, taking an 11-point lead following a 3-pointer from Daulton and later another 11-point lead off two free throws from Daulton as well. The lead went to 13 points with Gragg making two free throws with 1:09 left in the game.
“A couple of the kids gave us a spark there in the second half,” Snyder said. “Cody Gragg did a good job finishing his free throws tonight. I’m really proud of that. Jensen had some clutch threes.”
North Adams was led by Austin McCormick with 13 points and Colt Shoemaker with 11 points.
In JV play, the Lions defeated North Adams, 56-47. Sam Buddelmeyer led FHS with 14 points and James Bentley with 13 points.
The freshman game saw the Lions win over NAHS, 37-36. Ethan Sanders led FHS with 18 points and Wyatt Willey totaled 11 points.
On the night where Wyatt Evans and Carly Arnold were selected as the homecoming king and queen, the Lions (14-5 overall) trailed after the first two quarters, but the second half was a whole different story for the hosts at Grandle Gymnasium as they opened the quarter by taking the lead with a 14-0 run, for an 11-point lead. The Green Devils came back with a 12-0 run of their own, regaining the lead in the third, though the Lions and Green Devils were eventually tied at 45 once three quarters were complete.
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Fairfield jumped out to a nine-point lead in the fourth, eventually building a 13-point lead late in the quarter as they cruised to win the Division II SHAC championship and in the process check off one of their preseason goals.
“I’m proud of the kids,” Fairfield head coach Everett Snyder said. “This is one of the goals they set out. We’ve taken it one game at a time.
“We haven’t looked forward and said ‘we’ve got to win this game, this game, this game.’ We just set our sights on the game ahead of us and worked at that, and the kids have done a great job of following the game plans we have set up for the teams that we’ve played so far.”
How the Lions got to the 11-point win was a roller coaster full of twists and turns in the homecoming game, beginning with Fairfield leading 5-2 early in the opening quarter with points from Cody Gragg, Wyatt Evans and Jesse Current. That lead didn’t last as the Green Devils went on a 12-0 run of their own, beginning at the 5:30 mark of the first and lasting until the 2:45 mark of the same frame when the Green Devils moved ahead by a 14-5 lead.
Tucker Ayres broke up the North Adams scoring with a three-point play with 2:41 left in the quarter, and that was followed with Current taking the ball full court for a layup. The two teams continued to play until time ran out in the first with the Lions trailing by a 18-14 score.
The Lions outscored the Green Devils, 12-11 in the second, but even with points from Evans, Jensen Daulton, Mason Cain, Ayres and James Bentley, the Lions still trailed 29-26 after two quarters.
“We didn’t play hard, we didn’t play smart, we didn’t play well the first half,” Snyder said. “I don’t know whether that was because we thought we were just going to come out and win, but we realized we were going to have to put some effort in and match their intensity in the second half.”
In the third, Fairfield had a different look to them at the start of the frame, gaining their 14-0 run from the start of the third until the 5:31 mark where they went from trailing by three points to leading by 11 points at 40-29.
The run began with Current scoring two points, then FHS taking the lead off consecutive jumpers from Evans, who totaled 10 points, for a 32-29 lead with 6:36 on the clock. From there, Gragg scored two points on a fast break layup off a steal followed by sinking a 3-pointer. Klay Walker tacked on a 3-pointer of his own to complete the 14-0 run by the Lions. Gragg finished the game with 16 points, as he was 7-of-9 from the free-throw line.
The Green Devils didn’t sit back and fold. Instead, they powered their way to regain the lead by scoring 12 straight points, erasing a 40-29 Fairfield lead to take the lead at 41-40 with 2:04 left in the frame.
Fairfield answered by grabbing back the lead with Daulton knocking down a 3-pointer, though the Green Devils answered by tying the score with a put-back basket for a 43-43 score. Daulton put the Lions back ahead with a steal and fast break layup, only to see NAHS tie the score at 45 with the third frame ending.
Daulton led the Lions with 21 points, including three 3-pointers, four two-point baskets and a 4-of-6 performance from the free-throw line.
The Lions outscored the visitors, 24-13 in the fourth to seal the win. Gragg put the Lions in front by scoring six of the first eight points in the fourth, including two layups and two free throw conversions for a 51-47 lead.
FHS increased their lead to 56-47 with a layup from Current (who finished with eight points) and a 3-pointer by Daulton with 5:37 remaining in regulation. The Lions never relinquished the lead, taking an 11-point lead following a 3-pointer from Daulton and later another 11-point lead off two free throws from Daulton as well. The lead went to 13 points with Gragg making two free throws with 1:09 left in the game.
“A couple of the kids gave us a spark there in the second half,” Snyder said. “Cody Gragg did a good job finishing his free throws tonight. I’m really proud of that. Jensen had some clutch threes.”
North Adams was led by Austin McCormick with 13 points and Colt Shoemaker with 11 points.
In JV play, the Lions defeated North Adams, 56-47. Sam Buddelmeyer led FHS with 14 points and James Bentley with 13 points.
The freshman game saw the Lions win over NAHS, 37-36. Ethan Sanders led FHS with 18 points and Wyatt Willey totaled 11 points.