Lions defeat Tigers for 2nd consecutive year
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
GREENFIELD — The final two minutes were a defining point for not only the Fairfield Lions' 54-53 win over host McClain Saturday night, but it could be a defining point in their season as they used defense and free throws to seal the win.
It wasn't easy for the Lions, playing in front of an amped McClain crowd, but the Lions (4-6) brought many fans of their own, and they sent those fans home with a smile on their faces as they gained bragging rights for the second straight season.
The loss by MHS broke a three-game winning streak.
A changing point on the non-league game came in the aforementioned final two minutes, starting with Gage Montgomery putting the Lions ahead by a single point at 44-43 with a two-point bucket.
Then the turnover began being forced by the Lions as Blake Hildebrant stole the ball around mid-court and took to the hoop for fast break points and a three-point lead at 46-43.
Following Hildebrant's steal and basket, Joey Wilson mirrored his teammate as he too stole the ball near mid-court, dribbling the ball to the hoop and making the uncontested basket with 57 seconds left in regulation, sending FHS to a lead of 48-43.
McClain's Ryan Faulconer (who led MHS with 23 points) brought the score to a three-point deficit with three points at 48-45, but Quentin Williams (who also totaled 23 points) was there to put the Lions back to a five-point advantage with two free-throw conversions. Williams finished the game 12-of-14 from the free-throw line.
Faulconer again brought the Tigers (4-4) closer with two points in the paint, but again, Williams was there with two more free throws. Brent Shannon (who totaled 17 points) made two free throws for the Tigers, making it a two-point game with 6.9 on the clock, but Hildebrant was fouled and made two clutch free throws for a four-point lead with 5.2 left in regulation.
Shannon sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer, but it wasn't enough to tie the score, ending the game.
[[In-content Ad]]
"Winning here and defeating McClain two years in a row is a big milestone for us as we haven't achieved this for a number of years," Fairfield head coach Everett Snyder said. "Playing a school like Greenfield and winning at their place is big for us.
"This is a good win for us, and it can only help us headed into our league games."
As McClain head coach Brent Eaton was unavailable for postgame comments, assistant coach Joe Wisecup spoke about the Tigers' play and how there needed to be more patience.
"I don't think it was the mental mistakes at the end, but we needed to be more patient and not take the quick threes we attempted," he said. "We could have been more patient.
"We had turnovers at the end, but we have to go back a little before those occurred. We didn't play terrible, but there were a couple critical periods where we just weren't patient enough. For the most part, we did a good job."
Going back to the start of the fourth frame, Ryan Bates tied the score at 36, and from there, the score was tied two more times at 40 and 42 until Evan Mustard broke the tie with a free throw for the Tigers with 2:05 on the clock.
From there, it was mostly Fairfield.
As for the opening three frames of the game, the Lions led 14-9 after the first frame and 26-21 at the half. Following three frames, the Tigers led 36-34.
In Fairfield's 14-point first frame, Williams scored seven points, including a 3-pointer, while Wilson scored four points, Montgomery scored two, and Elijah Carmean added one point in the opening quarter.
For the game, Montgomery totaled seven points for FHS, while Wilson scored six. Also for FHS, Ryan Bates totaled nine points in the game with six points combined in the second and third quarters. Cody Bennett finished with two points for FHS.
As far as the Tigers were concerned, their nine points in the first frame were mostly from Thomas Schrader with four points in the quarter. Faulconer had two points in the first, as did Mustard. Shannon hit a free throw in the first.
Shannon broke out in the final two quarters with three 3-pointers, two in the third frame.
As for Faulconer, in the second he scored 10 points, while he added five points in the third and six in the fourth.
For the game, the Tigers were 12-of-16 from the free-throw line, while FHS was 17-of-24, including a 6-of-8 performance from the line in the final frame.
The Lions will next play on Jan. 4 when they host Ripley. MHS play again on Jan. 4 at Washington.
It wasn't easy for the Lions, playing in front of an amped McClain crowd, but the Lions (4-6) brought many fans of their own, and they sent those fans home with a smile on their faces as they gained bragging rights for the second straight season.
The loss by MHS broke a three-game winning streak.
A changing point on the non-league game came in the aforementioned final two minutes, starting with Gage Montgomery putting the Lions ahead by a single point at 44-43 with a two-point bucket.
Then the turnover began being forced by the Lions as Blake Hildebrant stole the ball around mid-court and took to the hoop for fast break points and a three-point lead at 46-43.
Following Hildebrant's steal and basket, Joey Wilson mirrored his teammate as he too stole the ball near mid-court, dribbling the ball to the hoop and making the uncontested basket with 57 seconds left in regulation, sending FHS to a lead of 48-43.
McClain's Ryan Faulconer (who led MHS with 23 points) brought the score to a three-point deficit with three points at 48-45, but Quentin Williams (who also totaled 23 points) was there to put the Lions back to a five-point advantage with two free-throw conversions. Williams finished the game 12-of-14 from the free-throw line.
Faulconer again brought the Tigers (4-4) closer with two points in the paint, but again, Williams was there with two more free throws. Brent Shannon (who totaled 17 points) made two free throws for the Tigers, making it a two-point game with 6.9 on the clock, but Hildebrant was fouled and made two clutch free throws for a four-point lead with 5.2 left in regulation.
Shannon sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer, but it wasn't enough to tie the score, ending the game.
[[In-content Ad]]
"Winning here and defeating McClain two years in a row is a big milestone for us as we haven't achieved this for a number of years," Fairfield head coach Everett Snyder said. "Playing a school like Greenfield and winning at their place is big for us.
"This is a good win for us, and it can only help us headed into our league games."
As McClain head coach Brent Eaton was unavailable for postgame comments, assistant coach Joe Wisecup spoke about the Tigers' play and how there needed to be more patience.
"I don't think it was the mental mistakes at the end, but we needed to be more patient and not take the quick threes we attempted," he said. "We could have been more patient.
"We had turnovers at the end, but we have to go back a little before those occurred. We didn't play terrible, but there were a couple critical periods where we just weren't patient enough. For the most part, we did a good job."
Going back to the start of the fourth frame, Ryan Bates tied the score at 36, and from there, the score was tied two more times at 40 and 42 until Evan Mustard broke the tie with a free throw for the Tigers with 2:05 on the clock.
From there, it was mostly Fairfield.
As for the opening three frames of the game, the Lions led 14-9 after the first frame and 26-21 at the half. Following three frames, the Tigers led 36-34.
In Fairfield's 14-point first frame, Williams scored seven points, including a 3-pointer, while Wilson scored four points, Montgomery scored two, and Elijah Carmean added one point in the opening quarter.
For the game, Montgomery totaled seven points for FHS, while Wilson scored six. Also for FHS, Ryan Bates totaled nine points in the game with six points combined in the second and third quarters. Cody Bennett finished with two points for FHS.
As far as the Tigers were concerned, their nine points in the first frame were mostly from Thomas Schrader with four points in the quarter. Faulconer had two points in the first, as did Mustard. Shannon hit a free throw in the first.
Shannon broke out in the final two quarters with three 3-pointers, two in the third frame.
As for Faulconer, in the second he scored 10 points, while he added five points in the third and six in the fourth.
For the game, the Tigers were 12-of-16 from the free-throw line, while FHS was 17-of-24, including a 6-of-8 performance from the line in the final frame.
The Lions will next play on Jan. 4 when they host Ripley. MHS play again on Jan. 4 at Washington.