Lions out-duel Panthers; advance to Athens
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
LUCASVILLE — Though the first half wasn't the prettiest of basketball games, the Fairfield Lions calmed down and showed why they finished with a strong second half of the regular season. The Lions tallied a 28-point fourth quarter for a 58-48 Division IV SE District Sectional Final win Tuesday at Valley High School.
This will be the Lions' third trip to the Convocation Center in the past four seasons.
"A win is a win," FHS head coach Matt Carson said. "Offensively, both teams struggled. We can't say it was the layoff (FHS had nine days off) because they had the same layoff. Finally, the fourth quarter, we started converting layups. Little stuff we have to get better at."
The first half had a combined 26 points from both teams, with the Lions leading 14-12 after two quarters. FHS led 30-29 after three quarters.
It was the fourth frame where the Lions (10-11) broke away as senior Chris Cox made it a three-point lead at the start of the final frame at 32-29. FHS began the fourth with nine straight points as senior Cameron Rolark added a put-back bucket, and Cox came back with a three-point play, along with another layup by Cox to give the Lions a 39-29 lead with 6:14 left in the fourth.
Cox finished with 17 points, as four Lions totaled 10 or more points. Rolark finished with 14 points, followed by Ian Adams with 11 and Cody Ferrell with 10.
For the Panthers, Jon Valentine led with 14 points, and Nathan Burchett scored 12.
Following a goal-tending call on the Lions, Rolark stole the ball and went straight to the hoop on a fast break, regaining the 10-point lead.
Later in the quarter, Ferrell took back the Lions' 10-point advantage, with 2:12 remaining, with points in the paint.
The Panthers (12-9) pressured the Lions with a 3-pointer from Jon Valentine, bringing Clay within five points of the lead at 46-41, leaving 1:42 in regulation.
But the Lions held their lead, and controlled the pace with converted free throws and sealed the win on a slam dunk by Cox with 28.2 on the scoreboard. FHS was 8-of-10 from the free-throw line in the final 1:39 of the fourth, with Rolark and Adams converting the important points. Rolark was 6-of-8 in that span.
"We've been practicing them a lot in practice. Not just free throws, we worked on pressure situations. The kids stepped up big tonight, made shots when we needed to. It wasn't pretty, but we'll take it with another chance to play at the Convo," Carson said.
The first three quarters were a bit of a mystery scoring by both teams. Neither team was consistent from any part of the court, with the Lions trailing 7-5 after the opening frame.
Rolark, Adams and Cox combined for the five first-quarter points by the Lions. In the second, the scoring wasn't much, as teams were inconsistent from under the hoop and from the field.
Turnovers and being unable to capitalize on fast-break opportunities plagued the Lions in the second. Through all of their troubles, the Lions still continued to battle with Cox gaining back-to-back blocks at the 4:30 mark of the second. Ferrell tied the game at nine with 3:31 left in the frame with inside points.
Both teams continued to have trouble converting baskets, until Dakota Hargrave sank a bucket with 2:23 left in the opening half for a FHS lead of 11-9.
Clay tied the game at 12 when Cody Delotell drained a 3-pointer at the 1:25 mark of the second. Cox put FHS up as halftime arrived when he sank a put-back bucket near the end of the quarter at 14-12.
In the third, Ferrell was first to score with two free throws, giving the Lions a four-point lead. Adams followed with a three-point play, then under a minute later Adams came back with a 3-pointer for a 21-12 FHS lead with 5:37 left in the frame. Ferrell came back with two more points off a pass from Cody Tolle, off-setting a basket by Valentine.
Clay came back with a 3-pointer by Cody Bussler and a put-back basket by Delotell, cutting the Lions' lead to 23-21. The third finished, with Cox draining a 3-pointer near the buzzer, giving the Lions a 30-29 lead.
"This was such an emotional game, I think I said something to the effect of we still have the lead, let's go, we are fine and we know what to do," Carson said about what he told his team before the start of the fourth quarter. "It's hard because defensively, we got what we wanted … we just weren't converting. There are some things we have to fine-tune, but the pieces are there, and I like our chances going into the district tournament. Division IV is wide open, and we will see what happens."
Also in the third, Brandon Carmean made two big baskets as the Panthers were rallying.
"The funny thing is I put Brandon in so we could get so-and-so off the boards … get a couple of hard box-outs a couple times, and (Brandon) comes in and hit a couple shots," Carson said. "It was neat to see all our kids on the bench, and that was a turning point. The bench really got into that, and they support each other."
The Lions were 18-of-26 from the free-throw line, as the Panthers went 3-of-9.
FHS will play again on Thursday, March 10 at Ohio University, at 6:15 p.m. for the game, as it has been switched from its original Tuesday date. They will take on Eastern Reedsville.
GAME NOTES: The game was tied a total of five times, four times in the first half … Adams took a charge with 3:58 left in the third … Cox made the final FHS shot in the first three quarters … FHS committed 12 fouls … FHS scored 44 points in the second half … The score was tied five times.[[In-content Ad]]
This will be the Lions' third trip to the Convocation Center in the past four seasons.
"A win is a win," FHS head coach Matt Carson said. "Offensively, both teams struggled. We can't say it was the layoff (FHS had nine days off) because they had the same layoff. Finally, the fourth quarter, we started converting layups. Little stuff we have to get better at."
The first half had a combined 26 points from both teams, with the Lions leading 14-12 after two quarters. FHS led 30-29 after three quarters.
It was the fourth frame where the Lions (10-11) broke away as senior Chris Cox made it a three-point lead at the start of the final frame at 32-29. FHS began the fourth with nine straight points as senior Cameron Rolark added a put-back bucket, and Cox came back with a three-point play, along with another layup by Cox to give the Lions a 39-29 lead with 6:14 left in the fourth.
Cox finished with 17 points, as four Lions totaled 10 or more points. Rolark finished with 14 points, followed by Ian Adams with 11 and Cody Ferrell with 10.
For the Panthers, Jon Valentine led with 14 points, and Nathan Burchett scored 12.
Following a goal-tending call on the Lions, Rolark stole the ball and went straight to the hoop on a fast break, regaining the 10-point lead.
Later in the quarter, Ferrell took back the Lions' 10-point advantage, with 2:12 remaining, with points in the paint.
The Panthers (12-9) pressured the Lions with a 3-pointer from Jon Valentine, bringing Clay within five points of the lead at 46-41, leaving 1:42 in regulation.
But the Lions held their lead, and controlled the pace with converted free throws and sealed the win on a slam dunk by Cox with 28.2 on the scoreboard. FHS was 8-of-10 from the free-throw line in the final 1:39 of the fourth, with Rolark and Adams converting the important points. Rolark was 6-of-8 in that span.
"We've been practicing them a lot in practice. Not just free throws, we worked on pressure situations. The kids stepped up big tonight, made shots when we needed to. It wasn't pretty, but we'll take it with another chance to play at the Convo," Carson said.
The first three quarters were a bit of a mystery scoring by both teams. Neither team was consistent from any part of the court, with the Lions trailing 7-5 after the opening frame.
Rolark, Adams and Cox combined for the five first-quarter points by the Lions. In the second, the scoring wasn't much, as teams were inconsistent from under the hoop and from the field.
Turnovers and being unable to capitalize on fast-break opportunities plagued the Lions in the second. Through all of their troubles, the Lions still continued to battle with Cox gaining back-to-back blocks at the 4:30 mark of the second. Ferrell tied the game at nine with 3:31 left in the frame with inside points.
Both teams continued to have trouble converting baskets, until Dakota Hargrave sank a bucket with 2:23 left in the opening half for a FHS lead of 11-9.
Clay tied the game at 12 when Cody Delotell drained a 3-pointer at the 1:25 mark of the second. Cox put FHS up as halftime arrived when he sank a put-back bucket near the end of the quarter at 14-12.
In the third, Ferrell was first to score with two free throws, giving the Lions a four-point lead. Adams followed with a three-point play, then under a minute later Adams came back with a 3-pointer for a 21-12 FHS lead with 5:37 left in the frame. Ferrell came back with two more points off a pass from Cody Tolle, off-setting a basket by Valentine.
Clay came back with a 3-pointer by Cody Bussler and a put-back basket by Delotell, cutting the Lions' lead to 23-21. The third finished, with Cox draining a 3-pointer near the buzzer, giving the Lions a 30-29 lead.
"This was such an emotional game, I think I said something to the effect of we still have the lead, let's go, we are fine and we know what to do," Carson said about what he told his team before the start of the fourth quarter. "It's hard because defensively, we got what we wanted … we just weren't converting. There are some things we have to fine-tune, but the pieces are there, and I like our chances going into the district tournament. Division IV is wide open, and we will see what happens."
Also in the third, Brandon Carmean made two big baskets as the Panthers were rallying.
"The funny thing is I put Brandon in so we could get so-and-so off the boards … get a couple of hard box-outs a couple times, and (Brandon) comes in and hit a couple shots," Carson said. "It was neat to see all our kids on the bench, and that was a turning point. The bench really got into that, and they support each other."
The Lions were 18-of-26 from the free-throw line, as the Panthers went 3-of-9.
FHS will play again on Thursday, March 10 at Ohio University, at 6:15 p.m. for the game, as it has been switched from its original Tuesday date. They will take on Eastern Reedsville.
GAME NOTES: The game was tied a total of five times, four times in the first half … Adams took a charge with 3:58 left in the third … Cox made the final FHS shot in the first three quarters … FHS committed 12 fouls … FHS scored 44 points in the second half … The score was tied five times.[[In-content Ad]]