Lions roar past Dragons to add to SHAC lead
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
LEESBURG — Using a strong first half, the Fairfield Lions did more than enough to add to their Division II Southern Hills Athletic Conference lead on Friday night. The Lions led by 16 points at halftime and never trailed in the game as they defeated the West Union Dragons, 71-53.
The win moves the Lions to a 6-1 record in the SHAC (9-3 overall), keeping them in first place in the Division II standings of the conference. The loss by West Union drops them to 2-10 overall and 2-6 in the SHAC.
FHS had four players end the game with double-figure scoring as Jensen Daulton led the way with 20 points, followed by Jesse Current with 16 points, Tucker Ayres with 14 points and Wyatt Evans with 13 points.
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“It was nice to get a good lead and to get a good cushion … it was a solid game tonight, and I don’t know if we didn’t have some issues in the first half with offensive boards. We have to do a better job of securing the offensive board,” FHS head coach Everett Snyder said. “That was a team where they had one tall player, but basically everybody else we were taller, and that (rebounding) shouldn’t be an issue. That is something we need to work on.
“I was pleased (with the balanced scoring), and that’s how it has been this year for the most part. When we win, that is going to be the way it is, and Jesse came out and did a lot of good things early. He knocked the ball loose and had three or four steals in the first couple minutes that gave us the chance to get the lead. Tucker also had a good game. He gets in there and can get above and finish off the shots. Wyatt has a post move, and a lot of times he has to create his own space to get a shot off, and I thought he had a good night too.”
Fairfield led 16-10 after the first quarter, beginning the game with four straight points by Klay Walker and Current. From that point until the end of the opening quarter, the Lions and Dragons exchanged basket-for-basket, ending with the Lions having a 16-10 lead after eight minutes of play.
In that first frame, also adding points were Ayres and Evans. Evans sank a 3-pointer at the 4:02 mark of the first for a 9-4 lead at that moment in the game.
The second quarter is where the game really began to shift into favor of the hosts at Grandle Gymnasium on Military Night. Though West Union scored first in the quarter, the Lions answered with 12 straight points, beginning with a put-back basket from Ayres, followed by a 3-pointer from Daulton, two points by Evans, a 3-pointer from Daulton and a layup by Cody Gragg for a 28-12 advantage with 5:24 left in the second.
The Dragons came back with three points of their own, only to see FHS answer with a layup by Ayres. Later in the frame, Ayres scored two more points in the paint for what eventually was a 35-19 halftime lead for the Lions.
In the third quarter, Fairfield scored another 19 points, while the Dragons tallied 14 points in the same frame, leaving the Lions ahead, 54-33. The Lions had six points from Evans, nine points by Daulton and four points off two two-point field goals by Current in the third. Daulton sank a 3-pointer in the third with 2:59 on the clock, at the time moving the Lions ahead by a 44-29 score.
“We talked about when they (WUHS) get down, they start shooting threes, and that’s what they did in the third quarter,” Snyder said. “We just didn’t do a good job of finding the shooter a couple times, and we knew that was what they were going to do.”
In the final frame, the Lions collected 17 points with Evans, Daulton, Mason Cain, Current and Ayres all contributing to the scoring column. West Union scored 20 points in the final eight minutes.
Leading the Dragons in scoring were Elijah McCarty with 14 points and Eli Fuller with 10 points.
The Lions will play again on Saturday night (Jan. 21) when they the Portsmouth Notre Dame Titans at PND High School.
The win moves the Lions to a 6-1 record in the SHAC (9-3 overall), keeping them in first place in the Division II standings of the conference. The loss by West Union drops them to 2-10 overall and 2-6 in the SHAC.
FHS had four players end the game with double-figure scoring as Jensen Daulton led the way with 20 points, followed by Jesse Current with 16 points, Tucker Ayres with 14 points and Wyatt Evans with 13 points.
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“It was nice to get a good lead and to get a good cushion … it was a solid game tonight, and I don’t know if we didn’t have some issues in the first half with offensive boards. We have to do a better job of securing the offensive board,” FHS head coach Everett Snyder said. “That was a team where they had one tall player, but basically everybody else we were taller, and that (rebounding) shouldn’t be an issue. That is something we need to work on.
“I was pleased (with the balanced scoring), and that’s how it has been this year for the most part. When we win, that is going to be the way it is, and Jesse came out and did a lot of good things early. He knocked the ball loose and had three or four steals in the first couple minutes that gave us the chance to get the lead. Tucker also had a good game. He gets in there and can get above and finish off the shots. Wyatt has a post move, and a lot of times he has to create his own space to get a shot off, and I thought he had a good night too.”
Fairfield led 16-10 after the first quarter, beginning the game with four straight points by Klay Walker and Current. From that point until the end of the opening quarter, the Lions and Dragons exchanged basket-for-basket, ending with the Lions having a 16-10 lead after eight minutes of play.
In that first frame, also adding points were Ayres and Evans. Evans sank a 3-pointer at the 4:02 mark of the first for a 9-4 lead at that moment in the game.
The second quarter is where the game really began to shift into favor of the hosts at Grandle Gymnasium on Military Night. Though West Union scored first in the quarter, the Lions answered with 12 straight points, beginning with a put-back basket from Ayres, followed by a 3-pointer from Daulton, two points by Evans, a 3-pointer from Daulton and a layup by Cody Gragg for a 28-12 advantage with 5:24 left in the second.
The Dragons came back with three points of their own, only to see FHS answer with a layup by Ayres. Later in the frame, Ayres scored two more points in the paint for what eventually was a 35-19 halftime lead for the Lions.
In the third quarter, Fairfield scored another 19 points, while the Dragons tallied 14 points in the same frame, leaving the Lions ahead, 54-33. The Lions had six points from Evans, nine points by Daulton and four points off two two-point field goals by Current in the third. Daulton sank a 3-pointer in the third with 2:59 on the clock, at the time moving the Lions ahead by a 44-29 score.
“We talked about when they (WUHS) get down, they start shooting threes, and that’s what they did in the third quarter,” Snyder said. “We just didn’t do a good job of finding the shooter a couple times, and we knew that was what they were going to do.”
In the final frame, the Lions collected 17 points with Evans, Daulton, Mason Cain, Current and Ayres all contributing to the scoring column. West Union scored 20 points in the final eight minutes.
Leading the Dragons in scoring were Elijah McCarty with 14 points and Eli Fuller with 10 points.
The Lions will play again on Saturday night (Jan. 21) when they the Portsmouth Notre Dame Titans at PND High School.