Lions top Wildcats in rivalry game

The Fairfield Lions and Whiteoak Wildcats went tooth and nail for three quarters, with the two teams being no further apart than two points at the end of the first three quarters.

The Highland County matchup consisted of two teams looking to add one last conference win for the season, and once the fourth frame came to a close, it was the Lions who pulled away with a 10-point win by a 69-59 score in their Southern Hills Athletic Conference season finale.

Both the Wildcats and Lions tied the score at 17 points each in the first frame as FHS, the home team, saw six of their players reach the scoring column in Friday’s night’s opening quarter of play.

For the Lions (5-8, 10-12) they had Randy Lamme, Ethan Putnam, Wyatt Evans, Jake Fraley, Wyatt Harris and Trey Current all score points in the quarter, including five points from Evans and three points each by Fraley and Harris.

Whiteoak’s 17 points came from Jacob Burns, Cody McClure, Chase Carraher and Brandon Ashbaugh, as Ashbaugh sank a 3-pointer in the frame and scored six points in the first quarter. Carraher also added six points in the quarter.

The Wildcats (2-11, 5-17) outscored the Lions by one point in the second quarter at 15-14, where Putnam, Evans and Jensen Daulton all combined for the 14 points scored. WHS answered with their 15 points from Kyle Marler, Carraher and Ashbaugh, with the senior sinking his second 3-pointer of the game.

Once the second frame came to a close, the Wildcats led, 32-31 at Grandle Gymnasium.

FHS was led in scoring by Evans with 19 points, followed by Putnam with 14 points and Klay Walker with 11 for the game.

Whiteoak was led by Ashbaugh with 19 points, while Marler finished with 13, Carraher with 12 and Burns with 10 points.

The third quarter saw the Lions gain a two-point advantage once time ticked off the clock, with FHS leading 49-47 after outscoring the Wildcats, 18-15 in the frame. Evans scored six points in the quarter, and Klay Walker totaled five points in the third, including one 3-pointer. Also adding points for the Lions in the third were Putnam, Daulton and Harris.

Whiteoak had four players combine for their 15-point third frame with Burns sinking a 3-pointer en route to five points in the frame, while Marler, McClure and Ashbaugh all contributed to the third-quarter scoring.

In the fourth, FHS broke away from their rival, going 6-of-7 from the free-throw line in the quarter, with Walker making 4-of-5 attempts from the free-throw line. Lamme scored three points in the fourth, with Putnam adding four points. Current also scored four points in the fourth frame, and Evans tallied two points in the fourth.

The Wildcats had Carraher scored four of their 12 fourth-quarter points, with Marler connecting for three points, Burns with two points, Ashbaugh with two points and Trevor Martin with one point.

For the game, WHS went 4-of-9 from the free-throw line, and the Lions were 10-of-16.