Lions win 2nd consecutive sectional crown
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
The Fairfield Lions fended off a tough challenge presented by the Western Indians and for their efforts earned a sectional championship and a trip to the Convocation Center in Athens, as they defeated the Indians, 65-57.
In their victory, the Lions won a second consecutive sectional title to add to the Division II Southern Hills Athletic Conference title they earned this season.
One of the biggest differences in the Division IV Sectional Final game at Valley High School was the Lions' performance from the first quarter to the second frame, where they went from scoring seven points after eight minutes to leading by 10 points at the conclusion of the second frame.
"We weren't ready for their slow-down style of game," FHS head coach Everett Snyder said. "They came out in the first and wanted to hold the basketball and force us to come up and guard them 30 feet from the basket.
"We could have chosen to stay in the paint, but we wanted to force the tempo and get it to the pace we like to play at. Western's game plan was a good game plan ... we just needed to take care of the basketball better once we got the lead."
With the Lions (14-8) trailing 10-7 after the first quarter, Brant Huff opened the second with a three-pointer at the 7:11 mark, tying the score at 10. Following a point by the Lions, Gage Montgomery added to the lead by stealing the ball at the half-court line and taking the ball to the hoop for a 13-10 Fairfield advantage.
Montgomery finished the game with 21 points.
"Gage did a good job of taking the ball to the basket and being around for the rebounds on the offensive end," Snyder said. "It seemed like there were a lot of chances at rebounds, because we missed a lot of shots on the inside.
"He did a good job, and I thought Joey and Ryan did a good job rebounding, but like I said, we need to do a better job finishing if we are going to beat some of these teams we will face as the tournament advances."
Later in the quarter, Huff connected on a long jumper for what turned into a 6-0 run, as Joey Wilson and Ryan Bates scored inside points to put the Lions ahead, 19-12 with 2:33 left in the first half. Bates totaled 17 points for the game.
The Indians (7-19) responded with a four-point play to cut the Lions' lead to three points, but the Lions responded with a 6-0 run from Wilson, Montgomery and Huff, who totaled 12 points, to end the first half with a 26-16 lead. Huff made three 3-pointers in the game.
In the second half, the Lions held off a bit of a surge by the Indians, who opened the third with two points. The Lions answered with a 3-pointer by Hildebrant and later points in the paint by Montgomery, followed by a free throw, for a 32-21 advantage.
After another two points by the Indians, who were the visiting team, Montgomery sank a 3-pointer of his own, and Bates came back with a put-back bucket at the 5:27 mark for a Lions lead of 37-23.
Both teams continued to add to their side of the scoreboard in the third, but the Lions had the final say in the quarter with Joey Wilson adding two more points to the Lions' side for a 47-39 advantage after three quarters.
Western didn't back down in the final eight minutes as they battled with the Lions and cut their deficit to seven points with 3:42 on the clock and later to four points with 3:10 following a three-point play.
[[In-content Ad]]Bates later scored on a layup, off an assist by Huff (who dribbled the ball behind his back before the pass to Bates), for an FHS lead of 57-51 with 3:07 left in regulation.
Later, Huff added another point to the Lions' lead from the free-throw line, as did Cody Bennett, taking their three-point lead back to four points with around a minute left in the fourth.
In the final 42 seconds, Hildebrant, Bennett and Montgomery outscored the Indians, 6-2 to win by eight points.
The Lions will play in the Division IV SE District Semifinals at the Convo on Monday, March 3 when they will face Ironton St. Joseph at 8 p.m. Ironton St. Joseph defeated Eastern Pike Wednesday by a 50-49 score.
It had been 10 days since the Lions last played a game, and that was a concern for Coach Snyder.
"The layoff was a concern," he said. "We came out flat and worked this week practicing for Western. We had plenty of days to prepare.
"Getting to the Convo is our goal, and anything after that is great. The guys are excited to get back there."
FHS has a makeup game at FHS on Saturday against Ripley to wrap up their regular season.
In their victory, the Lions won a second consecutive sectional title to add to the Division II Southern Hills Athletic Conference title they earned this season.
One of the biggest differences in the Division IV Sectional Final game at Valley High School was the Lions' performance from the first quarter to the second frame, where they went from scoring seven points after eight minutes to leading by 10 points at the conclusion of the second frame.
"We weren't ready for their slow-down style of game," FHS head coach Everett Snyder said. "They came out in the first and wanted to hold the basketball and force us to come up and guard them 30 feet from the basket.
"We could have chosen to stay in the paint, but we wanted to force the tempo and get it to the pace we like to play at. Western's game plan was a good game plan ... we just needed to take care of the basketball better once we got the lead."
With the Lions (14-8) trailing 10-7 after the first quarter, Brant Huff opened the second with a three-pointer at the 7:11 mark, tying the score at 10. Following a point by the Lions, Gage Montgomery added to the lead by stealing the ball at the half-court line and taking the ball to the hoop for a 13-10 Fairfield advantage.
Montgomery finished the game with 21 points.
"Gage did a good job of taking the ball to the basket and being around for the rebounds on the offensive end," Snyder said. "It seemed like there were a lot of chances at rebounds, because we missed a lot of shots on the inside.
"He did a good job, and I thought Joey and Ryan did a good job rebounding, but like I said, we need to do a better job finishing if we are going to beat some of these teams we will face as the tournament advances."
Later in the quarter, Huff connected on a long jumper for what turned into a 6-0 run, as Joey Wilson and Ryan Bates scored inside points to put the Lions ahead, 19-12 with 2:33 left in the first half. Bates totaled 17 points for the game.
The Indians (7-19) responded with a four-point play to cut the Lions' lead to three points, but the Lions responded with a 6-0 run from Wilson, Montgomery and Huff, who totaled 12 points, to end the first half with a 26-16 lead. Huff made three 3-pointers in the game.
In the second half, the Lions held off a bit of a surge by the Indians, who opened the third with two points. The Lions answered with a 3-pointer by Hildebrant and later points in the paint by Montgomery, followed by a free throw, for a 32-21 advantage.
After another two points by the Indians, who were the visiting team, Montgomery sank a 3-pointer of his own, and Bates came back with a put-back bucket at the 5:27 mark for a Lions lead of 37-23.
Both teams continued to add to their side of the scoreboard in the third, but the Lions had the final say in the quarter with Joey Wilson adding two more points to the Lions' side for a 47-39 advantage after three quarters.
Western didn't back down in the final eight minutes as they battled with the Lions and cut their deficit to seven points with 3:42 on the clock and later to four points with 3:10 following a three-point play.
[[In-content Ad]]Bates later scored on a layup, off an assist by Huff (who dribbled the ball behind his back before the pass to Bates), for an FHS lead of 57-51 with 3:07 left in regulation.
Later, Huff added another point to the Lions' lead from the free-throw line, as did Cody Bennett, taking their three-point lead back to four points with around a minute left in the fourth.
In the final 42 seconds, Hildebrant, Bennett and Montgomery outscored the Indians, 6-2 to win by eight points.
The Lions will play in the Division IV SE District Semifinals at the Convo on Monday, March 3 when they will face Ironton St. Joseph at 8 p.m. Ironton St. Joseph defeated Eastern Pike Wednesday by a 50-49 score.
It had been 10 days since the Lions last played a game, and that was a concern for Coach Snyder.
"The layoff was a concern," he said. "We came out flat and worked this week practicing for Western. We had plenty of days to prepare.
"Getting to the Convo is our goal, and anything after that is great. The guys are excited to get back there."
FHS has a makeup game at FHS on Saturday against Ripley to wrap up their regular season.