Mustangs top rival Lions

DODSONVILLE — The Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs welcomed rival Fairfield Monday evening and defended their home court with a 55-50 victory on a night where LC honored their senior class before the game.

The game was decided in the final eight minutes, where the Mustangs (9-3, 16-5) managed to hold off the rallying Lions (10-2, 13-8), as FHS outscored the Mustangs, 20-17.

To start things off in the fourth, Fairfield's Ryan Bates scored two points off a layup to bring the Lions within six points of the Mustangs. Bates led the Lions in scoring with 18 points.

Those points were answered with a two-point basket by Devin Pierson at the 7:21 mark, as the Mustangs regained their eight-point advantage. Pierson led all scorers with a game-high 19 points.

There was no more scoring until the 5:53 mark of the quarter, where Joey Wilson added another two points, but the Mustangs were there to answer with 5:15 remaining on the scoreboard when Pierson scored two points.

The Lions didn't falter and responded with a three-pointer by Cody Bennett at the 4:35 mark to cut down the LC lead to five points. As the game continued, it was Bennett again who brought the Lions closer to the Mustangs' lead by a score of 43-39 with 3:25 left in regulation.

Bennett continued to rally the Lions with yet another three-point basket at the 2:20 mark to bring the Lions even closer to the host Mustangs, by a 45-42 score, but a free throw from Ryan Inman with 2:11 left on the clock increased the Mustangs' lead back to four points. Inman finished the game with 15 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double.

Again, the Lions didn't make life easy for the hosts, as they had two free throws from Ryan Bates (18 points for the game) and one free throw from Wilson (11 points on the night) to cut the Mustangs' lead to just a single point (46-45) with 1:25 showing on the scoreboard.

With under two minutes remaining in the game, LC's Gage Waits (14 points for the game) connected from beyond the arc to make it a 49-45 score, giving the Mustangs a four-point advantage.

The Mustangs were then fouled by the Lions, as Waits made four straight free throws on two trips to the foul line, giving LC an eight-point advantage with 28.1 remaining.

The Lions came back with two free throws from Bennett, but a dunk by Inman with less than 20 seconds on the clock sealed the win for the Mustangs, as they regained their eight-point advantage.

Bates brought the Lions to within five points with three seconds remaining, as he scored on a three-point play.

"I'm proud of my guys' effort on the defensive end," Lynchburg-Clay head coach Matt Carson said. "To hold a team like Fairfield to 50 points is a testament to us on the defensive end.

"We've been struggling guarding the basketball, but we've been working on it, and that work has paid off for us the last few weeks."

In the first three quarters, the Mustangs held the advantage when each quarter ticked down to zero, as they led 16-13 following the first eight minutes, once holding a 16-9 advantage following a three-pointer by Pierson with 2:44 on the clock.

Also in the first quarter for the Lions, Blake Hildebrant connected from beyond the arc with 4:15 on the clock.

In the second quarter, the Mustangs built a 26-17 lead after a two-point bucket by Waits with 2:56 left in the half. From there, the lead increased to 11 points following a layup by Inman at the 2:03 mark of the quarter. LC outscored the Lions, 12-6 in the second frame for a 28-19 halftime lead.

As for the third quarter, the Mustangs built a 13-point lead with 5:12 left in the quarter following two free-throw conversion by Pierson. After points by the Lions, the lead eventually went back to 13 points with 4:13 on the third-quarter clock after Marc Blankenship added two points.

"Marc Blankenship got after it on defense tonight by taking a charge," Carson said. "Josh Ahrmann had the task of guarding Joey Wilson, and that's not an easy task at all. Also, for Fairfield, I thought Ryan Bates had one of his better games of the season."

For the Lions in the third frame, Brant Huff connected with a three-pointer at the 4:50 mark.

The Mustangs have one makeup game left on their regular-season schedule, as they will play on Feb. 25 at Eastern Brown. The Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs will play again on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at Waverly High School in Division III sectional semifinal play, as they take on Portsmouth West at 8 p.m. The Fairfield Lions will play their postseason game on Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 6:15 p.m. at Valley High School, facing the winner of Western and Glenwood.