Mustangs win rivalry game against Lions
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
LEESBURG — It was a humid evening inside Grandle Gymnasium, with both the Fairfield Lions and Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs going on hot streaks and scoring drives that left the Mustangs as the winner.
LC, who has now won four straight games, fended off a strong Fairfield team that wouldn’t let the Mustangs pull away until the very end, as the visitors left Leesburg with a 67-62 Southern Hills Athletic Conference victory.
The Mustangs kept the Lions away at the end by making their free throws when they needed them the most. LC was 11-of-11 from the charity stripe in the final 1:59 of the game, as those were also the final 11 points scored by the Mustangs in the game.
“It was a big win for us and we knew coming in this was going to be a big test for us,” LC head coach Matt Carson said. “They are very well coached, and they had players step up and make big shots for them. They are leading their division for a reason, and when they are making shots, they are a good basketball team and they made some big shots against us.
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“They made a nice comeback, but we were able to make our free throws in the fourth quarter and when they counted at the end.”
LC was led in the game by Eric McLaughlin with 23 points (totaling four 3-pointers), including kicking off the fourth frame with back-to-back 3-pointers, taking LC from a four-point lead to a 10-point advantage with 7:03 left in the quarter.
The Lions responded with seven straight points of their own, with Jesse Current and Cody Gragg combining for the points (including a 3-pointer by Gragg), making the score 51-48 with 6:07 left in regulation. Gragg tied with the lead in scoring for the Lions with 18 points, making four 3-pointers on the night.
LC had an answer of their own for the Lions, with five consecutive points off a 3-pointer from Brian Lampkin and a steal and fast break layup from Joe Giordano with 4:33 on the clock, increasing the lead to eight points. Giordano finished with 22 points for LC, going 8-of-10 from the free-throw line and making seven two-point baskets. Lampkin finished the game with nine points.
The Lions didn’t back down, with Current knocking down a 3-pointer at the 3:06 mark. Giordano later answered after being fouled behind the three-point line starting with three free throw conversions, followed less than a minute later with two more made free throws for a 61-51 advantage at the 1:08 mark of the fourth.
“We knew it was going to be a good game, and we accomplished a couple things we said we wanted to do,” Fairfield head coach Everett Snyder said. “Jesse has been playing well, and he’s the most improved player from last year. He takes the ball to the hole, and we need to get more players doing that.”
Gragg answered again with his third 3-pointer of the fourth quarter five seconds after the Giordano free throws, then with 54 seconds on the clock, Jensen Daulton connected from beyond the arc to make it a four-point deficit for the Lions. Daulton finished with 18 points as well for the Lions.
FHS was forced to foul, and the Mustangs were clutch at the free-throw line as Michael Heindel, who scored 10 points in the win, made four straight free throws on a combined two trips to the stripe. Klay Walker scored two points for the Lions, but McLaughlin was fouled late and made two free throws to add to the LC lead with seconds left in regulation. The Lions hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer, but the deficit was too large to overcome, keeping LC in first place in Division I of the SHAC.
“At the end, Lynchburg-Clay shot 11 or 12 free throws and we didn’t shoot any, and part of this is we are too hesitant taking the ball to the hole, but I can understand that to a certain degree,” Snyder said. “We played well against the 16th ranked team in the state, but they are a team that comes here and plays well. For our kids stay with them and give them a good game the whole way through, they have nothing to be ashamed about.”
With the win, the Mustangs move to a 9-3 overall and 6-1 in the SHAC. FHS is still in first place in the Division II SHAC with an 8-3 overall record and 5-1 SHAC mark.
The first three quarters were full of action as well in the rivalry game, as it was McLaughlin who got the show started with a 3-pointer at the 7:07 mark for a 3-0 LC advantage.
Current, who finished with 17 points, scored his first basket at the 6:53 mark, but Giordano equaled the feat with two points of his own. Gragg sank his first basket of the game at the 6:27 mark of the first, only to see the two teams keep exchanging baskets until the Lions held a one-point lead with 3:27 still on the first-quarter clock at 8-7.
Giordano pushed the momentum in favor of the Mustangs momentarily with a dunk with 2:49 left, but eventually two free throws from Current, and one by Giordano, left the score tied at 10-10 with 2:09 still left in the first frame.
The pace of the game continued to stay at nearly the same pace in the first frame, eventually with LC lead by four points at 18-14 once the first quarter came to a close.
In the second frame, the Lions outscored the Mustangs 16-15 with Daulton scoring 11 points in the second, including a 3-pointer at the 6:41 mark of the quarter to push FHS ahead 21-20.
The Mustangs in the second were 11-of-15 from the free-throw line, making just two two-point field goals in the quarter. Nonetheless, in a quarter that unofficially saw seven lead changes, the Mustangs held the lead at the end of the first half by a 33-30 score.
In the third quarter, LC outscored the Lions, 12-11, with Gragg sinking a 3-pointer at the beginning of the quarter for a 33-33 tie. McLaughlin answered with a 3-pointer of his own, breaking the tied score with 5:54 left in the same quarter. From that moment on, the Mustangs never lost hold of the lead, taking a 45-41 lead after three quarters and then outscoring the Lions, 22-21 in the fourth frame.
“Eric has been hitting big-time shots like that for three years now, and you don’t hit those by accident when you have two double-doubles in a regional semifinal and final last year,” Carson said.
For the game, FHS was 7-of-11 from the free-throw line, totaling seven 3-pointers. The Mustangs were 24-of-30 with their free throw shooting and totaled five 3-pointers. LC committed 12 turnovers and totaled 16 turnovers.
“I thought they did a good job of slowing us down, and their pressure at the perimeter caused us some problems,” Carson said. “It was a back and forth game all night, and that’s what you expect when you come over here.
“We are distributing the basketball more, a big team effort, and that’s why we’ve won four in a row.”
In the freshman game, Fairfield won by a 44-38 score, FHS was led by Ethan Sanders with 13 points and Wyatt Willey with 11 points. LC was led by David Giordano with 11 points and Nicholas Bennington with 10.
The JV game saw the Lions win by a 61-36 score over the Mustangs. FHS was led by Sam Buddelmeyer with 31 points. LC’s leading scorers were Quintin Smith and Raymond Connor with 11 points each.
LC will play again Tuesday, Jan. 17 at Fayetteville. The Lions are in action again on Friday, Jan. 20 vs. West Union.
LC, who has now won four straight games, fended off a strong Fairfield team that wouldn’t let the Mustangs pull away until the very end, as the visitors left Leesburg with a 67-62 Southern Hills Athletic Conference victory.
The Mustangs kept the Lions away at the end by making their free throws when they needed them the most. LC was 11-of-11 from the charity stripe in the final 1:59 of the game, as those were also the final 11 points scored by the Mustangs in the game.
“It was a big win for us and we knew coming in this was going to be a big test for us,” LC head coach Matt Carson said. “They are very well coached, and they had players step up and make big shots for them. They are leading their division for a reason, and when they are making shots, they are a good basketball team and they made some big shots against us.
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“They made a nice comeback, but we were able to make our free throws in the fourth quarter and when they counted at the end.”
LC was led in the game by Eric McLaughlin with 23 points (totaling four 3-pointers), including kicking off the fourth frame with back-to-back 3-pointers, taking LC from a four-point lead to a 10-point advantage with 7:03 left in the quarter.
The Lions responded with seven straight points of their own, with Jesse Current and Cody Gragg combining for the points (including a 3-pointer by Gragg), making the score 51-48 with 6:07 left in regulation. Gragg tied with the lead in scoring for the Lions with 18 points, making four 3-pointers on the night.
LC had an answer of their own for the Lions, with five consecutive points off a 3-pointer from Brian Lampkin and a steal and fast break layup from Joe Giordano with 4:33 on the clock, increasing the lead to eight points. Giordano finished with 22 points for LC, going 8-of-10 from the free-throw line and making seven two-point baskets. Lampkin finished the game with nine points.
The Lions didn’t back down, with Current knocking down a 3-pointer at the 3:06 mark. Giordano later answered after being fouled behind the three-point line starting with three free throw conversions, followed less than a minute later with two more made free throws for a 61-51 advantage at the 1:08 mark of the fourth.
“We knew it was going to be a good game, and we accomplished a couple things we said we wanted to do,” Fairfield head coach Everett Snyder said. “Jesse has been playing well, and he’s the most improved player from last year. He takes the ball to the hole, and we need to get more players doing that.”
Gragg answered again with his third 3-pointer of the fourth quarter five seconds after the Giordano free throws, then with 54 seconds on the clock, Jensen Daulton connected from beyond the arc to make it a four-point deficit for the Lions. Daulton finished with 18 points as well for the Lions.
FHS was forced to foul, and the Mustangs were clutch at the free-throw line as Michael Heindel, who scored 10 points in the win, made four straight free throws on a combined two trips to the stripe. Klay Walker scored two points for the Lions, but McLaughlin was fouled late and made two free throws to add to the LC lead with seconds left in regulation. The Lions hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer, but the deficit was too large to overcome, keeping LC in first place in Division I of the SHAC.
“At the end, Lynchburg-Clay shot 11 or 12 free throws and we didn’t shoot any, and part of this is we are too hesitant taking the ball to the hole, but I can understand that to a certain degree,” Snyder said. “We played well against the 16th ranked team in the state, but they are a team that comes here and plays well. For our kids stay with them and give them a good game the whole way through, they have nothing to be ashamed about.”
With the win, the Mustangs move to a 9-3 overall and 6-1 in the SHAC. FHS is still in first place in the Division II SHAC with an 8-3 overall record and 5-1 SHAC mark.
The first three quarters were full of action as well in the rivalry game, as it was McLaughlin who got the show started with a 3-pointer at the 7:07 mark for a 3-0 LC advantage.
Current, who finished with 17 points, scored his first basket at the 6:53 mark, but Giordano equaled the feat with two points of his own. Gragg sank his first basket of the game at the 6:27 mark of the first, only to see the two teams keep exchanging baskets until the Lions held a one-point lead with 3:27 still on the first-quarter clock at 8-7.
Giordano pushed the momentum in favor of the Mustangs momentarily with a dunk with 2:49 left, but eventually two free throws from Current, and one by Giordano, left the score tied at 10-10 with 2:09 still left in the first frame.
The pace of the game continued to stay at nearly the same pace in the first frame, eventually with LC lead by four points at 18-14 once the first quarter came to a close.
In the second frame, the Lions outscored the Mustangs 16-15 with Daulton scoring 11 points in the second, including a 3-pointer at the 6:41 mark of the quarter to push FHS ahead 21-20.
The Mustangs in the second were 11-of-15 from the free-throw line, making just two two-point field goals in the quarter. Nonetheless, in a quarter that unofficially saw seven lead changes, the Mustangs held the lead at the end of the first half by a 33-30 score.
In the third quarter, LC outscored the Lions, 12-11, with Gragg sinking a 3-pointer at the beginning of the quarter for a 33-33 tie. McLaughlin answered with a 3-pointer of his own, breaking the tied score with 5:54 left in the same quarter. From that moment on, the Mustangs never lost hold of the lead, taking a 45-41 lead after three quarters and then outscoring the Lions, 22-21 in the fourth frame.
“Eric has been hitting big-time shots like that for three years now, and you don’t hit those by accident when you have two double-doubles in a regional semifinal and final last year,” Carson said.
For the game, FHS was 7-of-11 from the free-throw line, totaling seven 3-pointers. The Mustangs were 24-of-30 with their free throw shooting and totaled five 3-pointers. LC committed 12 turnovers and totaled 16 turnovers.
“I thought they did a good job of slowing us down, and their pressure at the perimeter caused us some problems,” Carson said. “It was a back and forth game all night, and that’s what you expect when you come over here.
“We are distributing the basketball more, a big team effort, and that’s why we’ve won four in a row.”
In the freshman game, Fairfield won by a 44-38 score, FHS was led by Ethan Sanders with 13 points and Wyatt Willey with 11 points. LC was led by David Giordano with 11 points and Nicholas Bennington with 10.
The JV game saw the Lions win by a 61-36 score over the Mustangs. FHS was led by Sam Buddelmeyer with 31 points. LC’s leading scorers were Quintin Smith and Raymond Connor with 11 points each.
LC will play again Tuesday, Jan. 17 at Fayetteville. The Lions are in action again on Friday, Jan. 20 vs. West Union.