Sectional Finals Boys Basketball Tournament Preview: Fairfield vs. Glenwood New Boston
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Division IV
• Wednesday, Feb. 28 - No. 6 Fairfield vs. No. 3 Glenwood New Boston
at McDermott High School, 8 p.m.
FAIRFIELD LIONS
(Southern Hills Athletic Conference)
- Overall Record: 12-11
- Conference Record: 4-9 (fourth in Div. II SHAC)
- Last Tournament Win: Feb. 21, 2018 defeated Portsmouth Clay, 69-43 in sectional semifinals.
GLENWOOD NEW BOSTON TIGERS
(Southern Ohio Conference)
- Overall Record: 15-7
- Conference Record: 11-3 (2nd in Div. I SOC)
- Last Tournament Win: Feb. 19, 2013, defeated Manchester, 48-45 in sectional semifinals.
GAME PREVIEW:
The Glenwood New Boston Tigers are having their best season in quite some time, and they are now just one win away from reaching the district semifinals at the Ohio Convocation Center for the first time since 2000. As for Fairfield, they played in the district semifinals at the Convo last season (2017) and also recently in 2014.
New Boston hasn’t played in a game since Saturday, Feb. 17, when they defeated the Portsmouth Notre Dame Titans 51-46 in their regular-season finale. Not only are the Tigers looking to get to the Convo for the first time in nearly two decades, but they are looking to gain their first tournament win since 2013.
This year, the Tigers have six seniors on their team, and for their entire roster some players to keep a lookout on are Kyle Sexton, Alex Meade, Tyler Caldwell, Drake Truitt, Malachi Potts, Kade Conley and Kyle McQuithy.
These two teams have also played four common opponents this season, with those teams being Peebles, Whiteoak and West Union in the regular season. For FHS, they defeated Portsmouth Clay in the tournament, while Glenwood New Boston defeated Clay twice in the regular season. Here are a look at the results in the common opponents:
• Peebles
Fairfield — Feb. 2 loss to PHS, 74-53.
Fairfield — Dec. 12 win over PHS, 74-71 (OT).
New Boston — Jan. 6 loss to PHS, 72-67.
• West Union
New Boston — Feb. 13 loss to WU, 71-66.
Fairfield — Jan. 19 loss to WU, 88-71.
• Whiteoak
Fairfield — Jan. 30 loss to WHS, 64-55.
Fairfield — Dec. 8 defeated WHS, 58-47.
New Boston — Dec. 16 defeated WHS, 68-54.
• Portsmouth Clay
Fairfield — Feb. 2 defeated CHS, 69-43 in sectional semifinals.
New Boston — Dec. 15 defeated CHS, 63-60.
New Boston — Jan. 26 defeated CHS, 81-35.
Now for the Fairfield Lions, this season has been one of learning on the go, battling adversity and having some excellent moments along the way as they’ve built a 12-win season thus far. Many of the Lions are having their first season to really play at the varsity level, and those players for Fairfield have shown they belong at the varsity level this season.
Some of the players who have helped the Lions get to the sectional semifinals this season include senior Cody Gragg with 15.7 points per game, along with senior Tucker Ayres at 14.9 ppg and junior Sam Buddelmeyer at 13.7 ppg. Also for the Lions, James Bentley is averaging 6.2 ppg, while Wyatt Willey averages 5.9 ppg and Bryson Simmons comes in with an average of 5.5 ppg.
The balanced play of the Lions is something to take note of because a number of players are capable of being the leading scorer on a given night. In their most recent game last Wednesday vs. Clay in the sectional semifinals, Gragg netted 12 points, Buddelmeyer scored 15 points, Ayres scored 15 points and Bentley totaled 13 points to give the Lions four players in double-digit scoring.
The game has the potential to be competitive, especially with a trip to the district semifinals and to the Ohio Convocation Center on the line.
• Wednesday, Feb. 28 - No. 6 Fairfield vs. No. 3 Glenwood New Boston
at McDermott High School, 8 p.m.
FAIRFIELD LIONS
(Southern Hills Athletic Conference)
- Overall Record: 12-11
- Conference Record: 4-9 (fourth in Div. II SHAC)
- Last Tournament Win: Feb. 21, 2018 defeated Portsmouth Clay, 69-43 in sectional semifinals.
GLENWOOD NEW BOSTON TIGERS
(Southern Ohio Conference)
- Overall Record: 15-7
- Conference Record: 11-3 (2nd in Div. I SOC)
- Last Tournament Win: Feb. 19, 2013, defeated Manchester, 48-45 in sectional semifinals.
GAME PREVIEW:
The Glenwood New Boston Tigers are having their best season in quite some time, and they are now just one win away from reaching the district semifinals at the Ohio Convocation Center for the first time since 2000. As for Fairfield, they played in the district semifinals at the Convo last season (2017) and also recently in 2014.
New Boston hasn’t played in a game since Saturday, Feb. 17, when they defeated the Portsmouth Notre Dame Titans 51-46 in their regular-season finale. Not only are the Tigers looking to get to the Convo for the first time in nearly two decades, but they are looking to gain their first tournament win since 2013.
This year, the Tigers have six seniors on their team, and for their entire roster some players to keep a lookout on are Kyle Sexton, Alex Meade, Tyler Caldwell, Drake Truitt, Malachi Potts, Kade Conley and Kyle McQuithy.
These two teams have also played four common opponents this season, with those teams being Peebles, Whiteoak and West Union in the regular season. For FHS, they defeated Portsmouth Clay in the tournament, while Glenwood New Boston defeated Clay twice in the regular season. Here are a look at the results in the common opponents:
• Peebles
Fairfield — Feb. 2 loss to PHS, 74-53.
Fairfield — Dec. 12 win over PHS, 74-71 (OT).
New Boston — Jan. 6 loss to PHS, 72-67.
• West Union
New Boston — Feb. 13 loss to WU, 71-66.
Fairfield — Jan. 19 loss to WU, 88-71.
• Whiteoak
Fairfield — Jan. 30 loss to WHS, 64-55.
Fairfield — Dec. 8 defeated WHS, 58-47.
New Boston — Dec. 16 defeated WHS, 68-54.
• Portsmouth Clay
Fairfield — Feb. 2 defeated CHS, 69-43 in sectional semifinals.
New Boston — Dec. 15 defeated CHS, 63-60.
New Boston — Jan. 26 defeated CHS, 81-35.
Now for the Fairfield Lions, this season has been one of learning on the go, battling adversity and having some excellent moments along the way as they’ve built a 12-win season thus far. Many of the Lions are having their first season to really play at the varsity level, and those players for Fairfield have shown they belong at the varsity level this season.
Some of the players who have helped the Lions get to the sectional semifinals this season include senior Cody Gragg with 15.7 points per game, along with senior Tucker Ayres at 14.9 ppg and junior Sam Buddelmeyer at 13.7 ppg. Also for the Lions, James Bentley is averaging 6.2 ppg, while Wyatt Willey averages 5.9 ppg and Bryson Simmons comes in with an average of 5.5 ppg.
The balanced play of the Lions is something to take note of because a number of players are capable of being the leading scorer on a given night. In their most recent game last Wednesday vs. Clay in the sectional semifinals, Gragg netted 12 points, Buddelmeyer scored 15 points, Ayres scored 15 points and Bentley totaled 13 points to give the Lions four players in double-digit scoring.
The game has the potential to be competitive, especially with a trip to the district semifinals and to the Ohio Convocation Center on the line.