Tough 4th frame leads to Lions loss against Peebles
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
LEESBURG — For three quarters, the Fairfield Lions went toe-to-toe with the Peebles Indians, even leading following 24 minutes. The problem was the final eight minutes of the Southern Hills League matchup, as the Lions were unable to grab rebounds, make free-throw baskets or keep the Indians from scoring, leading to a 60-52 loss Tuesday night at Grandle Gymnasium at FHS.
In the final eight minutes, the Lions went 7-of-17 from the free-throw line (17-of-30 for the game), allowed the Indians to get second-chance opportunities and just couldn't counter the pressure defense applied by PHS, which led to turnovers and a 30-point quarter for the visiting PHS squad.
"Missed free throws, bad passes, missed backside rebounding … we had a four-point lead, it dwindled down, and we were just never able to recover after all of that," Fairfield head coach Matt Carson said. "We had some opportunities to take the lead, to come back with free throws, which has been our strong point this season. (Tuesday) though, it was our achilles heel."
The same fourth quarter saw PHS, in what was a tournament-type atmosphere, go 11-of-18 from the charity stripe in the fourth. PHS was 16-of-27 for the game in free-throw shooting.
"Defensively, I thought we were pretty good all night," Peebles head coach Josh Arey said. "Fairfield has some players who are scary. They are a very tough matchup because they have kids who can do a lot of different things. I thought our kids executed the game plan and did what we wanted to do."
Leading the Indians was post player Jacob Daniels with a game-high 19 points, including 15 points in the fourth quarter alone. Daniels was 5-of-10 from the free-throw line and made seven field goals, five in the fourth quarter.
"In the second half the biggest difference was Jake Daniels," Arey said. "On the glass, he finished underneath and we did a good job of getting the basketball to him.
"Trent did a much better job of handling things … those two things, along with our defense, were key to this win."
Fairfield (4-3, 6-6) opened the fourth with a four-point lead at 34-30 and continued to hold the lead until the 5:55 mark when Beau Justice tied the game at 38 with a jumper.
Peebles took the lead at 40-38 with points by Trent Arey and broke another tied score, this time at 40, when Daniels put PHS up for good with a three-point play with 4:15 left on the clock.
In the fourth, PHS (6-1, 9-2) outscored the Lions 30-18 to stay in first place in Division I of the SHL.
Including taking the lead on the three-point play, the Indians outscored FHS 20-12 in a span of 4:15, which included eight missed free throws by the Lions.
For the game, PHS had three players score in double figures, including the 19 by Daniels, 12 from Arey and 11 by Josh Chandler.
"We were able to hit some free throws down the stretch, and we missed a few," Arey said. "We got up by five and went to a delay. They came out, and we were able to get to the line, and that got us going."
The Lions were led in scoring by Quentin Williams (who was held scoreless in the first half) with 12 points. Blake Hildebrant and Brad Clay with nine points each.
The game opened with a first quarter that was tied three times at two, four and at six points with 1:36 left in the opening quarter. PHS broke the tie with 58.4 left in the first with a three-point play by Justice. The lead went to five points when Matthew McAdow stole the ball, scoring on a fast break opportunity. The Lions answered with put-back points by Blake Hildebrant, but the lead went back to five points off two free-throw conversions by Arey.
FHS cut the Peebles lead to three points to open the second when Elijah Carmean sank a jumper with 7:08 left in the second.
Peebles' defensive pressure got more aggressive, and they moved their lead to 20-10 with 4:54 left in the first half.
With 4:16 on the clock, following a big block by Brad Clay that got the crowd back into the contest, the Lions' play improved, as Clay and Austin Hildebrant, helped bring the score to a four-point deficit at 22-18 with 1:39 left on the clock.
The lead was cut as far as two points after Gage Montgomery took the ball full court for two points. Justice moved the lead back to four points with 39 seconds left on the clock.
The Lions outscored PHS 12-6 in the third, which in turn led to a four-point lead after eight minutes ticked off the clock.
FHS tied the game at 26 with a 3-pointer from Austin May, who sank the trey from the corner in front of his bench at the 5:05 mark.
"Our bench play … I was impressed with it," Carson said. "Everybody who we brought in made an impact. Wes (Willey) had some nice rebounds, and the kids played some aggressive defense. Elijah was aggressive off the bench.
[[In-content Ad]]"Like I told the kids, I'm not saying the effort wasn't there by the starters because I don't look at this team as bench players and starters. They all are contributors, and the effort was great … I just think the bench sparked us."
Those points, compiled with a few other points by the Lions put them ahead 29-26.
Later in the third, Williams nailed a 3-pointer (at the 2:35 mark) to move the Lions ahead by four points at 32-28. FHS ended the third with two free-throw conversions by Wes Willey.
Coach Arey talked about what this kind of win means to his team.
"Our fans get their money's worth," he said. "Our last five games have been like this, and it is a growing process. The kids are learning to handle pressure down the stretch, and that is great because these are the type of situations we are going to have in the tournament.
"We were able to come into a tough place, against a well-coached Fairfield team. Getting a tough win like this does nothing but help the team grow."
FHS will play again on Friday, Jan. 20 when they host SHL and Highland County foe Whiteoak. PHS is scheduled to play again on Jan. 20 when they host the Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs.
"(Tuesday) we played a tough team, and Friday we'll play another tough team in Whiteoak," Carson said. "I told the kids before the game we aren't searching for moral victories. As far as the win-loss column goes, we failed tonight. Did we give a good effort … yes, we always give a good effort every time we step out on the floor.
"We just have to execute in situations a lot better in this type of atmosphere."
In JV play, FHS won 56-55 over PHS. Leading the Lions was Joey Wilson with 16 points. Also scoring in double figures for FHS were Ryan Bates, 13; Wyatt Crothers, 11; and Cody Bennett, 10. Leading PHS was Eric Schnitz with 17 points.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
PHS 13 11 06 30 — 60
FHS 08 14 12 18 — 52
INDIVIDUAL STATS
PHS (60)
T.Porter 1 (0) 0-0 2
M.McAdow 2 (0) 0-0 4
B.Justice 3 (0) 1-1 7
J.Chandler 5 (0) 1-3 11
T.Arey 2 (0) 8-12 12
M.Johnson 2 (0) 1-1 5
J.Daniels 7 (0) 5-10 19
TOTALS: 22 (0) 16-27 60
FHS (52)
Q.Williams 2 (1) 5-9 12
A.May 0 (1) 1-2 4
B.Hildebrant 3 (1) 0-0 9
G.Montgomery 2 (0) 0-2 4
E.Carmean 1 (0) 2-4 4
A.Hildebrant 3 (0) 3-4 9
A.Hildebrant 1 (0) 4-7 6
W.Willey 1 (0) 2-2 4
TOTALS: 13 (3) 17-30 52
In the final eight minutes, the Lions went 7-of-17 from the free-throw line (17-of-30 for the game), allowed the Indians to get second-chance opportunities and just couldn't counter the pressure defense applied by PHS, which led to turnovers and a 30-point quarter for the visiting PHS squad.
"Missed free throws, bad passes, missed backside rebounding … we had a four-point lead, it dwindled down, and we were just never able to recover after all of that," Fairfield head coach Matt Carson said. "We had some opportunities to take the lead, to come back with free throws, which has been our strong point this season. (Tuesday) though, it was our achilles heel."
The same fourth quarter saw PHS, in what was a tournament-type atmosphere, go 11-of-18 from the charity stripe in the fourth. PHS was 16-of-27 for the game in free-throw shooting.
"Defensively, I thought we were pretty good all night," Peebles head coach Josh Arey said. "Fairfield has some players who are scary. They are a very tough matchup because they have kids who can do a lot of different things. I thought our kids executed the game plan and did what we wanted to do."
Leading the Indians was post player Jacob Daniels with a game-high 19 points, including 15 points in the fourth quarter alone. Daniels was 5-of-10 from the free-throw line and made seven field goals, five in the fourth quarter.
"In the second half the biggest difference was Jake Daniels," Arey said. "On the glass, he finished underneath and we did a good job of getting the basketball to him.
"Trent did a much better job of handling things … those two things, along with our defense, were key to this win."
Fairfield (4-3, 6-6) opened the fourth with a four-point lead at 34-30 and continued to hold the lead until the 5:55 mark when Beau Justice tied the game at 38 with a jumper.
Peebles took the lead at 40-38 with points by Trent Arey and broke another tied score, this time at 40, when Daniels put PHS up for good with a three-point play with 4:15 left on the clock.
In the fourth, PHS (6-1, 9-2) outscored the Lions 30-18 to stay in first place in Division I of the SHL.
Including taking the lead on the three-point play, the Indians outscored FHS 20-12 in a span of 4:15, which included eight missed free throws by the Lions.
For the game, PHS had three players score in double figures, including the 19 by Daniels, 12 from Arey and 11 by Josh Chandler.
"We were able to hit some free throws down the stretch, and we missed a few," Arey said. "We got up by five and went to a delay. They came out, and we were able to get to the line, and that got us going."
The Lions were led in scoring by Quentin Williams (who was held scoreless in the first half) with 12 points. Blake Hildebrant and Brad Clay with nine points each.
The game opened with a first quarter that was tied three times at two, four and at six points with 1:36 left in the opening quarter. PHS broke the tie with 58.4 left in the first with a three-point play by Justice. The lead went to five points when Matthew McAdow stole the ball, scoring on a fast break opportunity. The Lions answered with put-back points by Blake Hildebrant, but the lead went back to five points off two free-throw conversions by Arey.
FHS cut the Peebles lead to three points to open the second when Elijah Carmean sank a jumper with 7:08 left in the second.
Peebles' defensive pressure got more aggressive, and they moved their lead to 20-10 with 4:54 left in the first half.
With 4:16 on the clock, following a big block by Brad Clay that got the crowd back into the contest, the Lions' play improved, as Clay and Austin Hildebrant, helped bring the score to a four-point deficit at 22-18 with 1:39 left on the clock.
The lead was cut as far as two points after Gage Montgomery took the ball full court for two points. Justice moved the lead back to four points with 39 seconds left on the clock.
The Lions outscored PHS 12-6 in the third, which in turn led to a four-point lead after eight minutes ticked off the clock.
FHS tied the game at 26 with a 3-pointer from Austin May, who sank the trey from the corner in front of his bench at the 5:05 mark.
"Our bench play … I was impressed with it," Carson said. "Everybody who we brought in made an impact. Wes (Willey) had some nice rebounds, and the kids played some aggressive defense. Elijah was aggressive off the bench.
[[In-content Ad]]"Like I told the kids, I'm not saying the effort wasn't there by the starters because I don't look at this team as bench players and starters. They all are contributors, and the effort was great … I just think the bench sparked us."
Those points, compiled with a few other points by the Lions put them ahead 29-26.
Later in the third, Williams nailed a 3-pointer (at the 2:35 mark) to move the Lions ahead by four points at 32-28. FHS ended the third with two free-throw conversions by Wes Willey.
Coach Arey talked about what this kind of win means to his team.
"Our fans get their money's worth," he said. "Our last five games have been like this, and it is a growing process. The kids are learning to handle pressure down the stretch, and that is great because these are the type of situations we are going to have in the tournament.
"We were able to come into a tough place, against a well-coached Fairfield team. Getting a tough win like this does nothing but help the team grow."
FHS will play again on Friday, Jan. 20 when they host SHL and Highland County foe Whiteoak. PHS is scheduled to play again on Jan. 20 when they host the Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs.
"(Tuesday) we played a tough team, and Friday we'll play another tough team in Whiteoak," Carson said. "I told the kids before the game we aren't searching for moral victories. As far as the win-loss column goes, we failed tonight. Did we give a good effort … yes, we always give a good effort every time we step out on the floor.
"We just have to execute in situations a lot better in this type of atmosphere."
In JV play, FHS won 56-55 over PHS. Leading the Lions was Joey Wilson with 16 points. Also scoring in double figures for FHS were Ryan Bates, 13; Wyatt Crothers, 11; and Cody Bennett, 10. Leading PHS was Eric Schnitz with 17 points.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
PHS 13 11 06 30 — 60
FHS 08 14 12 18 — 52
INDIVIDUAL STATS
PHS (60)
T.Porter 1 (0) 0-0 2
M.McAdow 2 (0) 0-0 4
B.Justice 3 (0) 1-1 7
J.Chandler 5 (0) 1-3 11
T.Arey 2 (0) 8-12 12
M.Johnson 2 (0) 1-1 5
J.Daniels 7 (0) 5-10 19
TOTALS: 22 (0) 16-27 60
FHS (52)
Q.Williams 2 (1) 5-9 12
A.May 0 (1) 1-2 4
B.Hildebrant 3 (1) 0-0 9
G.Montgomery 2 (0) 0-2 4
E.Carmean 1 (0) 2-4 4
A.Hildebrant 3 (0) 3-4 9
A.Hildebrant 1 (0) 4-7 6
W.Willey 1 (0) 2-2 4
TOTALS: 13 (3) 17-30 52