Trey Meade leads North Adams to 54-45 win over Fairfield

By Colin Ryan
The Highland County Press

SEAMAN – Fairfield’s Ethan Putnam scored 13 of his team-high 23 points in the first quarter Wednesday evening at North Adams High School, but the Green Devils prevailed, with a 54-45 victory on the strength of Trey Meade’s 22-point effort.

Putnam began the first quarter with seven straight points for Coach Everett Snyder's Lions.

Isaiah Anderson led North Adams High School in the first period with four points.

After the first, the North Adams defense switched from a zone to a man-to-man defense.

"We switched to a man-to-man defense which we talked about before the game if Putnam got hot early," said North Adams Head Coach Nathan Copas.

Copas credited Justin Knechtly for playing Putnam "tough on defense" to slow him down.

The third quarter began with a quick foul on Trey Meade. Putnam converted two free throws for Fairfield. Fairfield's Klay Walker and Wyatt Harris scored five and four points, respectively, in the third quarter which accounted for all but six of their team's total points in the quarter.

Trey and Cole Meade combined for 12 of their team's 14 points in the third. Isaiah Anderson with 4:35 left in the third had a steal that led to two points for the Green Devils.

The fourth quarter began with a quick steal by Knechtly. Brandon Gingerich scored on a pair of layups for the Green Devils. His second layup came off a rebound after a missed free throw that he powered in for the two points.

Putnam, Cody Gragg and Jesse Current scored Fairfield's 10 fourth-quarter points, the last two by way of a late layup by Gragg.

"We played well in the first period," Coach Snyder said after the game. "But the second was a bit of a letdown and we got into foul trouble early. We played even with them in the last two quarters."

Putnam and Trey Meade finished the game with 23 and 22 points, respectively, with Klay Walker of Fairfield scoring seven and Justin Knechtly and Isaiah Anderson of North Adams each scoring eight.

Despite foul trouble, Brandon Gingerich and Cole Meade each played solid games, both offensively and defensively. Wyatt Harris of Fairfield played well in the paint.

Individual scoring

FHS – Klay Walker 2-1-0-7; Kaydn Lamb 0-0-1; Ethan Putnam 4-4-3-23; Wyatt Evans 1-0-2; Jensen Daulton 1-0-2; Jesse Current 2-0-4; Wyatt Harris 2-0-4; Cody Gragg 1-0-2.

NAHS – Isaiah Anderson 3-2-8; Patrick England 0-1-0-3; Justin Knechtly 4-0-8; Brandon Gingerich 3-0-6; Trey Meade 9-4-22; Cole Meade 3-1-7.

Score by quarters

FHS –  17 03 15 10 – 45
NAHS – 10 18 14 12 – 54