Fairfield Lions fall to Trimble in district finals
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
The Fairfield Lions gave a grand effort on Saturday night at the Convocation Center during the Division IV SE District Final game against the Trimble Tomcats, but in the end the Tomcats were the stronger team, defeating the Lions, 62-41.
Fairfield ends the season as district runners-up with a 15-10 overall record and a 2-1 record in the tournament.
On Saturday at the Convo, the Lions were tied with the Tomcats, 9-9 at the end of the first quarter, but when halftime arrived the Lions trailed by six points at 23-17.
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When halftime was finished, it was Trimble who was the aggressor in the second half, especially in the third where they not only started out with eight of the first nine points scored in the frame, but they outscored the Lions, 25-11 in the third for a lead of 48-28, extending their lead to 20 points entering the fourth frame.
Fairfield scored 13 points in the fourth, while Trimble had 14 points, resulting in the 21-point loss for the Lions, leaving them the district runner-up for the seventh time in school history and the first time since 2013.
The Lions were led in scoring by Bryson Simmons with 15 points, followed by Wyatt Willey with eight points and James Bentley with seven points.
Other FHS scoring included: Conner Priest (four), Tucker Watson (two), Reese Teeters (two), Caleb Payne (two) and Tytis Cannon (one).
The Lions totaled 10 two-point baskets, four 3-pointers and were 9-of-18 from the free-throw line. Trimble totaled 19 two-point baskets, two 3-pointers and were 18-of-25 from the free-throw line. The Tomcats were led in scoring by Braydon Weber with 25 points. In the fourth quarter, Weber collected his 1,000th career point.
The Lions (15-10) battled even on the scoreboard against the Tomcats in the first frame as they were first to score points in the game when Simmons sank a 3-pointer to get things rolling in the district championship game.
Weber answered with a jumper for Trimble, and then Weber exchanged a bucket with Bentley, plus added a free throw to make the score 5-5 with 5:42 left in the opening frame. Weber pushed the Tomcats in the lead with a 3-pointer, and following a foul, teammate Tyler Weber made a free throw for a 9-5 lead over the Lions.
Fairfield didn’t back down with the final four points of the quarter going in their favor with Tucker Watson scoring two points off a tip-in at the basket, and a layup was added by Simmons with 34 seconds left in the first frame, leaving the score at 9-9.
Trimble controlled the second quarter by outscoring the Lions, 15-8, leaving Fairfield trailing at halftime by a 24-17 score.
Fairfield went down by six points early in the second with three straight baskets scored by the Tomcats. The lead was cut in half with a 3-pointer by Willey, with the assist by Bentley. After the deficit went to five points, Priest made two free throws, only to see that answered by a steal and layup by Blake Guffey, putting the Tomcats ahead by five points at 19-14. Guffey finished the game with 21 points.
Eventually, the Fairfield scoring in the second quarter ended with a free throw by Priest, and a jumper by Bentley, as the Lions trailed by seven points when the first half came to a close.
Then came the third frame, and the Lions just didn’t keep pace with the stronger Tomcats anymore, with Fairfield being outscored 24-11, trailing by 20 points at 48-28.
Fairfield in the third had a 3-pointer by Willey, a 3-pointer by Simmons, two points by both Teeters and Bentley and one point by Cannon.
In the final frame, Trimble outscored the Lions 14-13 with Fairfield having seven points from Simmons and two points each by Willey and Payne, plus one point each by Priest and Bentley.
Fairfield ends the season as district runners-up with a 15-10 overall record and a 2-1 record in the tournament.
On Saturday at the Convo, the Lions were tied with the Tomcats, 9-9 at the end of the first quarter, but when halftime arrived the Lions trailed by six points at 23-17.
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When halftime was finished, it was Trimble who was the aggressor in the second half, especially in the third where they not only started out with eight of the first nine points scored in the frame, but they outscored the Lions, 25-11 in the third for a lead of 48-28, extending their lead to 20 points entering the fourth frame.
Fairfield scored 13 points in the fourth, while Trimble had 14 points, resulting in the 21-point loss for the Lions, leaving them the district runner-up for the seventh time in school history and the first time since 2013.
The Lions were led in scoring by Bryson Simmons with 15 points, followed by Wyatt Willey with eight points and James Bentley with seven points.
Other FHS scoring included: Conner Priest (four), Tucker Watson (two), Reese Teeters (two), Caleb Payne (two) and Tytis Cannon (one).
The Lions totaled 10 two-point baskets, four 3-pointers and were 9-of-18 from the free-throw line. Trimble totaled 19 two-point baskets, two 3-pointers and were 18-of-25 from the free-throw line. The Tomcats were led in scoring by Braydon Weber with 25 points. In the fourth quarter, Weber collected his 1,000th career point.
The Lions (15-10) battled even on the scoreboard against the Tomcats in the first frame as they were first to score points in the game when Simmons sank a 3-pointer to get things rolling in the district championship game.
Weber answered with a jumper for Trimble, and then Weber exchanged a bucket with Bentley, plus added a free throw to make the score 5-5 with 5:42 left in the opening frame. Weber pushed the Tomcats in the lead with a 3-pointer, and following a foul, teammate Tyler Weber made a free throw for a 9-5 lead over the Lions.
Fairfield didn’t back down with the final four points of the quarter going in their favor with Tucker Watson scoring two points off a tip-in at the basket, and a layup was added by Simmons with 34 seconds left in the first frame, leaving the score at 9-9.
Trimble controlled the second quarter by outscoring the Lions, 15-8, leaving Fairfield trailing at halftime by a 24-17 score.
Fairfield went down by six points early in the second with three straight baskets scored by the Tomcats. The lead was cut in half with a 3-pointer by Willey, with the assist by Bentley. After the deficit went to five points, Priest made two free throws, only to see that answered by a steal and layup by Blake Guffey, putting the Tomcats ahead by five points at 19-14. Guffey finished the game with 21 points.
Eventually, the Fairfield scoring in the second quarter ended with a free throw by Priest, and a jumper by Bentley, as the Lions trailed by seven points when the first half came to a close.
Then came the third frame, and the Lions just didn’t keep pace with the stronger Tomcats anymore, with Fairfield being outscored 24-11, trailing by 20 points at 48-28.
Fairfield in the third had a 3-pointer by Willey, a 3-pointer by Simmons, two points by both Teeters and Bentley and one point by Cannon.
In the final frame, Trimble outscored the Lions 14-13 with Fairfield having seven points from Simmons and two points each by Willey and Payne, plus one point each by Priest and Bentley.