Top-notch free-throw shooting propels Fairfield over McClain
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
LEESBURG — One night after not playing at their highest level, the Fairfield Lions rebounded to gain a non-conference win on Saturday by defeating rival McClain, 67-57 in a highly competitive game between two Highland County schools.
Both the Lions and Tigers were coming off tough losses on the previous night, having less than 24 hours to prepare for the contest.
Free-throw shooting was key in the win for the Lions, as they finished 21-of-23 from the charity stripe, including going 10-of-11 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter. McClain went 6-of-11 for the game in their free-throw opportunities.
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Leading the Lions in their free-throw shooting were Wyatt Willey and Bryson Simmons, with each player going a perfect 7-of-7 from the free-throw line. Willey led the Lions in scoring with 17 points, while Simmons scored 11 points.
"Last night, the energy was low, and tonight we came out with high energy,” Fairfield head coach Josh Howland said. “High energy can help with a lot of things. We had the opportunity to watch (McClain) play a couple games, and they're a high-energy team, and (Bryson) Badgley is very efficient scorer. Actually, I hadn't seen him rebound that well offensively, but I was impressed with the way he rebounded tonight. I thought Coach (Joe B.) Stewart got his boys ready, but our boys fortunately were hitting on all cylinders there.
"We had six or eight offensive boards in the first half, and we gave up eight offensive rebounds in the second half. Badgley wasn't getting those points, and I thought (Connor) Priest did a nice job on him from the second quarter on, but Badgley made up for it with his offensive rebounds.”
The Lions and the Tigers each scored 12 points in the first frame, but the Lions broke away from the visiting Tigers, where they held a 27-19 lead at halftime.
Getting to that point of the game saw the first frame be closely contested with Willey scoring the first points of the game for the Lions with a layup, but Lyle White of McClain quickly tied the score. White totaled 10 points for the game.
Following a block by at the 6:56 mark of the first, the Lions took advantage of the defensive move with FHS going down the court and seeing Tytis Cannon sink a 3-pointer for a 5-2 FHS lead.
McClain didn’t back down. Instead, they doubled the three from Fairfield with back-to-back 3-pointers from Bryson Badgley with 5:01 left in the first frame for an 8-5 advantage, and for good measure — seven seconds of game time later — Badgley took a charge. Badgley finished the game with 23 points for McClain.
Later in the first, James Bentley scored two points for the Lions, but Badgley was there again with two points for a 10-7 lead for MHS. Bentley totaled 13 points in the win.
The Tigers added to their lead with a jumper from White, only to be answered on the scoreboard by a free throw and layup from Bentley.
The Lions tied the score with six seconds left in the opening quarter with a basket by Connor Priest at 12-12.
Fairfield took an eight-point lead once the second frame ended at 27-19, as they won the quarter at 15-7.
The Lions had four points by Priest, four points by Tucker Watson, three points by Willey and two points apiece from Cannon and Bryson Simmons in the second.
For McClain in the second, the Tigers had a 3-pointer by Badgley and two points each off baskets by Camden Closson and Noah Reeves.
Then came the third frame, where McClain cut into the Lions’ lead with a 19-13 quarter for a 40-38 Fairfield advantage.
McClain opened the third with baskets from Matt Bliss and White, and with 4:59 left in the quarter Bentley sank two free throws, putting FHS ahead by six points.
McClain came back with free throws made by Badgley and Closson, only to see Simmons of Fairfield make three free throws in one trip to the charity stripe for a six-point FHS lead at 32-26 with 3:20 left in the third.
McClain answered with a 3-pointer by Closson at the 3:06 mark, but the Lions had two points from Simmons. As the quarter continued, the Tigers added two points, while the Lions had four straight points from Reese Teeters, including a steal and fast-break layup for a seven-point FHS lead at 38-31 with 1:53 still left in the third.
“We were looking for each other tonight, which was nice, especially in transition,” Howland said. “It's easy to get selfish in transition, but we've got a group of boys who are playing for the right reasons. I was pleased.
“This was a good breakout game for Reese Teeters. I thought he played very well, shot the ball very well, but also had some timely steals there from the corner court. We were running a box-and-one, and he was getting his hands in there and making things happen. I was very pleased with Tucker Watson. He is a very athletic young man, and we have high expectations from him every night.”
MHS finished the third frame by outscoring the Lions, 7-2, with Badgley scoring a put-back bucket, followed by a jumper by White and a 3-pointer from Bliss with 12 seconds on the clock. Fairfield’s two points in that span were scored by Simmons.
With FHS holding on to a 40-38 lead to start the fourth frame, the Tigers made things very interesting to open the quarter with Preston Saunders scoring two points for MHS, tying the game at 40.
The Lions regained the lead with two made free throws from Simmons, followed by a basket by Willey and two more points from the Lions for a 48-40 lead with 6:09 on the clock.
Fairfield extended their lead to 10 points with a basket by Willey, and after a McClain free throw by Badgley, the Lions had four straight points from Bentley for a 54-42 lead with 4:22 left in the fourth.
Eventually, the Tigers cut the Lions’ lead back to 10 points, but again the Lions answered with a 3-pointer by Teeters for a 59-46 lead with 2:56 left in the final quarter.
The Tigers kept battling with six straight points by the duo of Braden Wright and Badgley for a seven-point deficit at 59-52 with 1:50 remaining in regulation.
The Lions came back with four straight free throws by Willey, and Saunders of MHS made one free throw, cutting the Lions’ lead to 10 points again at 63-53.
Next was another Saunders basket, but again two free throws by Willey kept the FHS lead at 10 points. Saunders scored two more points, but the game ended with Priest sinking two free-throw shots for Fairfield.
FHS won the fourth frame at 27-19.
Next for McClain is a Frontier Athletic Conference game at Washington on Friday, Jan. 10. Fairfield will also face Washington next, as they host the Blue Lions in a nonconference game Tuesday, Jan. 7.
Both the Lions and Tigers were coming off tough losses on the previous night, having less than 24 hours to prepare for the contest.
Free-throw shooting was key in the win for the Lions, as they finished 21-of-23 from the charity stripe, including going 10-of-11 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter. McClain went 6-of-11 for the game in their free-throw opportunities.
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Leading the Lions in their free-throw shooting were Wyatt Willey and Bryson Simmons, with each player going a perfect 7-of-7 from the free-throw line. Willey led the Lions in scoring with 17 points, while Simmons scored 11 points.
"Last night, the energy was low, and tonight we came out with high energy,” Fairfield head coach Josh Howland said. “High energy can help with a lot of things. We had the opportunity to watch (McClain) play a couple games, and they're a high-energy team, and (Bryson) Badgley is very efficient scorer. Actually, I hadn't seen him rebound that well offensively, but I was impressed with the way he rebounded tonight. I thought Coach (Joe B.) Stewart got his boys ready, but our boys fortunately were hitting on all cylinders there.
"We had six or eight offensive boards in the first half, and we gave up eight offensive rebounds in the second half. Badgley wasn't getting those points, and I thought (Connor) Priest did a nice job on him from the second quarter on, but Badgley made up for it with his offensive rebounds.”
The Lions and the Tigers each scored 12 points in the first frame, but the Lions broke away from the visiting Tigers, where they held a 27-19 lead at halftime.
Getting to that point of the game saw the first frame be closely contested with Willey scoring the first points of the game for the Lions with a layup, but Lyle White of McClain quickly tied the score. White totaled 10 points for the game.
Following a block by at the 6:56 mark of the first, the Lions took advantage of the defensive move with FHS going down the court and seeing Tytis Cannon sink a 3-pointer for a 5-2 FHS lead.
McClain didn’t back down. Instead, they doubled the three from Fairfield with back-to-back 3-pointers from Bryson Badgley with 5:01 left in the first frame for an 8-5 advantage, and for good measure — seven seconds of game time later — Badgley took a charge. Badgley finished the game with 23 points for McClain.
Later in the first, James Bentley scored two points for the Lions, but Badgley was there again with two points for a 10-7 lead for MHS. Bentley totaled 13 points in the win.
The Tigers added to their lead with a jumper from White, only to be answered on the scoreboard by a free throw and layup from Bentley.
The Lions tied the score with six seconds left in the opening quarter with a basket by Connor Priest at 12-12.
Fairfield took an eight-point lead once the second frame ended at 27-19, as they won the quarter at 15-7.
The Lions had four points by Priest, four points by Tucker Watson, three points by Willey and two points apiece from Cannon and Bryson Simmons in the second.
For McClain in the second, the Tigers had a 3-pointer by Badgley and two points each off baskets by Camden Closson and Noah Reeves.
Then came the third frame, where McClain cut into the Lions’ lead with a 19-13 quarter for a 40-38 Fairfield advantage.
McClain opened the third with baskets from Matt Bliss and White, and with 4:59 left in the quarter Bentley sank two free throws, putting FHS ahead by six points.
McClain came back with free throws made by Badgley and Closson, only to see Simmons of Fairfield make three free throws in one trip to the charity stripe for a six-point FHS lead at 32-26 with 3:20 left in the third.
McClain answered with a 3-pointer by Closson at the 3:06 mark, but the Lions had two points from Simmons. As the quarter continued, the Tigers added two points, while the Lions had four straight points from Reese Teeters, including a steal and fast-break layup for a seven-point FHS lead at 38-31 with 1:53 still left in the third.
“We were looking for each other tonight, which was nice, especially in transition,” Howland said. “It's easy to get selfish in transition, but we've got a group of boys who are playing for the right reasons. I was pleased.
“This was a good breakout game for Reese Teeters. I thought he played very well, shot the ball very well, but also had some timely steals there from the corner court. We were running a box-and-one, and he was getting his hands in there and making things happen. I was very pleased with Tucker Watson. He is a very athletic young man, and we have high expectations from him every night.”
MHS finished the third frame by outscoring the Lions, 7-2, with Badgley scoring a put-back bucket, followed by a jumper by White and a 3-pointer from Bliss with 12 seconds on the clock. Fairfield’s two points in that span were scored by Simmons.
With FHS holding on to a 40-38 lead to start the fourth frame, the Tigers made things very interesting to open the quarter with Preston Saunders scoring two points for MHS, tying the game at 40.
The Lions regained the lead with two made free throws from Simmons, followed by a basket by Willey and two more points from the Lions for a 48-40 lead with 6:09 on the clock.
Fairfield extended their lead to 10 points with a basket by Willey, and after a McClain free throw by Badgley, the Lions had four straight points from Bentley for a 54-42 lead with 4:22 left in the fourth.
Eventually, the Tigers cut the Lions’ lead back to 10 points, but again the Lions answered with a 3-pointer by Teeters for a 59-46 lead with 2:56 left in the final quarter.
The Tigers kept battling with six straight points by the duo of Braden Wright and Badgley for a seven-point deficit at 59-52 with 1:50 remaining in regulation.
The Lions came back with four straight free throws by Willey, and Saunders of MHS made one free throw, cutting the Lions’ lead to 10 points again at 63-53.
Next was another Saunders basket, but again two free throws by Willey kept the FHS lead at 10 points. Saunders scored two more points, but the game ended with Priest sinking two free-throw shots for Fairfield.
FHS won the fourth frame at 27-19.
Next for McClain is a Frontier Athletic Conference game at Washington on Friday, Jan. 10. Fairfield will also face Washington next, as they host the Blue Lions in a nonconference game Tuesday, Jan. 7.