Fairfield Lions surge ahead to defeat rival Whiteoak
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
MOWRYSTOWN — Inside the gym at Whiteoak High School on Friday night, there was a special atmosphere between two Highland County and Southern Hills Athletic Conference rivals. With one side wearing orange-and-black and the opposite side representing the red-and-black, fans of the Whiteoak Wildcats and Fairfield Lions gave their fan bases excitement.
With the first frame belonging to the host Wildcats, and with Whiteoak holding the lead at halftime, the Fairfield Lions regrouped and controlled the play of the second half, and it was the Lions who were the winners by a 52-49 score.
The first quarter saw the Wildcats take complete control of the opening eight minutes for a 16-4 advantage when the frame came to a close. Even with the Wildcats being the team who dominated the first frame, it was Fairfield’s James Bentley who was first to score points 15 seconds into the game. Bentley led Fairfield with 18 points.
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Whiteoak’s Carson Emery tied the score at 2-2, but Wyatt Willey helped put the Lions back ahead with a jumper at around the 5:00 mark of the first.
Then came the Wildcats, and they went on a tear. Whiteoak answered the basket by Willey (who scored 10 total points) with a 14-0 run in the final 5:00 of the opening frame with Josh Hughes tying the score at 4-4, followed by two free throws by Emery and a layup by Brayden Yeager at the 3:21 mark of the first for a lead of 8-4. Emery finished with eight points, and Yeager totaled five points.
After Yeager made a block on the opposite side of the court, Nick Bailey scored three consecutive points. Then came a 3-pointer from Landon Barnett, followed by two free throws for a 16-4 lead with 1:16 left in the first, as those were the final points of the frame. Barnett led Whiteoak in scoring with 19 points.
Fairfield fought back to win the second quarter with a 14-10 frame. Even with Fairfield winning the second-quarter scoring battle, Whiteoak scored first with two free throws by Barnett for a 14-point lead with 7:30 left in the first half.
The Lions came back with a 3-pointer by Tytis Cannon (who finished with nine points overall), and later in the frame Hughes and James Bentley exchanged baskets, leaving the score 20-9.
Fairfield came back with another 3-pointer by Cannon, but again WHS answered with a jumper by Hughes (who totaled six points) and a layup from Gavin Temple. Fairfield answered with a put-back basket by Bentley, then two free throws from Bryson Simmons. Bentley added another put-back basket as he maneuvered around the defender for a 24-18 deficit, cutting the Wildcats’ lead to six points with 58 seconds left in the second frame.
Whiteoak ended the first-half scoring with a bucket by Barnett for an eight-point differential of 26-18 at halftime.
When both teams arrived back on the court following halftime, the entire landscape of the game changed with the Lions outscoring the Wildcats, 15-2, and taking a 33-28 lead when the quarter came to a close.
“We were down 14 points, and we went on a big run there and outscored them 15-2. We had a real good third,” Fairfield head coach Josh Howland said. “That was our biggest quarter. Once we pulled them out of that zone, I felt like we had the matchup we wanted with James inside.
“Our guards are bigger and stronger as well. That’s nothing against them because they’re young. These guys are freshmen, for goodness’ sakes, freshmen and sophomores coming out and playing against seniors and 18-year-olds. That’s saying something when they can play that hard. They gamble and take risks, but when you’re that young, you have to.”
Fairfield came out and scored the first four points of the third with a basket by Bentley and layup from Cannon. Following baskets by Whiteoak’s Barnett and Fairfield’s Willey (who also took a charge) and Bentley, the score was tied at 28-28 with 2:05 left in the third.
“Wyatt’s playing with some illness, and I was a little nervous, but he’s got a lot of heart,” Howland said. “He’s got a lot of heart, and it showed. Bryson came out and everything didn’t go our way, but he didn’t give up. Bryson and Willey and Connor (Priest), really, everybody we had out there answered the bell.”
The Lions regained the lead for the first time since the first quarter with a free-throw conversion by Bentley at the 1:17 mark of the third. Simmons — who finished the game with 10 points — followed with a basket, as did teammate Reese Teeters, leaving the score, 33-28. Those points resulted in an 11-0 run in the final 4:11 of the frame.
Fairfield increased their lead to seven points at the start of the first frame with a basket in the paint by Bentley. WHS finally broke the scoring streak of the Lions with a layup from Bailey at the 6:04 mark, as Bailey scored seven points in the game.
As the quarter continued, the Wildcats got back to within two points of the Lions’ lead with a layup from Bradley Ashbaugh with 4:32 left in regulation.
Later, the Lions’ lead increased to seven points with a 3-pointer from Simmons and a fast break layup by Connor Priest with the assist by Willey for a 42-35 score.
WHS answered with two free throws by Barnett, and as the quarter continued, with a jumper also by Barnett for a three-point differential at 42-39 with 3:22 remaining in the game. The Lions eventually increased their lead to eight points on two different occasions.
The end of the game saw the final minute full of free throws by both teams, seeing the Lions win by three points.
For the game, the Wildcats totaled 16 two-point baskets, one 3-pointer and they were 14-of-16 from the free-throw line. The Lions totaled 15 two-point baskets, three 3-pointers, and they were 13-of-23 in their free-throw attempts.
“We had three guys with two early fouls, and making our free throws usually is not a problem, but tonight we were 51 percent,” Howland said. “We’re 71 percent on the year, so 51 percent, that’s uncharacteristic for us. That usually doesn’t happen, and I don’t look for it to happen again.
“It’s always fun to play here. It’s similar to playing in our gym but a little smaller, and you pack it in. Our goal was to get on the floor after loose balls more than we have been. I was pleased with the boys’ effort.”
Next for the Wildcats is a game on Saturday, Jan. 18 as they will be playing in the Coach Dave Young Classic against the Georgetown G-Men at 11:45 a.m.
The Lions will play again on Tuesday, Jan. 21 at home against the North Adams Green Devils at Grandle Gymnasium.
“We’ve got North Adams on Tuesday, another big league game, so that’s what we’re preparing for next,” Howland said. “We’ve got Lynchburg-Clay on Friday, so a few more big league games coming up.”
In their previous meeting earlier this month, Whiteoak defeated Fairfield, 49-31 on Jan. 3.
With the first frame belonging to the host Wildcats, and with Whiteoak holding the lead at halftime, the Fairfield Lions regrouped and controlled the play of the second half, and it was the Lions who were the winners by a 52-49 score.
The first quarter saw the Wildcats take complete control of the opening eight minutes for a 16-4 advantage when the frame came to a close. Even with the Wildcats being the team who dominated the first frame, it was Fairfield’s James Bentley who was first to score points 15 seconds into the game. Bentley led Fairfield with 18 points.
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Whiteoak’s Carson Emery tied the score at 2-2, but Wyatt Willey helped put the Lions back ahead with a jumper at around the 5:00 mark of the first.
Then came the Wildcats, and they went on a tear. Whiteoak answered the basket by Willey (who scored 10 total points) with a 14-0 run in the final 5:00 of the opening frame with Josh Hughes tying the score at 4-4, followed by two free throws by Emery and a layup by Brayden Yeager at the 3:21 mark of the first for a lead of 8-4. Emery finished with eight points, and Yeager totaled five points.
After Yeager made a block on the opposite side of the court, Nick Bailey scored three consecutive points. Then came a 3-pointer from Landon Barnett, followed by two free throws for a 16-4 lead with 1:16 left in the first, as those were the final points of the frame. Barnett led Whiteoak in scoring with 19 points.
Fairfield fought back to win the second quarter with a 14-10 frame. Even with Fairfield winning the second-quarter scoring battle, Whiteoak scored first with two free throws by Barnett for a 14-point lead with 7:30 left in the first half.
The Lions came back with a 3-pointer by Tytis Cannon (who finished with nine points overall), and later in the frame Hughes and James Bentley exchanged baskets, leaving the score 20-9.
Fairfield came back with another 3-pointer by Cannon, but again WHS answered with a jumper by Hughes (who totaled six points) and a layup from Gavin Temple. Fairfield answered with a put-back basket by Bentley, then two free throws from Bryson Simmons. Bentley added another put-back basket as he maneuvered around the defender for a 24-18 deficit, cutting the Wildcats’ lead to six points with 58 seconds left in the second frame.
Whiteoak ended the first-half scoring with a bucket by Barnett for an eight-point differential of 26-18 at halftime.
When both teams arrived back on the court following halftime, the entire landscape of the game changed with the Lions outscoring the Wildcats, 15-2, and taking a 33-28 lead when the quarter came to a close.
“We were down 14 points, and we went on a big run there and outscored them 15-2. We had a real good third,” Fairfield head coach Josh Howland said. “That was our biggest quarter. Once we pulled them out of that zone, I felt like we had the matchup we wanted with James inside.
“Our guards are bigger and stronger as well. That’s nothing against them because they’re young. These guys are freshmen, for goodness’ sakes, freshmen and sophomores coming out and playing against seniors and 18-year-olds. That’s saying something when they can play that hard. They gamble and take risks, but when you’re that young, you have to.”
Fairfield came out and scored the first four points of the third with a basket by Bentley and layup from Cannon. Following baskets by Whiteoak’s Barnett and Fairfield’s Willey (who also took a charge) and Bentley, the score was tied at 28-28 with 2:05 left in the third.
“Wyatt’s playing with some illness, and I was a little nervous, but he’s got a lot of heart,” Howland said. “He’s got a lot of heart, and it showed. Bryson came out and everything didn’t go our way, but he didn’t give up. Bryson and Willey and Connor (Priest), really, everybody we had out there answered the bell.”
The Lions regained the lead for the first time since the first quarter with a free-throw conversion by Bentley at the 1:17 mark of the third. Simmons — who finished the game with 10 points — followed with a basket, as did teammate Reese Teeters, leaving the score, 33-28. Those points resulted in an 11-0 run in the final 4:11 of the frame.
Fairfield increased their lead to seven points at the start of the first frame with a basket in the paint by Bentley. WHS finally broke the scoring streak of the Lions with a layup from Bailey at the 6:04 mark, as Bailey scored seven points in the game.
As the quarter continued, the Wildcats got back to within two points of the Lions’ lead with a layup from Bradley Ashbaugh with 4:32 left in regulation.
Later, the Lions’ lead increased to seven points with a 3-pointer from Simmons and a fast break layup by Connor Priest with the assist by Willey for a 42-35 score.
WHS answered with two free throws by Barnett, and as the quarter continued, with a jumper also by Barnett for a three-point differential at 42-39 with 3:22 remaining in the game. The Lions eventually increased their lead to eight points on two different occasions.
The end of the game saw the final minute full of free throws by both teams, seeing the Lions win by three points.
For the game, the Wildcats totaled 16 two-point baskets, one 3-pointer and they were 14-of-16 from the free-throw line. The Lions totaled 15 two-point baskets, three 3-pointers, and they were 13-of-23 in their free-throw attempts.
“We had three guys with two early fouls, and making our free throws usually is not a problem, but tonight we were 51 percent,” Howland said. “We’re 71 percent on the year, so 51 percent, that’s uncharacteristic for us. That usually doesn’t happen, and I don’t look for it to happen again.
“It’s always fun to play here. It’s similar to playing in our gym but a little smaller, and you pack it in. Our goal was to get on the floor after loose balls more than we have been. I was pleased with the boys’ effort.”
Next for the Wildcats is a game on Saturday, Jan. 18 as they will be playing in the Coach Dave Young Classic against the Georgetown G-Men at 11:45 a.m.
The Lions will play again on Tuesday, Jan. 21 at home against the North Adams Green Devils at Grandle Gymnasium.
“We’ve got North Adams on Tuesday, another big league game, so that’s what we’re preparing for next,” Howland said. “We’ve got Lynchburg-Clay on Friday, so a few more big league games coming up.”
In their previous meeting earlier this month, Whiteoak defeated Fairfield, 49-31 on Jan. 3.