DISTRICT CHAMPIONS! Fairfield Lions headed to ‘Sweet 16’

ATHENS — For the fifth time in program history, the Fairfield Lions are district champions. 

There is something in the air about when the Lions play in a district final on March 8, as their past three district championships all have been won on that date, winning in 2014 against Paint Valley (61-51) and in 2024 against Federal Hocking (56-52). 

In the Division VII Southeast District Finals Sunday evening, the No. 3 seeded Lions defeated the No. 2 seeded South Webster Jeeps, 60-51 at the Ohio University Convocation Center in Athens, avenging a loss to the Jeeps in the same game a season ago at the same location, and it was South Webster who has knocked out the Lions in tournament play the past two seasons. 

This time, it was Fairfield being the stronger and better team, and not just that, they played the ultimate team game with three players scoring in double figures, overcoming adversity once again as South Webster gave their best shot and went from trailing by as many as 14 points to start the fourth, down to a single possession at three points with 2:45 and 1:23 left in regulation. 

Fairfield bent, but continued to battle by making their shots from the free-throw line in the final 52 seconds of the game with junior Griffin Friend sinking 5-of-6 free-throw attempts in that span in a combined three trips to the line, followed by fellow junior Brody Smith, who once again fought off physical pain to sink one final free throw to end the game for the Lions, extending their lead to nine points with 14.2 left on the clock at the Convocation Center. 

The Lions (18-6) will play in the Division VII Regional Semifinals on Thursday, March 12 at Ohio Dominican University at 8 p.m. vs. Shekinah Christian (25-1) of Plain City, winners of the Central 1 District. Shekinah Christian defeated Westerville Genoa Christian, 46-31.

“I couldn’t be happier right now,” Fairfield interim head coach Raymond Friend said. “I’m pretty worn out, and I couldn’t be happier for those kids. They put so much work into it from the summer to now, they put all the work into it. To see this is just fantastic, and against a fantastic South Webster team that has our number in previous years. Getting this was a huge accomplishment. 

“We knew there was a good chance we would see South Webster. They are so well coached, such a scrappy, good team, that we knew if we got this far we would see them if they would be on our side of the bracket. We wanted it, we absolutely wanted it. We felt we were the better team, and I think we proved it tonight.”

The Lions were led by Caleb Rice with 18 points, with two rebounds, with his points coming from four 3-pointers and three two-point baskets. 

“It feels amazing to win the district,” Rice said. “We’ve worked so hard, this was our goal the whole year. I felt pretty good (about his 18-point performance), and being a district champion is amazing. I’m still trying to process it, and I’ve been wanting to win one for so long, and we got it done.”

Next for Fairfield was Friend with 15 points, as he made five two-point baskets and five free throws on six attempts. He also added nine rebounds and two assists. 

“I’ve been lucky enough to win one before when I was a freshman, but this one feels better being a main part of the team, and to beat (South Webster) who we lost to the past two years,” Friend said. 

“It is a great experience, and a great opportunity to play on this big floor, and I just don’t want to take it for granted.”

Smith ended the game with 14 points, five rebounds and six assists, as the junior connected with one two-point field goal, three 3-pointers and he was 3-of-4 from the free-throw line.  

“Competition is what you want, and competition creates a better game and it makes you better at the end of the day,” Smith said. “So coming out of here and playing South Webster, that’s beat us this many times, there’s nothing more that you want than to get your get back like that. 

“It feels good to get this win, and it is our fifth district championship in school history, so to get this is great, but we want more … we want more.”

Quentin McIntosh totaled eight points and 12 rebounds as his points came off three two-point baskets and he was 2-of-4 from the free-throw line.  

“It is amazing, especially getting the get back for my brother. His season ended here last year by this same team, so this has been something I’ve been waiting on,” McIntosh said. “Iron sharpens iron, and this whole season all we’ve been doing is playing good competition, to push us to be right here where we are.

“It feels great, and we want to go as far as we can. Our coach has a saying right now, it’s ‘Dayton or die,’ so we are going to keep pushing to go as far as possible. We aren’t going to be complacent.”

Coach Friend spoke about how his team has been resilient through the latter half of the season and postseason. 

“They are a resilient bunch.” Coach Friend said. “A lot of it comes from the leadership of Quentin McIntosh. Quentin McIntosh is our leader, he gets us going, he wants to win so bad, and you can see it throughout the whole team.”

Zach Ahsaruk finished the game with five points. 

“Zach Ahsaruk, you talk about determination. Tonight, he’s guarding one of their best players the whole game, doesn’t come out, is usually asked to set screens, do the dirty work, and he’s just a phenomenal kid,” Coach Friend said. “He had a huge three, and just the way he plays is just phenomenal.”

Team totals for the Lions were 13 two-point baskets, eight 3-pointers, and they were 10-of-14 from the free-throw line. 

Fairfield and South Webster played to a 16-11 first frame with FHS leading, and from there in the second quarter Fairfield led the Jeeps, 30-19 as halftime arrived. 

The Lions in the first frame struck first with a basket by Friend with 6:32 on the clock, but the Jeeps responded with a 3-pointer by Brycin McClintic, followed by SWHS scoring four more points off two buckets for a 7-2 lead over the Lions with 5:16 on the first-quarter clock. 

Fairfield responded with a 3-pointer by Rice, a 3-pointer from Smith, and another 3-pointer by Rice for an 11-7 Lions lead with 2:48 on the clock. 

“It is absolutely huge, the game Caleb had,” Coach Friend said. “We knew they (SWHS) were going to key on our two guys who have a majority of our scoring, and when Caleb Rice can do that, it changes the game. For example, they went to a triangle and two defense where they have two guarding our top two guys, but they can’t stay in it if Caleb is going to knock down threes. They just can’t do it. 

“So having something like that changes the way the game is played.”

After the Jeeps had a put-back basket from 6-5 freshman Easton Large, the Lions had a basket by Friend, and another 3-pointer by Smith, with the ball going through the hoop with 1:08 on the clock. The Jeeps scored the final points of the first quarter, making the score 16-11 with the Lions in front. 

The Lions’ second quarter saw them outscored the Jeeps, 14-8 for an 11-point halftime lead. 

Though it was the Jeeps with the first points of the second, cutting their deficit down to three points, the Lions built a nine-point advantage with a basket by McIntosh, followed by two consecutive buckets by Rice, with the first one being two points off an inbounds pass, followed by Rice driving down the full distance of the court for a layup on a fastbreak and a 22-13 lead for the Lions with 6:40 left in the first half. 

After the Jeeps scored two points, it was a 3-pointer by Smith, his third of the game, and Friend taking the ball full-court for a basket that led to the Lions leading by their largest margin of the second frame at 12 points by a 27-15 score. 

South Webster came back with two buckets, but the Lions ended the second frame and first half with a 3-pointer from Rice for the 11-point lead at 30-19.

Again, it was the Jeeps scoring first to start the third, as they got as close as seven points to tying the Lions in the third quarter on two occasions, but the focused Lions didn’t hold back as once again it was Rice stepping up in the biggest game of his high school career thus far with a 3-pointer at the 6:28 mark and a 33-22 Lions lead. 

Later after two baskets by South Webster, it was Rice again who added points to the Lions’ side of the scoreboard with a jumper at the 5:26 mark, giving Fairfield a nine-point advantage. 

The Jeeps got back to within seven points following two free throws, only to see McIntosh continue his dominance in the paint with a turnaround jumper and a put-back basket with 4:12 left in the third for a 39-28 lead, forcing the No. 2 seeded Jeeps to call a timeout. 

After play resumed, the Jeeps got back on the scoreboard, but this time it was time for senior Zach Ahsaruk to get his big moments in the district final game with a 3-pointer at the 3:20 mark that pushed the Lions’ lead to 12 points, and after a SWHS baskets, the senior stepped up with a timely layup for FHS and another 12-point lead with 2:25 left in the third. 

The Jeeps got back to within 10 points of the FHS lead, but the Lions ended the quarter with two clutch free throws from Smith, and a layup near the buzzer by Friend, for a 48-34 lead after three frames. 

Though the Jeeps made the game very interesting in the fourth quarter by getting to within three points of the Lions’ lead with 2:45 and 1:23 left in the final quarter, the Lions were able to eventually extend their final lead to nine points to seal the win. 

The early stages of the fourth saw McIntosh make a couple free throws as the Lions eventually saw their lead at 10 points with 5:55 on the clock at 50-40. 

After a layup by Friend later in the quarter offset a basket by the Jeeps, it was South Webster having a final big push in them with a 7-0 run in a span of around three minutes with Hunter Barnard draining a 3-pointer with 2:45 on the clock for a three-point deficit at 52-49. 

The Lions answered with a huge layup from Smith, who drove his way to the basket for two points. The Jeeps came back with a jumper from Jaheim Froe at the 1:23 mark for another three-point deficit. 

With little time left in regulation, the Jeeps were forced to foul, and it was Friend who went to the line on three consecutive occasions, making 5-of-6 from the line on those trips for a 59-51 lead. Smith iced the lead with one final free throw made for the Lions with 14.2 left, and the celebration began for Fairfield. 

“They got to within three and South Webster was in attack mode, they had to be,” Coach Friend said. "Some of their shots were going in, and we were like we are better, and just make sure we get good shots down the stretch. We are still winning, take a deep breath, and those kids were able to pull it out.”

South Webster was led by McClintic with 19 points, then it was Barnard with 15 points, one assist, and five rebounds. Next was Large with 10 points, two assists, and seven rebounds. Brayden Barnard totaled two points and with five points was Froe. 

Coach Friend also spoke about the bench of the Lions, as they are Logan Burgess, Cam Caudill, Layne Burgess, Landyn Hoskins and Zayden Scott.

“The scout team in practice played South Webster’s offense all week, and they are engaged,” he said. “They are as big a part of this win as the guys out on the court.” 

This is Fairfield’s first district championship since the 2023-24 season and their fifth overall (‘78, ‘96, ‘14, ‘23, ‘26).

(A photo gallery will be added)

BOX SCORE
FHS        16 14 18 12 — 60
SWHS    11 08 15 17 — 51

FAIRFIELD (60) — B.Smith 1 (3) 3-4 14, C.Rice 3 (4) 0-0 18, G.Friend 5 (0) 5-6 15, Z.Ahsaruk 1 (1) 0-0 5, Q.McIntosh 3 (0) 2-4 8. TOTALS: 13 (8) 10-14 60. 

SOUTH WEBSTER (51) — H.Barnard 3 (3) 0-0 15, B.Barnard 0 (0) 2-2 2, J.Froe 1 (1) 0-0 5, B.McClintic 7 (1) 2-4 19, E.Large 5 (0) 0-0 10. TOTALS: 16 (5) 4-6 47. 
 

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