Fairfield Lions end season with district runner-up trophy

ATHENS — The 18-win season for the No. 4 seeded Fairfield Lions ended on Sunday evening in the Division VII SE District Finals, as the Lions were defeated by the No. 1 seeded South Webster Jeeps by a 59-44 score at the Ohio University Convocation Center on the campus of Ohio University. 

The Lions finish as district runners-up one year after winning their first district championship since 2014, but on Sunday, the Jeeps (20-3) were too strong for the Lions in the second half. 

Fairfield in the first half trailed by only seven points at halftime at 30-23, and before that, the Lions trailed by a single point at 17-16 when the first quarter came to a close. 

“They (South Webster) made some adjustments, and we did a poor job of executing after the fact. They started face guarding Brody (Smith) a little bit more, and they started obviously paying a little bit more attention to detail against Logan (McIntosh),” FHS head coach Quentin Williams said. 

“They were switching everything else and trying to deny reversals, and we were just very lethargic, I felt like at times on both ends of the floor, from our communication and our attention to detail. Their bench stepped up big, but for us I thought Dane (Hodson) gave us good minutes, but we were just looking for someone else to step up effectively.”

FHS in the third frame was outscored 16-8 putting them down by 15 points at 46-31, and in the fourth the Jeeps and Lions each scored 13 points, resulting in the 15-point loss for Fairfield. 

“It is just the little things that separate games like this. It’s the attention to detail, getting back into transition,” Williams said. “The second half really hurt us. They (SWHS) were still sprinting the floor, and I felt like we were jogging on the floor. It just comes down to little things.” 

The first quarter for the Lions was their best overall on the scoreboard, opening the district final with a 6-0 run, as that six-point run forced South Webster to call a timeout. Fairfield started the game with a basket by Griffin Friend, followed by a layup from Brody Smith, and then came a basket by Quentin McIntosh, as all three baskets were assisted by Logan McIntosh. 

After the Jeeps called the aforementioned timeout, they got on the board with a basket by District Player of the Year Eli Roberts. Roberts finished the game with 19 points, ending the game with two 3-pointers, six two-point buckets and he was 1-of-2 from the free-throw line. 

The Lions’ lead jumped to seven points following a 3-pointer by Friend with 4:21 left in the first quarter. Friend finished the game with nine points, totaling one 3-pointer, two two-point baskets, and he finished 2-of-2 from the free-throw line. For the season, Friend averaged 11.2 points per game, along with 4.9 rebounds per game. 

South Webster answered with seven of the next eight points scored, leaving the Lions ahead by one point at 10-9. The Lions built their lead back to three points with a jumper from Logan McIntosh. The senior led the Lions with 19 points, ending the game with two 3-pointers, five two-point field goals and he finished 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. This season, McIntosh averaged 14.3 ppg while also averaging 6.0 rpg. 

Fairfield lost their lead with 1:16 left in the first quarter off four consecutive points scored by the Jeeps, only for the Lions to tie the score with a free throw made by Caleb Barrera. 

FHS regained the lead with a 3-pointer from Friend, but the Jeeps scored last in the first with a turnaround jumper by Beau Stephens for a 17-16 lead. Stephens finished the game with 14 points, making two 3-pointers and four two-point baskets. 

Fairfield didn’t hold the lead again, trailing by as many as 14 points in the second frame with 2:01 left in the quarter as FHS was outscored 13-6 in the frame. 

The Lions in the second frame had five points from Logan McIntosh with a 3-pointer (.56 seconds left in second), and two free throws with 1.7 remaining in the first half. FHS also had two points from Brody Smith in the second. Smith ended the game with nine points, finishing with one 3-pointer, two two-point baskets, and he was 2-of-2 from the free-throw line. For the season, Smith averaged 16.4 points per game. 

The game got away from the Lions in the third, as they were outscored 16-8 for a 46-31 deficit. 

Fairfield’s third quarter included four points by Logan McIntosh off two baskets, while Smith and Friend each made two free throws. 

The Lions in the fourth had their 13 points scored by Logan McIntosh (six points), a 3-pointer by Dane Hodson, a 3-pointer from Smith and two points by Friend. 

Other final scoring totals by the Jeeps included Dylan Stewart (10), Owen Mault (7), Hunter Bernard (3) and Brycin McClintic (3). Team totals for SWHS included seven 3-pointers, 13 two-point baskets, and they were 5-of-8 from the free-throw line. 

Fairfield remaining final scoring totals included Barrera (1), Hodson (3) and Quentin McIntosh (3). Team totals included five 3-point baskets, 10 two-pointers, and they were 9-of-11 from the free-throw line. 

Fairfield was led in rebounds by Smith with four. Hodson and Logan McIntosh led FHS with three assists each, and Logan McIntosh also led the Lions with four steals. 

The Lions end the season with an 18-7 overall record, as they also finished the season as the Southern Hills Athletic Conference Div. II champions with a SHAC mark of 11-2. FHS — who went 2-1 this tournament — also ends the season averaging 55.2 points per game as a team, while allowing 43.3 ppg. 

“I thought this team was still getting better so it is tough to end the season,” Williams said. “Maybe that’s because of the youth aspect of improving everyday. I felt with my others teams I got all that I could out of them, but that’s because they were more senior led and mature, but overall I thought we improved a lot as the season went. A big part of our season was we had lapses, in big games we had lapses, the same thing tonight, and that just has to do what you do everyday. 

“I talk to them daily about the habits that you have build it. You aren’t going to just flip on a switch because you are on a different stage. It’s what’s built into you from what you have been doing all year. It’s about practicing good habits like communicating at a high level everyday, and bringing high energy, being a positive teammate, and wanting to show up and compete. In big moments that shows up. That’s something the younger kids need to learn from, and take it to heart, learn the hard way from how this felt, but I feel bad for my seniors.”

Seniors for Fairfield are: Logan McIntosh, Dane Hodson, Chase Newman and team manager Jaylen Daulton. 

“Logan, Dane and Chase … I felt like Logan played a good game tonight,” Williams said. “I’m really going to miss him a lot next year. I love all of them to death, and I’m very grateful for them buying into this program for the past three years since I’ve been coach. They’ve given me their all, tried to do their best, and that’s all I can ask for them is that.”

BOX SCORE 
FHS       16 07 08 13 — 44
SWHS    17 13 16 13 — 59

SOUTH WEBSTER (59) — E.Roberts 6 (2) 1-2 19, D.Stewart 2 (1) 3-4 10, O.Mault 3 (0) 1-2 7, H.Bernard 3 (0) 0-0 6, B.McClintic 0 (1) 0-0 3, B.Stephens 4 (2) 0-0 14. TOTALS: 18 (6) 5-8 59. 

FAIRFIELD (44) — G.Friend 2 (1) 2-2 9, C.Barrera 0 (0) 1-2 1, B.Smith 2 (1) 2-2 9, L.McIntosh 5 (2) 3-4 19, D.Hodson 0 (1) 0-0 3, Q.McIntosh 1 (0) 1-2 4. TOTALS: 10 (5) 9-11 44.