Lions returning to district finals; win rematch against Indians

WAVERLY — Earlier in January during the regular season, the Fairfield Lions suffered a loss to the Western Latham Indians at Grandle Gymnasium. That game went to overtime, but the Lions learned and moved on from the non-conference loss. 

Just over a month later, the two teams were back on the court facing each other with much more on the line than a regular-season win. 

At Waverly High School on Tuesday night, the No. 4 seeded Lions avenged their previous loss to the No. 5 seeded Indians, winning in the Division VII SE District Semifinals by a 45-39 score and returning to the district finals for a third consecutive season. 

“I couldn’t be more proud of my kids’ resilience and grit,” Fairfield head coach Quintin Williams said. “That was the biggest thing I was worried about here. I talked to them a lot about being desperate to play because Western has seven seniors and we don’t. We have been playing a lot of underclassmen, and sometimes it’s hard to simulate playing desperate.

“When you have it being some kids’ last game ever, and for a lot of my kids that’s not the case, so when you know there is no tomorrow you play with an extra energy, and they did that, but I feel our kids matched it. We were more resilient at the end. 

“When (Western) made their run at the end, made some big shots in the fourth quarter, we stuck through it, took care of the ball, made it to the free-throw line and knocked down some free throws to win the game.”

The Lions (17-6) — who were district champions last season — held a 10-point lead after the first quarter, as they jumped out to a 5-0 lead with two free throws by Logan McIntosh and a 3-pointer from downtown by Griffin Friend. McIntosh led the Lions with 16 points, finishing with one two-pointer, two 3-pointers, and he finished 8-of-13 from the free-throw line. 

Western answered with two baskets, but the Lions had answers too, with a 3-pointer from Brody Smith — who totaled 12 points in the win — and a 3-pointer by McIntosh for an 11-4 lead with 1:44 left in the opening frame. 

In Smith’s 12 total points for the game, he made one two-point basket, three 3-pointers, and he was 1-of-3 from the free-throw line. 

Western scored two points on a layup for their final points of the first with 1:28 left in the quarter, and the Lions ended the first with five straight points. Those points started when Quentin McIntosh had a put-back bucket for two points, followed by Smith sinking a 3-pointer with 36 seconds left in the frame for the 16-6 lead. 

Fairfield’s lead was cut in half once halftime arrived at 22-17 for a five-point lead after two quarters. 

Western won the frame at 11-6, as the Indians scored seven consecutive points to start the quarter with five points (including a 3-pointer) by Drew Haggy and a two-point basket from Alex Siliven with 5:41 on the clock for a 16-13 score. 

Haggy led Western with 14 points by making a 3-pointer, two two-point baskets and he was 7-of-13 from the free-throw line. 

“Caleb Barrera and our team defense, they did a really good job in trying to hold [Haggy], and I thought that was the difference of the game,” Williams said. 

Logan McIntosh came back with a 3-pointer with 5:34 left in the second for a six-point lead, but the Indians eventually scored the next four points, cutting the Fairfield lead to only two points. 

Fairfield’s final basket of the first half was a 3-pointer by Friend with 42 seconds on the clock, as the score stayed 22-17 in favor of the Lions when time ran out in the second quarter. 

The defense was on display for both teams in the third, as Fairfield won the frame at 8-6 for a 30-23 lead when the third came to a close. 

Fairfield had five of their eight points in the third scored by Logan McIntosh, with a two-point basket and three free throws on four attempts. FHS also had two points from Smith, and Quentin McIntosh made a free throw in the third quarter. 

“Quentin made some huge rebounds, some timely rebounds when we really needed them, and he hit some free throws too,” Williams said. “He had some big free throws, and the growth of him, I don’t know if there is a kid I’ve coached that I could be more proud of and seeing his growth and maturity as a player and as a person. He’s a great kid, and I’m so proud of him for all that he’s achieved.”

Haggy scored four of the six points by the Indians in the third, while Kam Janes sank two free-throw shots on two attempts. 

The scoring amped up in the fourth, with the Lions outscoring the Indians 15-13 to earn the victory. 

Fairfield increased their lead to nine points with a shot by Friend, and though the Indians scored three straight points, the Lions still led by six points, and then seven points, after a free throw made by Friend with 4:18 left in regulation at 33-26, as Friend ended the game with nine points. 

The Indians made a free throw, but the Lions were two points better on their next basket, with Smith draining a 3-pointer with 3:41 left in the game for a nine-point Fairfield advantage. 

Western continued to battle with a layup by Foster Davis, and after two made free throws from Logan McIntosh, Davis kept the Indians close to the Lions with a 3-pointer at the 2:48 mark, for a 38-32 score. Davis finished the game with 13 points, scoring all of his points in the fourth quarter. 

Quentin McIntosh made 1-of-2 free-throw attempts (totaling four points for the game), but it was Western’s Davis knocking down another 3-pointer with 1:37 remaining on the scoreboard clock, cutting the Lions’ lead to four points. 

Fairfield’s Caleb Barrera made two free throws with 1:25 left in the game, finishing the game with four points.

The Indians were able to make it a two-point game with a free throw by Haggy and a third 3-pointer from Davis with .46 left in the game for a 41-39 score. 

The Lions fended off the Indians with makes from the free-throw line, eventually building a six-point lead for the win. 

The remaining final scoring for the Indians included Owens (4), Janes (4), Sam Cattaneo (2) and Alex Sullivan (2). Team totals for the Indians were four 3-pointers, nine two-point baskets and they went 9-of-19 from the free-throw line. 

Fairfield team totals included four two point baskets, six 3-pointers, and they were 16-of-23 from the free-throw line. 

The  No. 4 seeded Lions (17-6) will be back at the Ohio University Convocation Center in Athens for their Division VII SE District Final game on Sunday, March 2 at 6 p.m. against the No. 1 seeded South Webster Jeeps (19-3). 

This will be the second consecutive year the two teams have faced each other in the tournament. Last year, the Lions lost to South Webster in the regional semifinals, 48-45. 

“I want us to play the best teams, and this is going to be a good challenge for us,” Williams said. “They got the best of us in the regionals last year by one possession. I think our kids are ready. We’ll come up with a game plan. They are coached extremely well, and they have a lot of seniors. 

“We are going to enjoy each day with each other, not take it for granted, execute and see what we can do.”

BOX SCORE 
FHS     16 06 08 15 — 45
WHS    06 11 06 16 — 39

FAIRFIELD (45) — G.Friend 1 (1) 1-2 9, C.Barrera 0 (0) 4-4 4, B.Smith 1 (3) 1-3 12, L.McIntosh 1 (2) 8-10 16, Q.McIntosh 1 (0) 2-4 4. TOTALS: 4 (6) 16-23 45. 

WESTERN (39) — S.Cattaneo 1 (0) 0-0 2, D.Haggy 2 (1) 7-13 14, L.Owens 2 (0) 0-0 4, K.Janes 1 (0) 2-4 4, A.Siliven 1 (0) 0-0 2, F.Davis 2 (3) 0-2 13. TOTALS: 9 (4) 9-19 39. 

Publisher's note: A free press is critical to having well-informed voters and citizens. While some news organizations opt for paid websites or costly paywalls, The Highland County Press has maintained a free newspaper and website for the last 25 years for our community. If you would like to contribute to this service, it would be greatly appreciated. Donations may be made to: The Highland County Press, P.O. Box 849, Hillsboro, Ohio 45133. Please include "for website" on the memo line.