‘Never stop believing:’ Lions stay undefeated with OT win at Eastern

MACON — Sometimes there are just occurrences on a basketball court and in sports in general that are tough to explain, or you just had to see it to believe it. 

That was the case Tuesday night in Brown County at Eastern High School, as the Fairfield Lions were the cause for the magical moments which took place on the basketball court in Southern Hills Athletic Conference action. 

It is time to set the scene. 

The Lions entered the game undefeated on the season with 13 wins and zero losses. In fact, the Lions came into the game with a 36-game regular-season winning streak dating back to the 2021-22 season. Fairfield was also 8-0 in the SHAC standings, and their last regular-season loss was at Kiser Court — the home of the Eastern Warriors — on Feb. 11, 2022, the same location of Tuesday’s game. 

As the SHAC game Tuesday night progressed, it looked as though the Lions might see their winning streak come to an end, as they didn’t hold the lead at any point in regulation until they went on a 10-1 run with 47.1 seconds left in the fourth quarter, and ultimately tied the game with three clutch free throws with 8.7 seconds on the clock off shots from senior Gabe Fouch. 

Fairfield then took the lead in overtime for the first time in the game, amped up their defensive play, broke a tied score and eventually earned a 56-50 victory over the Warriors in a game that nobody in attendance will soon forget. 

Fairfield head coach Quentin Williams spoke about the final run in regulation and about the overtime win. 

“I mean, the only way you can explain it is to never stop believing in your abilities, and you fight till the end. I'm big on that,” Williams said. “We had a game like that last year where we played Cedarville [a 59-57 win], and we were down 22 at the half, and we were down 15 points in the fourth quarter. We just kept chipping away, kept chipping away, and you find ways to win. 

“People step up, and people believe, and my leaders really stepped up in the last three minutes or so of the game. I started seeing them come alive. It would have been nice for them to come alive a little bit sooner, but they really started believing. Trey House was a big component of that. Every huddle, every timeout, he was getting everybody to believe. It helped people, and people stepped up. I couldn't be more proud of them, to be honest, even though we didn't have our greatest night.”

Fouch led Fairfield with 14 points, followed by Friend and Logan McIntosh with 12 points each and House with 11 points.

The win kept a school-record regular-season winning streak alive of now 37 consecutive wins, and it moved the Lions to a 9-0 record in the Division I SHAC standings, plus now they are 14-0 overall, ranked 10th in the Associated Press Division IV State Poll and 2nd in the Division IV Southeast District RPI rankings. 

When the Lions needed big plays the most, that’s what happened, and it all began when the Lions were trailing by nine points with 1:00 on the clock. When Fairfield began what turned into an improbable run to force overtime, it started with a 3-pointer by House with 47.1 on the clock, cutting Eastern’s lead to six points. 

Following an Eastern timeout, the Lions had a steal from Larkin Friend, but FHS missed a 3-pointer opportunity, where Eastern grabbed the rebound and were fouled with 31.1 left in regulation. 

The Warriors made one free throw on two shots by Grady Barber, giving them a seven-point lead. Friend answered with two points on a layup as he was fouled. Later in the quarter, Fouch connected with a basket, cutting the EHS lead to just three points with 19.8 on the scoreboard. 

The gym became intense in the final stages of the game as the Lions forced an Eastern turnover with 16 seconds on the clock, and then with 8.7 on the clock, Fouch — who, during a late timeout, requested he take the shot — took a 3-point shot and was fouled, sending him to the free-throw line for a chance to tie the score. 

Being that Fouch is a pitcher on the baseball diamond, being alone in a big-time spot — with all eyes on him — might be normal to the senior, as he said following the game he didn’t feel any pressure at that moment on the free-throw line. 

Fouch responded at the line by swishing all three free throws, tying the score at 48-48, and eventually forcing overtime as the Lions forced a turnover on an Eastern travel call, and the Lions missed the tough final shot chance as time expired in regulation. 

“The biggest thing that's exciting for me is I've coached him since he's been in seventh grade, and if you ask anybody about Gabe Fouch, they’d say he’s shy, not that outgoing of a kid, but to me, he is,” Williams said, “That's the thing. In the huddle, before we even did anything, I was drawing up a play. I said, ‘Who wants to shoot the shot?’ And, you know, Gabe said, ‘hey, I want to shoot the shot.’ I said, ‘All right,’ so I drew up a play for him. 

“We didn't quite get into it, but we still got it broken down. He ended up in the same spot, they over-rotated and he got the shot. He got fouled, and I really did know he was going to make all three, just because he was playing confident all night and he's not scared at that moment.”

Then came overtime, as Fairfield gained their first lead of the game when Cade Miller sank a free-throw shot with 3:37 on the OT clock, for a 49-48 lead. Eastern tied the score with 2:01 on the clock with a free throw made by Braxton Vance. Before that shot, the two teams had a battle for the basketball on a couple occasions as jump balls were awarded, and eventually Eastern was fouled on a rebound, resulting in their free-throw chance. 

With 1:26 left in the OT period, Friend made a layup while being fouled. Later in OT, Friend grabbed a rebound after the Warriors missed a long 3-pointer attempt, and he was subsequently fouled with 39.5 left on overtime. 

The FHS senior Friend made both free-throw attempts with ease, putting them ahead 53-49. Those were the final points scored by Friend, as he became the second FHS player to foul out of the game, and though one of their leaders was finished for the night, FHS continued to battle on the road. 

Stepping up at the free-throw line was senior Janre Lerio, who came off the bench and made a free throw with 29.6 left in OT, and following an Eastern made free throw, Lerio again was sent to the line, and he made another free throw to put the Lions ahead by five points at 55-50 with 16.5 on the clock. 

Eastern had a turnover on the ensuing possession with a pass sailing out of bounds, and the Lions were fouled again, this time with House securing the win with a free-throw conversion with 8.1 left in OT, putting the Lions ahead by the final 56-50 score for the six-point win. 

Fouch spoke about all the big moments from the win. 

“I didn't really feel any pressure. My mind was just so blank. I just knew I had to make them to even give us a chance to go to overtime and win the ballgame,” Fouch said. “I just wanted to shoot it. I have a lot of confidence in all of us, but a lot of confidence in myself.

“Oh, it's huge (on getting the win). I mean, especially being down all the whole game and being able to come back like that against a good basketball team. It's impressive.”

Friend also talked about the win, and the role he played in the final moments of regulation and in OT. 

“We were down by 10 at halftime, and we certainly fought back and got another lead, and kind of kept it for the rest of the game, until the last couple of minutes,” Friend said. “In those moments, you need people to step up. We need people to take control of the game. Gabe made a lot of great plays at the very end. I just think we didn't play very well today, until we realized that we could actually lose this game. When we realized that, we came together, and we fought back together.

”I just think it's a huge step in our journey this year. One of our goals is going undefeated, but number one has been a district championship, and that's the type of game that you will see in the tournament. I just think it better prepares us for the tournament.”

EHS finished the OT period 2-of-8 from the free-throw line, while in the same OT time frame, the Lions were 6-of-13. Also in the game, the Lions didn’t attempt a free throw until there were under 30 seconds left in the fourth quarter. 

The first half for Fairfield was tough, as their best brand of basketball wasn’t on display, with FHS trailing 11-6 after the first quarter, and they trailed by 10 points at halftime after EHS won the frame 16-11 for a 27-17 halftime score. 

Eastern in the first quarter had eight points scored by Kade Walkup with two 3-pointers and a two-point basket. They also had a free throw from Luke Haney and a two-point basket by Pryce Murphy. The second frame for the Warriors consisted of eight points from Drew Edmisten (including two 3-pointers), four points from Murphy, and two points each scored by Vance and Barber. 

Fairfield’s first-half scoring of 17 total points included two points each in the first frame by Logan McIntosh, Lerio and Miller. The second half saw Fouch sink two 3-pointers for six points, a 3-pointer by McIntosh, and House scored two points. 

“The first half, we were, in my opinion, playing scared,” Williams said. “They (EHS) were the more physical aggressor, on both ends of the floor, to be honest. Our offense was not very smooth. We were settling too much. The biggest thing I did (at halftime) is I just tried challenging him. I told them that you're better than this, and I challenged them. 

“This is just this group that I have, they embrace it, and they wanted that challenge. It was an up and down battle there in the second half. Most people probably thought we were going to lose, but once again, just their ability to come together when it matters the most and face adversity at a time like that matters so much. I mean, that's just huge.”

The Lions were outscored by one point in the third at 12-11 as they got to within three points of the lead following a jumper by McIntosh with 1:58 left in the quarter, but the Warriors rebuilt their lead back to nine points with a 6-0 run in the final 1:40 of the third for a 38-29 advantage. 

Walkup led the Warriors with 14 points, while Vance was next in the scoring column for the Warriors with 13 points. Also in double-figure scoring was Edmisten with 10 points. EHS also had Murphy total six points, Barber score four points and Haney finish with three points for the game. 

Other final scoring totals for the Lions included Lerio with four points and Miller with three points. As a team, the Lions totaled 13 two-point baskets, seven 3-pointers and were 9-of-17 from the free-throw line. 

Eastern finished the game 10-of-23 from the free-throw line, with 14 two-point baskets and four 3-pointers.

Next for the Lions (9-0, 14-0) is a SHAC game on the road at Ripley on Friday, Jan. 19, as they will face the Blue Jays, who are 0-7 in the SHAC and 2-11 overall. 

Eastern (7-2, 11-4) is scheduled to play again Friday, Jan. 19 at home against the North Adams Green Devils. 

BOX SCORE
FHS    06 11 12 19 (08) — 56    
EHS    11 16 11 10 (02) — 50

FAIRFIELD (56) — L.Friend 5 (0) 2-4 12, L.McIntosh 3 (2) 0-0 12, G.Fouch 1 (3) 3-3 14, T.House 2 (2) 1-2 11, J.Lerio 1 (0) 2-4 4, C.Miller 1 (0) 1-4 3. TOTALS: 13 (7) 9-17 56. 

EASTERN (50) — K.Walkup 3 (2) 2-4 14, D.Edmisten 2 (2) 0-0 10, L.Haney 1 (0) 1-4 3, B.Vance 4 (0) 5-9 13, P.Murphy 3 (0) 0-0 6, G.Barber 1 (0) 2-6 4. TOTALS: 14 (4) 10-23 50.