Lions fall in OT at Fayetteville
Lead Summary
By
The Highland County Press-
Fourth-quarter heroics by senior Elijah Carmean was enough to put the Fairfield Lions into overtime at Fayetteville, but once the overtime was completed, the Lions were on the losing side, as they fell to the Rockets, 89-87 in their Southern Hills Athletic Conference matchup.
Though it will take help from multiple teams, the Lions are still mathematically alive to no more than a share of the SHAC Division II title, as they must win their final two SHAC games, while the Division II-leading Whiteoak Wildcats (8-3) would have to lose their final two conference games, and Fayetteville (7-4) would have to lose one of their next two conference games for a three-way tie in the league.
That is the only way the Lions would be able to gain a conference title.
Even though the Lions (6-5, 9-9) came up on the wrong side of the scoreboard Tuesday in their away contest, the game was close for the entire contest.
Each team scored 15 points in the opening quarter, but it was Fayetteville who took the halftime advantage with a 22-point second frame, while the Lions added 17 points to their first-half total for a halftime deficit of 37-32.
The Lions won the third frame as they outscored the host Rockets, 18-16 but rallied in the fourth with a 31-28 advantage to force OT.
"Tight games like this helps us prepare for the tournament," FHS head coach Everett Snyder said.
How did the Lions force OT?
With 12 seconds remaining in regulation, the Lions advanced the ball to half-court and called a timeout. Following their timeout, the Lions set up an out-of-bounds play, but after seeing the look the Lions wanted, the Rockets called a timeout.
From there, the Lions tweaked their look and got the ball to Carmean, who got open off a double screen and hit the shot with seven seconds left on the clock.
After the shot and the clock still running, the Rockets stalled just enough to not get off a clean shot at the hoop, allowing the game to go into overtime.
In OT, the Lions led at one time by four points, but it was Fayetteville who was able to lead in the OT portion by an 8-6 score.
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"In overtime, we came out and got ahead by four points, but from there, we had just two," Snyder said. "We were forced to foul, and they went 4-of-7 from the free-throw line in the overtime, which was good enough to keep the lead."
This was the second time the Rockets defeated the Lions this season, as they previously won at FHS by a score of 78-65.
As for the Rockets' scoring, they were led by D.J. Iles with a game-high 37 points, as he made three 3-pointers and five two-point baskets. Iles was 18-of-22 from the free-throw line.
Toby Lykins followed with 15 points, including one 3-pointer and five two-point field goals. He was 2-of-4 from the stripe.
Fairfield was led by junior Ryan Bates with a team-high 26 points. The junior post player scored 12 times from the field and was 3-of-4 in his free-throw shooting. Bates also earned a double-double by collecting 11 rebounds.
Gage Montgomery, a junior, followed with 21 points, while adding a double-double to his game, as he totaled a team-high 12 rebounds.
"Ryan and Gage played well inside," Snyder said. "They both played well and continued to step up their game."
Senior Quentin Williams scored 18 points, including 17 in the second half, as he was forced to sit the bench for most of the first half due to foul trouble.
"Quentin basically played a half on Tuesday," Snyder said. "He got into some foul trouble early on and sat most of the first half."
Carmean and Joey Wilson each added eight points, while Blake Hildebrant totaled four points and Cody Bennett scored two points. Carmean sank two 3-pointers in the game.
The Lions will play again on Friday as they host the Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs in a SHAC contest.
Though it will take help from multiple teams, the Lions are still mathematically alive to no more than a share of the SHAC Division II title, as they must win their final two SHAC games, while the Division II-leading Whiteoak Wildcats (8-3) would have to lose their final two conference games, and Fayetteville (7-4) would have to lose one of their next two conference games for a three-way tie in the league.
That is the only way the Lions would be able to gain a conference title.
Even though the Lions (6-5, 9-9) came up on the wrong side of the scoreboard Tuesday in their away contest, the game was close for the entire contest.
Each team scored 15 points in the opening quarter, but it was Fayetteville who took the halftime advantage with a 22-point second frame, while the Lions added 17 points to their first-half total for a halftime deficit of 37-32.
The Lions won the third frame as they outscored the host Rockets, 18-16 but rallied in the fourth with a 31-28 advantage to force OT.
"Tight games like this helps us prepare for the tournament," FHS head coach Everett Snyder said.
How did the Lions force OT?
With 12 seconds remaining in regulation, the Lions advanced the ball to half-court and called a timeout. Following their timeout, the Lions set up an out-of-bounds play, but after seeing the look the Lions wanted, the Rockets called a timeout.
From there, the Lions tweaked their look and got the ball to Carmean, who got open off a double screen and hit the shot with seven seconds left on the clock.
After the shot and the clock still running, the Rockets stalled just enough to not get off a clean shot at the hoop, allowing the game to go into overtime.
In OT, the Lions led at one time by four points, but it was Fayetteville who was able to lead in the OT portion by an 8-6 score.
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"In overtime, we came out and got ahead by four points, but from there, we had just two," Snyder said. "We were forced to foul, and they went 4-of-7 from the free-throw line in the overtime, which was good enough to keep the lead."
This was the second time the Rockets defeated the Lions this season, as they previously won at FHS by a score of 78-65.
As for the Rockets' scoring, they were led by D.J. Iles with a game-high 37 points, as he made three 3-pointers and five two-point baskets. Iles was 18-of-22 from the free-throw line.
Toby Lykins followed with 15 points, including one 3-pointer and five two-point field goals. He was 2-of-4 from the stripe.
Fairfield was led by junior Ryan Bates with a team-high 26 points. The junior post player scored 12 times from the field and was 3-of-4 in his free-throw shooting. Bates also earned a double-double by collecting 11 rebounds.
Gage Montgomery, a junior, followed with 21 points, while adding a double-double to his game, as he totaled a team-high 12 rebounds.
"Ryan and Gage played well inside," Snyder said. "They both played well and continued to step up their game."
Senior Quentin Williams scored 18 points, including 17 in the second half, as he was forced to sit the bench for most of the first half due to foul trouble.
"Quentin basically played a half on Tuesday," Snyder said. "He got into some foul trouble early on and sat most of the first half."
Carmean and Joey Wilson each added eight points, while Blake Hildebrant totaled four points and Cody Bennett scored two points. Carmean sank two 3-pointers in the game.
The Lions will play again on Friday as they host the Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs in a SHAC contest.