Fairfield Lions suffer heartbreak in district final loss to Valley
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
WELLSTON — If there ever was a game where heartbreak and loss went together, then look no further, as the Fairfield Lions suffered that unfortunate fate Friday night in their Division IV SE District Finals game against the Lucasville Valley Indians.
Besides an early tied score at 2-2 in the first quarter, the Lions never trailed in the district final game until there was 2:12 left in the fourth quarter. Even after losing the lead and regaining it with 47 seconds left in regulation, the Lions lost the lead again with 37 seconds left on the clock. Fairfield had one final shot opportunity with 1.2 left in the game, but the off-balanced shot with a defender leaping in the air was off, and their season came to a close by a 47-46 score at Wellston High School.
The Lions entered the game as the No. 6 seed in the district, while the No. 2 seeded Valley Indians (20-4) were the home team on the scoreboard. Before the game, fans were lined up around the school to get into the gates, and once the game tipped off in front of a jam-packed crowd, the two fan bases of the Division IV squads were treated to a strong performance on both sides of the court.
Earlier this season Valley defeated Fairfield, 78-54 in game two of the season on Nov. 30, 2021.
Fairfield — who finishes the season at 15-6 overall — scored the first points of the district final game off a two-point basket from senior Reese Teeters nearly one minute into the game. Teeters led all scorers with 21 points, with the senior making eight two-point baskets, one 3-pointer and he was 2-of-3 from the free-throw line.
Valley answered with a bucket by Jace Copley 40 seconds later, but following a three-point play from Teeters, the Lions held a 5-2 advantage with 6:21 left on the first-quarter clock.
FHS junior Tytis Cannon scored two points with 5:10 on the clock, increasing the Lions’ lead to five points, and after two points by Valley, Cannon again lifted the Lions to a five-point lead with 4:35 left in the first frame at 9-4. That lead went to six points for the Lions following a made free throw by senior Jon Bentley, as Bentley finished the contest with 12 points.
After the Indians added points to their side of the scoreboard with 3:19 left in the quarter, Fairfield battled back with a 3-pointer from Bentley and two made free throws by senior Koben Zink, lifting the Lions’ lead to nine points, their highest lead of the first half with 2:06 left in the opening frame.
Valley ended the first quarter with two free throws and a jumper by Bryce Stuart, leaving the Lions in the lead at 15-10. Stuart led the Indians with 18 points in the Valley win. He totaled seven two-point baskets and was 4-of-4 from the free-throw line.
Though the Lions saw their lead drop to as low as two points in the second quarter, they went into halftime with an eight-point advantage at 25-17.
Fairfield opened the second frame like they did the first quarter by scoring the first points of the frame, only this time it was two points from Bentley, followed by a basket by Valley. The Lions answered with two points from TJ Mootz for a 19-12 lead, but after a dunk from Stuart and a 3-pointer by Valley’s George Arnett — who totaled 12 points — with 3:47 left in the first half, the Lions’ lead shrank to two points at 19-17.
The Lions regrouped following a timeout and ended the second quarter with a 6-0 run in the final 2:36 of game play in the first half for an eight-point lead at 25-17. All six points in the final run were by Teeters, as the first-team All-District selection scored those points in the paint, including one basket off a steal and fast break for two points with 2:35 left in the quarter.
Fairfield’s lead stood at eight points — 38-30 — when the third quarter came to a close, though they led by as many as 11 points on two occasions and 10 points early in the quarter.
The Lions for a second straight frame saw Bentley score the first points, followed by a basket by Valley. Cannon knocked down a 3-pointer for Fairfield, as the All-District player put the Lions ahead by a 30-19 score with 5:30 on the third-quarter clock. Cannon ended the game with nine points.
Valley’s Arnett answered with a three-point play, but Teeters equaled the points with a 3-pointer with 4:30 left in the quarter for a 33-22 Lions advantage.
Valley’s Carter Nickel, Arnett and Stuart went on a 7-0 run with a 3-pointer from Nickel (who finished with seven points), a free throw by Arnett and behind-the-back reverse dunk from Stuart, bringing the Indians to within five points of the Fairfield lead with 2:49 left in the quarter.
The Lions didn’t back down; rather, they went back to work on offense with two points by Teeters, followed later by a free throw made by Bentley, increasing Fairfield’s lead back to eight points.
The Indians stayed in the game with two free-throw conversions by Stuart, but after being fouled while attempting a 3-pointer, Cannon ended the second-quarter scoring by making 2-of-3 free-throw attempts for an eight-point Lions lead at 38-30 when the third frame ended.
Fairfield saw their lead fall to one point at the start of the fourth quarter as Valley’s offense picked up with a 3-pointer from Arnett, a jumper by Stuart and a layup from Copley, as the 7-0 run brought them to within a point of the Lions’ lead at 38-37 with 5:44 left in regulation. Copley ended the game with eight points.
Teeters kept Fairfield in front with two made free throws, but the lead went back down to a point with a put-back basket off his original shot attempt from Valley’s Stuart.
Fairfield’s lead went back to three points with two points in the paint by Teeters, only to see Valley — following a full timeout — get back to within a point of the lead at 42-41 with two converted free throw attempts by Copley with 3:47 on the scoreboard.
From there, following strong defense from both sides, including both teams forcing turnovers, plus a couple Valley timeouts, the Lions trailed for the first time in the game with 2:20 remaining in regulation after a layup from Nickel, putting the Lions behind 43-42.
Valley increased their lead to three points after two free throws made by Arnett, but the Lions weren’t finished as Bentley made two free throws, and Teeters stole the ball and went to the hoop for the Lions with two points, putting Fairfield back in front at 46-45 with 47 seconds left in the district final contest.
Valley answered within 10 seconds of the Lions, taking the lead with two points off a layup by Copley, regaining the advantage at 47-46 with the clock reading 37 seconds.
The Lions took a full timeout with 32.7 on the clock, and again took a timeout with 13.3 seconds left in the game. Fairfield kept possession of the ball after it went out of bounds with 1.2 on the clock, and with one final shot opportunity, the off-balanced shot attempt didn’t fall in the hoop for the Lions, as time expired.
Valley outscored the Lions 17-8 in the fourth quarter and 30-21 in the second half. For the game, the Lions were 11-of-14 from the free-throw line (79-percent), while Valley was 10-of-11 (91-percent) in their free-throw attempts.
The Indians also finished as a team with 14 two-point baskets and three 3-pointers. Fairfield finished with 13 two-point baskets and three 3-pointers.
The Lions had four seniors on their roster this season, and playing their final game were Reese Teeters, Jon Bentley, Brayden Zimmerman and Koben Zink.
Fairfield ends the season at 15-6 overall with a runner-up position in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference Division I and as district runners-up for s third consecutive season. This tournament, Fairfield defeated Symmes Valley (61-42) and Paint Valley (54-32).
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Besides an early tied score at 2-2 in the first quarter, the Lions never trailed in the district final game until there was 2:12 left in the fourth quarter. Even after losing the lead and regaining it with 47 seconds left in regulation, the Lions lost the lead again with 37 seconds left on the clock. Fairfield had one final shot opportunity with 1.2 left in the game, but the off-balanced shot with a defender leaping in the air was off, and their season came to a close by a 47-46 score at Wellston High School.
The Lions entered the game as the No. 6 seed in the district, while the No. 2 seeded Valley Indians (20-4) were the home team on the scoreboard. Before the game, fans were lined up around the school to get into the gates, and once the game tipped off in front of a jam-packed crowd, the two fan bases of the Division IV squads were treated to a strong performance on both sides of the court.
Earlier this season Valley defeated Fairfield, 78-54 in game two of the season on Nov. 30, 2021.
Fairfield — who finishes the season at 15-6 overall — scored the first points of the district final game off a two-point basket from senior Reese Teeters nearly one minute into the game. Teeters led all scorers with 21 points, with the senior making eight two-point baskets, one 3-pointer and he was 2-of-3 from the free-throw line.
Valley answered with a bucket by Jace Copley 40 seconds later, but following a three-point play from Teeters, the Lions held a 5-2 advantage with 6:21 left on the first-quarter clock.
FHS junior Tytis Cannon scored two points with 5:10 on the clock, increasing the Lions’ lead to five points, and after two points by Valley, Cannon again lifted the Lions to a five-point lead with 4:35 left in the first frame at 9-4. That lead went to six points for the Lions following a made free throw by senior Jon Bentley, as Bentley finished the contest with 12 points.
After the Indians added points to their side of the scoreboard with 3:19 left in the quarter, Fairfield battled back with a 3-pointer from Bentley and two made free throws by senior Koben Zink, lifting the Lions’ lead to nine points, their highest lead of the first half with 2:06 left in the opening frame.
Valley ended the first quarter with two free throws and a jumper by Bryce Stuart, leaving the Lions in the lead at 15-10. Stuart led the Indians with 18 points in the Valley win. He totaled seven two-point baskets and was 4-of-4 from the free-throw line.
Though the Lions saw their lead drop to as low as two points in the second quarter, they went into halftime with an eight-point advantage at 25-17.
Fairfield opened the second frame like they did the first quarter by scoring the first points of the frame, only this time it was two points from Bentley, followed by a basket by Valley. The Lions answered with two points from TJ Mootz for a 19-12 lead, but after a dunk from Stuart and a 3-pointer by Valley’s George Arnett — who totaled 12 points — with 3:47 left in the first half, the Lions’ lead shrank to two points at 19-17.
The Lions regrouped following a timeout and ended the second quarter with a 6-0 run in the final 2:36 of game play in the first half for an eight-point lead at 25-17. All six points in the final run were by Teeters, as the first-team All-District selection scored those points in the paint, including one basket off a steal and fast break for two points with 2:35 left in the quarter.
Fairfield’s lead stood at eight points — 38-30 — when the third quarter came to a close, though they led by as many as 11 points on two occasions and 10 points early in the quarter.
The Lions for a second straight frame saw Bentley score the first points, followed by a basket by Valley. Cannon knocked down a 3-pointer for Fairfield, as the All-District player put the Lions ahead by a 30-19 score with 5:30 on the third-quarter clock. Cannon ended the game with nine points.
Valley’s Arnett answered with a three-point play, but Teeters equaled the points with a 3-pointer with 4:30 left in the quarter for a 33-22 Lions advantage.
Valley’s Carter Nickel, Arnett and Stuart went on a 7-0 run with a 3-pointer from Nickel (who finished with seven points), a free throw by Arnett and behind-the-back reverse dunk from Stuart, bringing the Indians to within five points of the Fairfield lead with 2:49 left in the quarter.
The Lions didn’t back down; rather, they went back to work on offense with two points by Teeters, followed later by a free throw made by Bentley, increasing Fairfield’s lead back to eight points.
The Indians stayed in the game with two free-throw conversions by Stuart, but after being fouled while attempting a 3-pointer, Cannon ended the second-quarter scoring by making 2-of-3 free-throw attempts for an eight-point Lions lead at 38-30 when the third frame ended.
Fairfield saw their lead fall to one point at the start of the fourth quarter as Valley’s offense picked up with a 3-pointer from Arnett, a jumper by Stuart and a layup from Copley, as the 7-0 run brought them to within a point of the Lions’ lead at 38-37 with 5:44 left in regulation. Copley ended the game with eight points.
Teeters kept Fairfield in front with two made free throws, but the lead went back down to a point with a put-back basket off his original shot attempt from Valley’s Stuart.
Fairfield’s lead went back to three points with two points in the paint by Teeters, only to see Valley — following a full timeout — get back to within a point of the lead at 42-41 with two converted free throw attempts by Copley with 3:47 on the scoreboard.
From there, following strong defense from both sides, including both teams forcing turnovers, plus a couple Valley timeouts, the Lions trailed for the first time in the game with 2:20 remaining in regulation after a layup from Nickel, putting the Lions behind 43-42.
Valley increased their lead to three points after two free throws made by Arnett, but the Lions weren’t finished as Bentley made two free throws, and Teeters stole the ball and went to the hoop for the Lions with two points, putting Fairfield back in front at 46-45 with 47 seconds left in the district final contest.
Valley answered within 10 seconds of the Lions, taking the lead with two points off a layup by Copley, regaining the advantage at 47-46 with the clock reading 37 seconds.
The Lions took a full timeout with 32.7 on the clock, and again took a timeout with 13.3 seconds left in the game. Fairfield kept possession of the ball after it went out of bounds with 1.2 on the clock, and with one final shot opportunity, the off-balanced shot attempt didn’t fall in the hoop for the Lions, as time expired.
Valley outscored the Lions 17-8 in the fourth quarter and 30-21 in the second half. For the game, the Lions were 11-of-14 from the free-throw line (79-percent), while Valley was 10-of-11 (91-percent) in their free-throw attempts.
The Indians also finished as a team with 14 two-point baskets and three 3-pointers. Fairfield finished with 13 two-point baskets and three 3-pointers.
The Lions had four seniors on their roster this season, and playing their final game were Reese Teeters, Jon Bentley, Brayden Zimmerman and Koben Zink.
Fairfield ends the season at 15-6 overall with a runner-up position in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference Division I and as district runners-up for s third consecutive season. This tournament, Fairfield defeated Symmes Valley (61-42) and Paint Valley (54-32).
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