Lions upend No. 1 seed, move to district finals
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
ATHENS – Two up, two down for the Fairfield Lions, as they upended the No. 1 seed Eastern Pike, 55-52 Tuesday evening, with the victory moving the Lions to the Division IV SE District Finals.
The way the Lions played in the first half, it was easy to see the atmosphere at the Convocation Center, located on the campus of Ohio University, didn't shake the No. 5-seeded Lions, as they led 12-7 after the first frame and 27-15 at the half.
Fast-forward to the fourth frame, and that's where the Lions really showed they can play under pressure.
"I told the kids beforehand … we didn't know we were going to come out and get that nice of a lead in the first half," FHS head coach Everett Snyder said. "We thought it would be closer in the first half, but the last thing I told the kids before we came out was don't get discouraged if we get down. We've come back several times this year, and make sure we play to the last horn, and I felt the kids did."
The Lions entered the final eight minutes leading 42-36, but the Eagles of Eastern Pike started the fourth with four straight points, cutting the Lions' lead to two points at 42-40.
Senior Quentin Williams answered with a jumper, but the four-point lead didn't last long as Eastern scored the next five points to take a lead of 46-44 with 5:01 remaining. Williams finished with 27 points, including three 3-pointers.
The Lions didn't back down, though, as it was Williams who was waiting to put FHS back to even with the Eagles, as he scored points on a layup.
Later in the fourth, with the Eagles leading by three, Williams started the run that put the Lions in front for good, as he connected with a free throw, and after some missed baskets by the Eagles, Williams forced a turnover with 2:40 left on the clock.
Eastern answered with two points off free throws, but Williams was fouled while attempting a 3-pointer, sending the senior to the line. Williams sank two of the three free throws, and on the third one, Joey Wilson (who totaled 11 points) rebounded and scored two points with 1:12 on the clock, sending the Lions to a 51-51 tied score in what Coach Snyder called the "biggest play of the game."
"We came down wanting to get a screen for Quentin for a three-point shot, and he got fouled," Snyder said. "He made the first two, and Joey probably made the biggest play of the game, getting the rebound and the stick-back."
The Lions regained possession of the ball on a charge called on the Eagles, and with 24.6 seconds left in regulation, Cody Bennett was fouled with the score still tied at 51.
Bennett missed the front end of the double-bonus trip to the line, and following a word from Williams in between shot attempts, Bennett put the Lions ahead for good by draining the ball through the hoop for a 52-51 advantage.
Following a time out by the Eagles, Blake Hildebrant gained possession of the ball, diving onto the court and getting fouled while having possession with 12.5 left.
Hildebrant took full advantage of the opportunity by making both shots from the free-throw line, putting FHS ahead, 54-51. Following the free throws by Hildebrant, the Lions used strategy and fouled the Eagles with 9.3 on the clock, forcing the Eagles to the line and not allowing them to shoot a 3-pointer, which would have tied the game.[[In-content Ad]]
"During the timeout, with 52 seconds left, we said we weren't going to hold the ball for the final shot, and yes, we were going to foul them to keep them from shooting the three-point shot," Snyder said. "It didn't work out quite the way we wanted because we knocked the ball out of each other's hands, but in the end, it did work out."
Eastern had one final chance to tie to win the game, but they were unable to make their shot attempt, as they drove to the paint but didn't connect, with Gage Montgomery being fouled after gaining possession of the ball. He scored the final point for the Lions from the free-throw line to seal the win for good.
"We were pleased with our free-throw shooting," Snyder said. "At times this season, that has been sketchy, but we just need to keep improving on that each game."
As for the aforementioned first half by the Lions, they held the Eagles to just seven points in the first quarter, while they added 12 to their side with Williams scoring first in the game with a steal and layup. With the score being tied twice in the first quarter (2-2, 5-5), the Lions took their third lead of the game (8-7) with a 3-pointer by Williams with 1:42 left in the first.
Those three points started a 7-0 run to end the first with Montgomery and Williams scoring points in the paint.
Following a two-point bucket by Eastern, the Lions went on a 9-0 run for a 12-point lead at 21-9 with 4:39 left in the second quarter.
During the run, Williams was fouled while connecting from beyond the arc. Williams had blood on his knee, resulting in Ryan Bates sinking a free throw as the two players combined for a four-point play with 6:34 left in the quarter.
Later in the quarter, Williams made another 3-pointer for a 24-12 lead, as the Lions ended the second with a put-back by Wilson for their 27 points of the first half.
"I think we surprised ourselves, with the fact we've seen them play, so we thought they were much quicker than they were," Snyder said. "We worked on our defense to keep (Chad) Lands in front of us and not let the others get open shots on us. I thought our defense is what gave us that lead in the first half.
"We just prepared for everything we thought we'd see tonight, and I thought the kids executed our game, and in that first half us controlling the offensive boards was big."
In the third, Eastern began the quarter with six straight points, but the run was stopped by Bates with a layup.
With 5:31 left in the third, Williams and Bennett combined for five straight points, with Bennett sinking a 3-pointer.
The final points of FHS in the third were from Wilson with the assist from Montgomery and two points by Montgomery for what was a 38-29 lead with 2:52 left in the third.
Leading Eastern in scoring were Chad Lands with 18 points and Tavares Pickett with 11 points.
Fairfield will play for the district title on Saturday night at 9:30 p.m. at the Convocation Center, as they will play South Webster, who defeated Miller, 51-30 Tuesday at Ohio U.
The way the Lions played in the first half, it was easy to see the atmosphere at the Convocation Center, located on the campus of Ohio University, didn't shake the No. 5-seeded Lions, as they led 12-7 after the first frame and 27-15 at the half.
Fast-forward to the fourth frame, and that's where the Lions really showed they can play under pressure.
"I told the kids beforehand … we didn't know we were going to come out and get that nice of a lead in the first half," FHS head coach Everett Snyder said. "We thought it would be closer in the first half, but the last thing I told the kids before we came out was don't get discouraged if we get down. We've come back several times this year, and make sure we play to the last horn, and I felt the kids did."
The Lions entered the final eight minutes leading 42-36, but the Eagles of Eastern Pike started the fourth with four straight points, cutting the Lions' lead to two points at 42-40.
Senior Quentin Williams answered with a jumper, but the four-point lead didn't last long as Eastern scored the next five points to take a lead of 46-44 with 5:01 remaining. Williams finished with 27 points, including three 3-pointers.
The Lions didn't back down, though, as it was Williams who was waiting to put FHS back to even with the Eagles, as he scored points on a layup.
Later in the fourth, with the Eagles leading by three, Williams started the run that put the Lions in front for good, as he connected with a free throw, and after some missed baskets by the Eagles, Williams forced a turnover with 2:40 left on the clock.
Eastern answered with two points off free throws, but Williams was fouled while attempting a 3-pointer, sending the senior to the line. Williams sank two of the three free throws, and on the third one, Joey Wilson (who totaled 11 points) rebounded and scored two points with 1:12 on the clock, sending the Lions to a 51-51 tied score in what Coach Snyder called the "biggest play of the game."
"We came down wanting to get a screen for Quentin for a three-point shot, and he got fouled," Snyder said. "He made the first two, and Joey probably made the biggest play of the game, getting the rebound and the stick-back."
The Lions regained possession of the ball on a charge called on the Eagles, and with 24.6 seconds left in regulation, Cody Bennett was fouled with the score still tied at 51.
Bennett missed the front end of the double-bonus trip to the line, and following a word from Williams in between shot attempts, Bennett put the Lions ahead for good by draining the ball through the hoop for a 52-51 advantage.
Following a time out by the Eagles, Blake Hildebrant gained possession of the ball, diving onto the court and getting fouled while having possession with 12.5 left.
Hildebrant took full advantage of the opportunity by making both shots from the free-throw line, putting FHS ahead, 54-51. Following the free throws by Hildebrant, the Lions used strategy and fouled the Eagles with 9.3 on the clock, forcing the Eagles to the line and not allowing them to shoot a 3-pointer, which would have tied the game.[[In-content Ad]]
"During the timeout, with 52 seconds left, we said we weren't going to hold the ball for the final shot, and yes, we were going to foul them to keep them from shooting the three-point shot," Snyder said. "It didn't work out quite the way we wanted because we knocked the ball out of each other's hands, but in the end, it did work out."
Eastern had one final chance to tie to win the game, but they were unable to make their shot attempt, as they drove to the paint but didn't connect, with Gage Montgomery being fouled after gaining possession of the ball. He scored the final point for the Lions from the free-throw line to seal the win for good.
"We were pleased with our free-throw shooting," Snyder said. "At times this season, that has been sketchy, but we just need to keep improving on that each game."
As for the aforementioned first half by the Lions, they held the Eagles to just seven points in the first quarter, while they added 12 to their side with Williams scoring first in the game with a steal and layup. With the score being tied twice in the first quarter (2-2, 5-5), the Lions took their third lead of the game (8-7) with a 3-pointer by Williams with 1:42 left in the first.
Those three points started a 7-0 run to end the first with Montgomery and Williams scoring points in the paint.
Following a two-point bucket by Eastern, the Lions went on a 9-0 run for a 12-point lead at 21-9 with 4:39 left in the second quarter.
During the run, Williams was fouled while connecting from beyond the arc. Williams had blood on his knee, resulting in Ryan Bates sinking a free throw as the two players combined for a four-point play with 6:34 left in the quarter.
Later in the quarter, Williams made another 3-pointer for a 24-12 lead, as the Lions ended the second with a put-back by Wilson for their 27 points of the first half.
"I think we surprised ourselves, with the fact we've seen them play, so we thought they were much quicker than they were," Snyder said. "We worked on our defense to keep (Chad) Lands in front of us and not let the others get open shots on us. I thought our defense is what gave us that lead in the first half.
"We just prepared for everything we thought we'd see tonight, and I thought the kids executed our game, and in that first half us controlling the offensive boards was big."
In the third, Eastern began the quarter with six straight points, but the run was stopped by Bates with a layup.
With 5:31 left in the third, Williams and Bennett combined for five straight points, with Bennett sinking a 3-pointer.
The final points of FHS in the third were from Wilson with the assist from Montgomery and two points by Montgomery for what was a 38-29 lead with 2:52 left in the third.
Leading Eastern in scoring were Chad Lands with 18 points and Tavares Pickett with 11 points.
Fairfield will play for the district title on Saturday night at 9:30 p.m. at the Convocation Center, as they will play South Webster, who defeated Miller, 51-30 Tuesday at Ohio U.