Fairfield advances to district finals; defeats Symmes Valley
Traveling to Wellston High School for their Division IV SE District Semifinal game on Saturday night, the No. 6 seeded Fairfield Lions defeated No. 3 seeded Symmes Valley 61-42 to advance to the district finals.
The Lions — as they have all season — used their defense to propel their offense in the district semifinal contest where they trailed by an 11-10 score after the conclusion of the first quarter where the Lions had three players reach the scoring column.
In that first frame, Fairfield saw Jon Bentley sink a 3-pointer and two-point bucket, while T.J. Mootz also made a 3-pointer. The first frame also had two points scored by Tytis Cannon.
The 11 points by Symmes Valley in the opening quarter included five points by Ethan Patterson, while Brayden Webb scored four points off two baskets, and Grayson Walsh scored two points.
Fairfield won the second frame by a 15-11 scoring differential, putting the Lions in front at halftime by a 25-22 score.
The three-point lead built by the Lions included second-quarter scoring that saw Reese Teeters score five points with a 3-pointer and two-point field goal. Cannon made three baskets in the second for six points, while Bentley made a basket for two points and Mootz sank two free-throws (2-for-2) for two points.
Fairfield added 16 points in the third frame, while their defense held Symmes Valley to nine points for a lead of 41-31 after three frames.
Teeters was on fire in the third quarter as his quarter scoring in the third started off with a made free throw, followed by four two-point baskets, giving him nine points in the quarter. Bentley scored four points in the third frame with two baskets, and Mootz knocked down a 3-pointer, giving the Lions 16 points in the quarter.
Fairfield had their highest-scoring eight-minute span in the fourth quarter as they put 20 points on the board, while Symmes Valley scored 11 points in the final frame.
The Lions in the final frame had two more points off free throws by Teeters and two points each by Bentley and Wyatt Collins as each sank a basket. Koben Zink scored four points in the fourth quarter off a two-point basket and going 2-of-2 from the free-throw line.
There was also five points by Cannon in the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer and two-point basket, while teammate Mootz made a 3-pointer and two free throws.
Leading Fairfield in scoring was Teeters with 16 points, as the senior made five two-point baskets, one 3-pointer, and he was 3-of-5 from the free-throw line.
Bentley, Cannon and Mootz each scored 13 points in the district semifinal win. Bentley totaled five two-point field goals and a 3-pointer. Cannon also made five two-point baskets and a 3-pointer, and Mootz finished the game with three 3-pointers and he was 4-of-5 from the free-throw line.
The remainder of the final scoring totals for the Lions included Zink with four points and Collins with two points.
As a team, the Lions finished with 17 two-point baskets, six 3-pointers and they were 9-of-12 from the free-throw line (75 percent).
Symmes Valley’s final scoring included 16 points by Patterson, 11 points by Caden Brammer, seven points by Webb, two points from Levi Best and six points from Walsh.
Symmes Valley finished with 12 two-point baskets, five 3-pointers and they were 3-of-5 from the free-throw line.
Next for the Fairfield Lions is a district final game on Friday, March 4 against the No. 2 seeded Lucasville Valley Indians at Wellston High School with a scheduled tip of 9 p.m.
Valley defeated No. 7 seeded South Webster by a 68-56 score on Saturday night at WHS.
The Lions last won a district championship in 2014 when they defeated Paint Valley. This will be the third consecutive season the Lions will be playing in the district finals.
(Editor’s note: The HCP would like to thank MaryBeth Hodson for game information and photo.)
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