Lions open tournament with home win over Miller in sectional semifinals
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
The Fairfield Lions earned a Div. IV SE District Sectional Semifinal win on Wednesday night by defending Grandle Gymnasium and defeating the Miller Falcons by a 63-36 score.
From the first frame until the final buzzer, the No. 11 seeded Lions led the sectional semifinal, including starting the game with a 9-0 run that left them with the nine-point lead with 5:33 remaining in the opening quarter.
That run of scoring included four points by Connor Priest and five points by Reese Teeters. Teeters finished the game with 14 points, while Priest totaled 10 points in the win.
“I thought Connor Priest and Reese Teeters came out and played an excellent game for us tonight,” Fairfield head coach Josh Howland said. “Really, all of our guys played their guts out. There was no lack of effort anywhere.”
For the rest of the first frame, the Lions played even with Miller, as each team scored six points in the final 5:20, as the Lions ended the opening frame leading 15-6.
The rest of the FHS first-quarter scoring included a jumper by Caleb Payne, a layup by Koben Zink and two more points by Payne. Also in the first frame, Zink grabbed six rebounds, and as a team in the first frame, the Lions totaled 13 rebounds.
“I’m pleased with the boys’ effort,” Howland said. “I thought we could have done a lot better job controlling the ball and controlling turnovers.
“We had us for 18 offensive boards, so that’s what we want. We want to be around the 10 offensive board mark, and anything extra above that is a bonus. The bad thing is one reason we were able to get 18 offensive boards is because we missed a lot of shots. I think we had us shooting 65 shots, which would be the most we’ve shot since last year. Unfortunately, they weren’t really falling for us, especially early on.”
In the second quarter, the Lions began to break away from the Falcons, as they outscored their opponent, 16-6 for a halftime lead of 31-12.
FHS had six points from Jon Bentley, four points by Priest and two points each off baskets by Teeters, Payne and Tucker Watson in the second quarter.
Bentley finished the game in double-figure scoring with 10 points.
The Lions weren’t finished in the second half, as they scored 20 points in the third frame and 12 points in the fourth. Miller had 14 points in the third quarter and 10 points in the final frame.
For Fairfield in the third quarter, Teeters made two 3-pointers and a two-point basket, while Brayden Zimmer sank two two-point buckets and was 3-of-3 from the free-throw line in the frame. Also in the third, Zink sank a 3-pointer and Bentley scored two points.
The Lions in the fourth quarter had four points from Teeters, four points by Watson and two points by both Priest and Wyatt Collins.
As a team, the Lions totaled 24 two-point baskets, three 3-pointers and they were 6-of-10 from the free-throw line.
Other final scoring for the game by the Lions included Collins with two points, Zimmerman with seven points, Zink with five points, Payne with six points and Watson with six points.
For the game, Miller totaled 23 turnovers, while the Lions had 13 turnovers, unofficially.
“I think there was nerves with all the turnovers,” Howland said. “[Miller] plays hard. For a team that hasn’t won a game, they definitely play hard. I thought they were unforced turnovers at times, us just turning around and making ill-advised passes right into the defense’s hands.”
Miller was led by Kylan McClain with 12 points and Tre McCoy with 10 points. The Falcons finished with 13 two-point baskets, zero 3-pointers and were 10-of-15 from the free-throw line.
Next for the Lions (8-11) will be a game against Ironton St. Joseph in the Div. IV Southeast District Sectional Finals at Ironton St. Joseph High School on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m.
“I did have an opportunity to watch them earlier in the year, before we even knew we were going to draw them,” Howland said of Ironton St. Joseph. “They’re a good club. They’ve got some shooters, they handle the ball well, they’re quick, they like to speed the tempo up.”
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From the first frame until the final buzzer, the No. 11 seeded Lions led the sectional semifinal, including starting the game with a 9-0 run that left them with the nine-point lead with 5:33 remaining in the opening quarter.
That run of scoring included four points by Connor Priest and five points by Reese Teeters. Teeters finished the game with 14 points, while Priest totaled 10 points in the win.
“I thought Connor Priest and Reese Teeters came out and played an excellent game for us tonight,” Fairfield head coach Josh Howland said. “Really, all of our guys played their guts out. There was no lack of effort anywhere.”
For the rest of the first frame, the Lions played even with Miller, as each team scored six points in the final 5:20, as the Lions ended the opening frame leading 15-6.
The rest of the FHS first-quarter scoring included a jumper by Caleb Payne, a layup by Koben Zink and two more points by Payne. Also in the first frame, Zink grabbed six rebounds, and as a team in the first frame, the Lions totaled 13 rebounds.
“I’m pleased with the boys’ effort,” Howland said. “I thought we could have done a lot better job controlling the ball and controlling turnovers.
“We had us for 18 offensive boards, so that’s what we want. We want to be around the 10 offensive board mark, and anything extra above that is a bonus. The bad thing is one reason we were able to get 18 offensive boards is because we missed a lot of shots. I think we had us shooting 65 shots, which would be the most we’ve shot since last year. Unfortunately, they weren’t really falling for us, especially early on.”
In the second quarter, the Lions began to break away from the Falcons, as they outscored their opponent, 16-6 for a halftime lead of 31-12.
FHS had six points from Jon Bentley, four points by Priest and two points each off baskets by Teeters, Payne and Tucker Watson in the second quarter.
Bentley finished the game in double-figure scoring with 10 points.
The Lions weren’t finished in the second half, as they scored 20 points in the third frame and 12 points in the fourth. Miller had 14 points in the third quarter and 10 points in the final frame.
For Fairfield in the third quarter, Teeters made two 3-pointers and a two-point basket, while Brayden Zimmer sank two two-point buckets and was 3-of-3 from the free-throw line in the frame. Also in the third, Zink sank a 3-pointer and Bentley scored two points.
The Lions in the fourth quarter had four points from Teeters, four points by Watson and two points by both Priest and Wyatt Collins.
As a team, the Lions totaled 24 two-point baskets, three 3-pointers and they were 6-of-10 from the free-throw line.
Other final scoring for the game by the Lions included Collins with two points, Zimmerman with seven points, Zink with five points, Payne with six points and Watson with six points.
For the game, Miller totaled 23 turnovers, while the Lions had 13 turnovers, unofficially.
“I think there was nerves with all the turnovers,” Howland said. “[Miller] plays hard. For a team that hasn’t won a game, they definitely play hard. I thought they were unforced turnovers at times, us just turning around and making ill-advised passes right into the defense’s hands.”
Miller was led by Kylan McClain with 12 points and Tre McCoy with 10 points. The Falcons finished with 13 two-point baskets, zero 3-pointers and were 10-of-15 from the free-throw line.
Next for the Lions (8-11) will be a game against Ironton St. Joseph in the Div. IV Southeast District Sectional Finals at Ironton St. Joseph High School on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m.
“I did have an opportunity to watch them earlier in the year, before we even knew we were going to draw them,” Howland said of Ironton St. Joseph. “They’re a good club. They’ve got some shooters, they handle the ball well, they’re quick, they like to speed the tempo up.”
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