Lions stay in SHAC race; defeat Green Devils
Lead Summary
By
The Highland County Press-
SEAMAN — A week off wasn't a time for rust to form in the game of the Fairfield Lions. They not only stayed in the race for a Southern Hills Athletic Conference championship, but did so on the road, defeating the North Adams Green Devils, 60-53 Friday night.
The win was not only a conference win, but the Lions' third straight as they've now defeated North Adams, Ripley and McClain since Dec. 29, and the Lions don't play again until this upcoming Friday (Jan. 18) when they travel to face Peebles in another SHAC matchup.
FHS stands at 4-2 in the SHAC and 6-6 overall. North Adams is now 2-4 in the SHAC and 7-5 overall.
In their three straight wins, the Lions have held their opponents to under 60 points in all three games, outscoring their opponents 191-165. Also in this streak, the Lions average 63.6 points per game, while allowing 55 ppg.
As for Friday night at North Adams, the Lions and Green Devils took part in a slow-paced style of play as the Lions trailed 12-9 after 8:00 ticked off the clock.
From there, the Lions scored 17 points in each of the next three frames, as they outscored the Green Devils 17-15 in the second, 17-8 in the third and lost the fourth quarter scoring battle, 19-17, which went in favor of the Green Devils.
"There were lots of fouls both ways in the first quarter, and we had to have Blake (Hildebrant), Ryan (Bates) and Gage (Montgomery) on the bench late in the first and all of the second with two fouls each," FHS head coach Everett Snyder said. "We had players come in and step up in the second quarter.
"Elijah (Carmean) hit two threes in the second, and Cody (Bennett) came up for us in the quarter. Shay (Snyder) and Tyler (Sims) both played well on defense for us in the quarter."
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The Lions trailed 27-26 at halftime.
Fairfield was led in scoring by senior Quentin Williams with 18 points, including one 3-pointer, and a 5-of-9 performance from the free-throw line. The senior point guard added nine rebounds, seven steals and four assists. Of Williams' 18 points, he made one 3-pointer.
Gage Montgomery followed with 13 points and nine rebounds, and Ryan Bates added 11 points and nine rebounds in the win over NA.
Bates, Montgomery and Williams each made five two-point buckets.
Cody Bennett added seven points, with one 3-pointer, one two-point basket and a 2-of-2 night from the free-throw line.
Elijah Carmean sank two 3-pointers for a total of six points in the game, while Joey Wilson ended the game with five points.
As a team, FHS totaled 34 rebounds.
"One thing I was proud of was that even against players who were 6-5, 6-6, we were able to control the boards," Snyder said. "We did a good job rebounding.
"We had a week off to prepare. We ran our game plan well and did what we had to do. We had some motivation knowing we had to win this game to stay in the league race for first place. The team stepped up to the challenge."
Leading the Green Devils were Sheridan Carroll with 12 points and Levi Bales with nine. Also for NA, Kris King and David Shipley each added eight points. The Green Devils also had four 3-pointers total from Carroll, King, Shipley and Seth Sparks.
The Lions will play next Friday at Peebles.
The win was not only a conference win, but the Lions' third straight as they've now defeated North Adams, Ripley and McClain since Dec. 29, and the Lions don't play again until this upcoming Friday (Jan. 18) when they travel to face Peebles in another SHAC matchup.
FHS stands at 4-2 in the SHAC and 6-6 overall. North Adams is now 2-4 in the SHAC and 7-5 overall.
In their three straight wins, the Lions have held their opponents to under 60 points in all three games, outscoring their opponents 191-165. Also in this streak, the Lions average 63.6 points per game, while allowing 55 ppg.
As for Friday night at North Adams, the Lions and Green Devils took part in a slow-paced style of play as the Lions trailed 12-9 after 8:00 ticked off the clock.
From there, the Lions scored 17 points in each of the next three frames, as they outscored the Green Devils 17-15 in the second, 17-8 in the third and lost the fourth quarter scoring battle, 19-17, which went in favor of the Green Devils.
"There were lots of fouls both ways in the first quarter, and we had to have Blake (Hildebrant), Ryan (Bates) and Gage (Montgomery) on the bench late in the first and all of the second with two fouls each," FHS head coach Everett Snyder said. "We had players come in and step up in the second quarter.
"Elijah (Carmean) hit two threes in the second, and Cody (Bennett) came up for us in the quarter. Shay (Snyder) and Tyler (Sims) both played well on defense for us in the quarter."
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The Lions trailed 27-26 at halftime.
Fairfield was led in scoring by senior Quentin Williams with 18 points, including one 3-pointer, and a 5-of-9 performance from the free-throw line. The senior point guard added nine rebounds, seven steals and four assists. Of Williams' 18 points, he made one 3-pointer.
Gage Montgomery followed with 13 points and nine rebounds, and Ryan Bates added 11 points and nine rebounds in the win over NA.
Bates, Montgomery and Williams each made five two-point buckets.
Cody Bennett added seven points, with one 3-pointer, one two-point basket and a 2-of-2 night from the free-throw line.
Elijah Carmean sank two 3-pointers for a total of six points in the game, while Joey Wilson ended the game with five points.
As a team, FHS totaled 34 rebounds.
"One thing I was proud of was that even against players who were 6-5, 6-6, we were able to control the boards," Snyder said. "We did a good job rebounding.
"We had a week off to prepare. We ran our game plan well and did what we had to do. We had some motivation knowing we had to win this game to stay in the league race for first place. The team stepped up to the challenge."
Leading the Green Devils were Sheridan Carroll with 12 points and Levi Bales with nine. Also for NA, Kris King and David Shipley each added eight points. The Green Devils also had four 3-pointers total from Carroll, King, Shipley and Seth Sparks.
The Lions will play next Friday at Peebles.