Fairfield brings home win over East Clinton

The Fairfield Lions traveled to Clinton County to face the East Clinton Astros in a non-conference game and returned home to Leesburg with a 53-38 victory over the host Astros. 

The Lions outscored the Astros by even points in the first frame at 18-11, as they had Brody Smith score six points with a basket and four made free throws in five attempts. Smith finished with 17 points in the win, collecting one 3-pointer, five two-point buckets, and he was 4-of-6 from the free-throw line. 

Griffin Friend scored 10 points in the opening quarter with two 3-pointers, plus he had two two-point baskets. For the game, Friend totaled 24 points, totaling seven two-point buckets, three 3-pointers, plus he was 1-of-4 from the free-throw line. 

The rest of the first-quarter scoring consisted of a basket by Quentin McIntosh as McIntosh ended the game with three points. 

Fairfield outscored the Astros 14-13 in the second quarter with four points from Smith and five points by Caleb Rice, as Rice made a 3-pointer and two-point basket. Rice for the game had five points. 

The second frame also saw Friend score three points off a basket and a made free throw, while teammate Landyn Hoskins scored two points off a basket. 

FHS led 32-24 at halftime, a lead of eight points. 

The two teams combined for 12 points in the third with the Lions winning the frame at 8-4 as Smith sank a 3-pointer, and Friend scored five points off a 3-pointer and two-point bucket, for a 40-28 lead after three quarters.

In the fourth frame, the Lions scored 13 points, and ECHS had a 10-point quarter to end the game. The Lions had two baskets for four points by Smith in the fourth, while Friend sank three baskets for six points. The quarter also saw Layne Burgess make a basket for two points, and McIntosh scored a point with a made free throw. 

Burgess and teammate Hoskins each finished the game with two points. As a team, FHS totaled 16 two-point baskets, five 3-pointers, and they were 6-of-16 from the free-throw line. 

East Clinton was led by Xander Lake with 17 points, followed by Peyton Lilly with nine points. The rest of the ECHS individual scoring included: Aidan Warner (5), Kaiden Roth (5) and Kylan Ford (2).

East Clinton team totals were nine two-point baskets, four 3-pointers, and they were 6-of-8 from the free-throw line. 
This was East Clinton’s second consecutive loss, moving to 7-3 overall as they are also 5-0 in the SBAAC National standings. 

Fairfield improves to 4-3 overall, and they are 2-3 in the SHAC Division II standings.

Next for the Lions is a non-conference home game at the Chad Hodson Classic on Saturday, Jan. 3 at Grandle Gymnasium, as they are scheduled to face Western Latham at 7:45 p.m. 

BOX SCORE
FHS       18 14 08 13 — 53
ECHS    11 13 04 10 — 38