Fairfield struggles in second half in loss to Washington
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
HILLSBORO — After a close first half where the Fairfield Lions and the Washington Blue Lions played to a two-point difference, it was the Blue Lions who dominated the final two quarters, giving the South Central Ohio League the first win of the SCOL-SHL Challenge, 58-40 Thursday, at Hillsboro High School.
Though Fairfield, of the Southern Hills League, returned standout Chris Cox for the first time since the first game of the year (due to injury), they were unable to keep pace with Washington (5-2) in the final two quarters. FHS was outscored, 30-14, with the Lions scoring eight in the third and six in the fourth.
Washington's 15-point third quarter started with Michael Penwell increasing their lead to four points, but quick play by Quentin Williams made it a two-point game, once again, at 30-28.
The Blue Lions answered with an eight-point run, increasing their lead to 10 points with 4:16 left in the third. In the third, Kyle Slone led the Blue Lions with six of the 15 points. Chris Warning sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer for a 43-34 lead.
For Fairfield, Ian Adams led with six points in the third. Adams finished with eight points.
In the final eight minutes, Washington didn't let up with Slone leading the way. Slone was 7-of-8 in the quarter from the free-throw line, along with two field goals. The senior finished with a game-high 32 points. For the game, Slone was 8-of-9 from the free-throw line, with nine two-point baskets and two 3-pointers.
The fourth frame for Fairfield was slim in the scoring column, with Adams, Cameron Rolark and Cox (who tallied 10 points), scoring two points each.
"It took him (Cox) a quarter, I thought, to get going, offensively and defensively. They (Washington) did a good job of defending him," FHS head coach Matt Carson said. "We didn't finish under the basketball. It was a physical ball game, but for his first game back, he played well."
Though the second half was 16 minutes to forget for FHS, the first half stood out for both teams.
The first quarter belonged to Rolark.
Rolark made four 3-pointers, scoring the first six FHS points, then tying the game at nine and 12 with his precise shooting from beyond the arc. Slone also dominated in the opening frame, scoring 11 points, with two 3-pointers.
Rolark, who finished the game with 19 points, tied the game at 12 on his fourth 3-pointer, with 1:34 remaining, then put FHS up by two with a 2-of-2 effort from the free-throw line 15 seconds later.
"Cameron is streaky like that sometimes," Carson said. "He got hot in the first quarter, but not by design, stopped shooting in the second half, but he shot well in the first half."
Slone came back with a three-point play 13 seconds later for a 15-14 Blue Lion advantage. The first quarter ended with Cox and Wallace exchanging layups for a Washington 17-16 lead.
With both teams combining for 21 points in the second quarter, FHS was first to score with Cox knocking down two free throws, but was topped with a 3-pointer by the Blue Lions for a 20-18 lead with 6:11 left in the frame.
Rolark made his fifth 3-pointer of the half with .57 seconds left in the quarter, bringing FHS within four points of the Blue Lion lead. Cox made the final basket of the first half, with FHS finishing the first half off an 8-0 run.
The loss drops FHS to 0-5 overall. The Blue Lions improve to 5-2 on the season.
"I know the kids are frustrated … I'm very frustrated," Carson said. "The kids are working their butts off, it just seems like we do some things fundamentally wrong that we need to work on in practice. Our turnovers have hurt us all season long, we have tried everything in the world to correct them, and we will still try to correct them.
"Seems like five games into the season, we are still without an identity, and we are still trying to figure out what that identity is. We'll keep looking and searching, it's just frustrating right now, and we want to do things the right way."
FHS will play again on Tuesday, Dec. 28 against the McClain Tigers at McClain High School.[[In-content Ad]]
Though Fairfield, of the Southern Hills League, returned standout Chris Cox for the first time since the first game of the year (due to injury), they were unable to keep pace with Washington (5-2) in the final two quarters. FHS was outscored, 30-14, with the Lions scoring eight in the third and six in the fourth.
Washington's 15-point third quarter started with Michael Penwell increasing their lead to four points, but quick play by Quentin Williams made it a two-point game, once again, at 30-28.
The Blue Lions answered with an eight-point run, increasing their lead to 10 points with 4:16 left in the third. In the third, Kyle Slone led the Blue Lions with six of the 15 points. Chris Warning sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer for a 43-34 lead.
For Fairfield, Ian Adams led with six points in the third. Adams finished with eight points.
In the final eight minutes, Washington didn't let up with Slone leading the way. Slone was 7-of-8 in the quarter from the free-throw line, along with two field goals. The senior finished with a game-high 32 points. For the game, Slone was 8-of-9 from the free-throw line, with nine two-point baskets and two 3-pointers.
The fourth frame for Fairfield was slim in the scoring column, with Adams, Cameron Rolark and Cox (who tallied 10 points), scoring two points each.
"It took him (Cox) a quarter, I thought, to get going, offensively and defensively. They (Washington) did a good job of defending him," FHS head coach Matt Carson said. "We didn't finish under the basketball. It was a physical ball game, but for his first game back, he played well."
Though the second half was 16 minutes to forget for FHS, the first half stood out for both teams.
The first quarter belonged to Rolark.
Rolark made four 3-pointers, scoring the first six FHS points, then tying the game at nine and 12 with his precise shooting from beyond the arc. Slone also dominated in the opening frame, scoring 11 points, with two 3-pointers.
Rolark, who finished the game with 19 points, tied the game at 12 on his fourth 3-pointer, with 1:34 remaining, then put FHS up by two with a 2-of-2 effort from the free-throw line 15 seconds later.
"Cameron is streaky like that sometimes," Carson said. "He got hot in the first quarter, but not by design, stopped shooting in the second half, but he shot well in the first half."
Slone came back with a three-point play 13 seconds later for a 15-14 Blue Lion advantage. The first quarter ended with Cox and Wallace exchanging layups for a Washington 17-16 lead.
With both teams combining for 21 points in the second quarter, FHS was first to score with Cox knocking down two free throws, but was topped with a 3-pointer by the Blue Lions for a 20-18 lead with 6:11 left in the frame.
Rolark made his fifth 3-pointer of the half with .57 seconds left in the quarter, bringing FHS within four points of the Blue Lion lead. Cox made the final basket of the first half, with FHS finishing the first half off an 8-0 run.
The loss drops FHS to 0-5 overall. The Blue Lions improve to 5-2 on the season.
"I know the kids are frustrated … I'm very frustrated," Carson said. "The kids are working their butts off, it just seems like we do some things fundamentally wrong that we need to work on in practice. Our turnovers have hurt us all season long, we have tried everything in the world to correct them, and we will still try to correct them.
"Seems like five games into the season, we are still without an identity, and we are still trying to figure out what that identity is. We'll keep looking and searching, it's just frustrating right now, and we want to do things the right way."
FHS will play again on Tuesday, Dec. 28 against the McClain Tigers at McClain High School.[[In-content Ad]]