eagles_victory
03-01-2006, 02:54 PM
Crucial turnoverscostly for Fairfield
WAXAHACHIE — In a game where mistakes were unforgivable, the Fairfield Eagles made too many.
Even a gutsy effort that included two key comebacks wasn’t enough to make up for the errors, as Waco La Vega celebrated a 60-56 win in the Region III-3A Quarterfinals at a packed George W. Solis Gymnasium.
The Pirates’ victory put them back in the regional tournament for the first time since 2002, and prevented the Eagles from returning there for the ninth straight season.
The No. 5-ranked Pirates cut down the nets as first-year coach Clay Cody basked in the delight of a trip to Huntsville Friday.
“I thought we had to play really, really well to stay with them, and we did,” Cody said. “Fairfield’s as good as they get in state. We had to play our best game and we did tonight.”
All of Fairfield’s 21 turnovers were costly, but none moreso than the two that came in the last 12 seconds of the game.
The Eagles came out of a timeout trailing 59-56 at that point, in search of an open 3-pointer. La Vega’s Trey Wilson anticipated Alfraid Manning’s throw-in, and made a clutch steal before Fairfield had a chance to shoot.
“When Trey stole the ball we were switching everything on the perimeter,” Cody said. “He jumped it and made a big-time steal. I wish he would’ve pulled it out a little bit. He’s an offensive guard (in football) so he doesn’t jump very well.”
Manning didn’t give up on the play and swatted Wilson from behind as he attempted a breakaway layup. He gathered the ball and tried to force it upcourt, this time throwing it out of bounds over Nolan Melontree’s head with 3.2 ticks left.
Fairfield fouled Joe Sanders on the ensuing inbound, and the senior made the last of two free throws to lock it up.
“It goes back to their fight,” Fairfield coach Joey Worley said. “When it looks like it should be done, we go down and get a block and give ourselves another opportunity. They obviously didn’t play their best game, but I was tremendously proud of their fight. Several times they were down about eight and came back.”
Neither team led by more than three the entire first half, but a 5-0 run to open the third gave the Pirates their largest lead of the game at 35-27. The Eagles quickly cut the deficit to four, but La Vega again built it up to eight with 2:10 remaining in the third when 6-6 junior Jordan Glynn converted a three-point play when he was fouled on a spinning putback.
The Eagles couldn’t find an answer for the wiry Glynn, who scored 17 of his game-high 23 points in the first half. He was also the main reason the Pirates outrebounded Fairfield 34-22, as he pulled down 18 boards — 11 which came on the offensive glass.
“We had trouble keeping him off the boards,” Worley said. “Some of that was we were getting hurt on dribble penetration and the posts were having to help.”
The Pirates’ aggressive defense limited the Eagles’ inside game and forced them to the perimeter. They only knocked down 4 of 14 from beyond the 3-point arc, but hit a couple big treys that kept them in it late.
Jarrett Manning drained a 3 from the top of the key with just two seconds left in the third that cut La Vega’s lead to 45-43. Then, with 26 seconds left in the fourth, Melontree — who finished with a team-high 16 points — sunk his second triple of the night to bring it within one point at 57-56. It was the closest to victory the Eagles would get.
Fairfield struggled at the free-throw line, connecting on just 6 of 20 attempts (30 percent). Senior Asa Douglas’s slashing style earned him 10 points, but he only hit 2 of 9 from the charity stripe.
“(It made a) tremendous difference,” Worley said. “Obviously in a close game like that, free throws come back to haunt you.”
Afterward, Worley provided some comforting words for a somber Eagles club that finishes the 2005-06 season at 29-6.
“We just talked to them about keeping their head up,” he said. “We told our seniors how much we appreciated them. We couldn’t remember the last time a Fairfield team won 29 games. We encouraged our juniors to take this and work harder for next year.”
The Eagles lose seniors Douglas, Chase Gillian, Bryan Baize and Cody Wynn, but return four of five starters next season.
“It should be a tremendous year for us,” Worley said. “We had five juniors that played their whole sophomore and junior years. They’ve got plenty of experience together and it should pay off.”
WAXAHACHIE — In a game where mistakes were unforgivable, the Fairfield Eagles made too many.
Even a gutsy effort that included two key comebacks wasn’t enough to make up for the errors, as Waco La Vega celebrated a 60-56 win in the Region III-3A Quarterfinals at a packed George W. Solis Gymnasium.
The Pirates’ victory put them back in the regional tournament for the first time since 2002, and prevented the Eagles from returning there for the ninth straight season.
The No. 5-ranked Pirates cut down the nets as first-year coach Clay Cody basked in the delight of a trip to Huntsville Friday.
“I thought we had to play really, really well to stay with them, and we did,” Cody said. “Fairfield’s as good as they get in state. We had to play our best game and we did tonight.”
All of Fairfield’s 21 turnovers were costly, but none moreso than the two that came in the last 12 seconds of the game.
The Eagles came out of a timeout trailing 59-56 at that point, in search of an open 3-pointer. La Vega’s Trey Wilson anticipated Alfraid Manning’s throw-in, and made a clutch steal before Fairfield had a chance to shoot.
“When Trey stole the ball we were switching everything on the perimeter,” Cody said. “He jumped it and made a big-time steal. I wish he would’ve pulled it out a little bit. He’s an offensive guard (in football) so he doesn’t jump very well.”
Manning didn’t give up on the play and swatted Wilson from behind as he attempted a breakaway layup. He gathered the ball and tried to force it upcourt, this time throwing it out of bounds over Nolan Melontree’s head with 3.2 ticks left.
Fairfield fouled Joe Sanders on the ensuing inbound, and the senior made the last of two free throws to lock it up.
“It goes back to their fight,” Fairfield coach Joey Worley said. “When it looks like it should be done, we go down and get a block and give ourselves another opportunity. They obviously didn’t play their best game, but I was tremendously proud of their fight. Several times they were down about eight and came back.”
Neither team led by more than three the entire first half, but a 5-0 run to open the third gave the Pirates their largest lead of the game at 35-27. The Eagles quickly cut the deficit to four, but La Vega again built it up to eight with 2:10 remaining in the third when 6-6 junior Jordan Glynn converted a three-point play when he was fouled on a spinning putback.
The Eagles couldn’t find an answer for the wiry Glynn, who scored 17 of his game-high 23 points in the first half. He was also the main reason the Pirates outrebounded Fairfield 34-22, as he pulled down 18 boards — 11 which came on the offensive glass.
“We had trouble keeping him off the boards,” Worley said. “Some of that was we were getting hurt on dribble penetration and the posts were having to help.”
The Pirates’ aggressive defense limited the Eagles’ inside game and forced them to the perimeter. They only knocked down 4 of 14 from beyond the 3-point arc, but hit a couple big treys that kept them in it late.
Jarrett Manning drained a 3 from the top of the key with just two seconds left in the third that cut La Vega’s lead to 45-43. Then, with 26 seconds left in the fourth, Melontree — who finished with a team-high 16 points — sunk his second triple of the night to bring it within one point at 57-56. It was the closest to victory the Eagles would get.
Fairfield struggled at the free-throw line, connecting on just 6 of 20 attempts (30 percent). Senior Asa Douglas’s slashing style earned him 10 points, but he only hit 2 of 9 from the charity stripe.
“(It made a) tremendous difference,” Worley said. “Obviously in a close game like that, free throws come back to haunt you.”
Afterward, Worley provided some comforting words for a somber Eagles club that finishes the 2005-06 season at 29-6.
“We just talked to them about keeping their head up,” he said. “We told our seniors how much we appreciated them. We couldn’t remember the last time a Fairfield team won 29 games. We encouraged our juniors to take this and work harder for next year.”
The Eagles lose seniors Douglas, Chase Gillian, Bryan Baize and Cody Wynn, but return four of five starters next season.
“It should be a tremendous year for us,” Worley said. “We had five juniors that played their whole sophomore and junior years. They’ve got plenty of experience together and it should pay off.”