mwynn05
01-02-2007, 01:15 PM
Fairfield takes Whataburger Tournament title
By Tony Marquis
It was a tough Christmas break for the Fairfield boys basketball team.
After losing its first game of the season in a rematch with Crockett on Dec. 15, the No. 9-ranked Eagles got some more bad news. Forward Phillip Ireland injured his hand and had to have eight stitches after he rammed it into a locker and Keiston Gatson left the team for personal reasons.
With the biggest tournament of the year approaching Thursday, Fairfield seemed to have little momentum.
Enter Alfraid Manning.
Just in time, the senior forward returned to the starting lineup after missing all of the Eagles’ 13 pre-Christmas games. With Manning’s help and the strong defensive play of Eric Palmer, the Eagles won the Blue Division of the prestigious Whataburger tournament, held at Nolan Catholic High School in Fort Worth.
In his first games back from a dislocated shoulder, Manning averaged 10.7 points, but it was his defense — along with Palmer’s — that helped Fairfield take down a field of top-ranked teams in four close games.
Every game came down to the last shot for the Eagles and every game was against a team ranked in the Top 15 of their classification according to the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches poll.
In its second season being invited to the tournament, Fairfield beat Martin’s Mill, the No. 2-ranked team in Class 1A-Division I, 46-43, to take home the title.
Alfraid wasn’t named to the All-Tournament team, but his cousin, Jarrett Manning was named tournament most valuable player. Jarrett averaged 16.3 points per game.
Also named to the All-Tournament team were guards Billy McMillian and Palmer, who was honored despite averaging 5.5 points in the tournament.
According to Fairfield coach Joey Worley, the committee that decided the all-tournament team must have been impressed with Palmer’s defense and hustle.
“He was everywhere,” Worley said. “He got so many loose balls and slaps out of people’s hands. The ball would be on the floor and he would end up with it.”
On Friday, Fairfield had to play two Class 2A basketball-only schools in No. 5 Ponder and No. 11 Peaster.
Against Ponder, guard/forward Eric Bradford came off the bench to contribute 10 points to a 61-59 win. The Eagles also had 18 steals, led by Billy McMillian with seven.
McMillian was the star of the 51-47 win over Peaster, hitting six three-pointers and scoring 24 points to lead Fairfield.
In the championship game, Jarrett scored a team-high 18 points, including two free throws that put the Eagles up by three. Martin’s Mill had two chances to tie the game but missed on both.
To get to the final, Martin’s Mill had beaten Burkburnett and Argyle, two teams ranked above the Eagles — at No. 5 and 6, respectively — in the Class 3A rankings.
It was a historic run for Fairfield that almost didn’t take place.
Despite getting Manning back in the first-round game against Forth Worth Christian — the No. 14-ranked team in the Large School Division of private schools — the Eagles had to play two extra overtime periods to win, 76-68.
Fairfield started off slow, trailing FW Christian 28-10 at one time.
It was looking bleak for Fairfield, but the Eagles battled back and had a chance to close the game out in regulation, but Palmer missed two free throws. He did redeem himself at the end of the first overtime by making a buzzer-beating basket to extend the game.
Fairfield entered the Whataburger Tournament with the least impressive resume and past record of its competitors.
Each team the Eagles faced had either a first-team or second-team all-state player from last year on its roster.
“We were the no-name team at the tournament,” Worley said. “We felt real fortunate to even be invited. We didn’t know if we’d ever be able to win it. We just went to get to play the caliber of schools (that were there).”http://www.corsicanadailysun.com/sports/local_story_002094019.html?keyword=topstory
Tonight Fairfield will travel to Bellmead and play La Vega who is ranked #16 by TABC and 10 by TexasHoops.com
By Tony Marquis
It was a tough Christmas break for the Fairfield boys basketball team.
After losing its first game of the season in a rematch with Crockett on Dec. 15, the No. 9-ranked Eagles got some more bad news. Forward Phillip Ireland injured his hand and had to have eight stitches after he rammed it into a locker and Keiston Gatson left the team for personal reasons.
With the biggest tournament of the year approaching Thursday, Fairfield seemed to have little momentum.
Enter Alfraid Manning.
Just in time, the senior forward returned to the starting lineup after missing all of the Eagles’ 13 pre-Christmas games. With Manning’s help and the strong defensive play of Eric Palmer, the Eagles won the Blue Division of the prestigious Whataburger tournament, held at Nolan Catholic High School in Fort Worth.
In his first games back from a dislocated shoulder, Manning averaged 10.7 points, but it was his defense — along with Palmer’s — that helped Fairfield take down a field of top-ranked teams in four close games.
Every game came down to the last shot for the Eagles and every game was against a team ranked in the Top 15 of their classification according to the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches poll.
In its second season being invited to the tournament, Fairfield beat Martin’s Mill, the No. 2-ranked team in Class 1A-Division I, 46-43, to take home the title.
Alfraid wasn’t named to the All-Tournament team, but his cousin, Jarrett Manning was named tournament most valuable player. Jarrett averaged 16.3 points per game.
Also named to the All-Tournament team were guards Billy McMillian and Palmer, who was honored despite averaging 5.5 points in the tournament.
According to Fairfield coach Joey Worley, the committee that decided the all-tournament team must have been impressed with Palmer’s defense and hustle.
“He was everywhere,” Worley said. “He got so many loose balls and slaps out of people’s hands. The ball would be on the floor and he would end up with it.”
On Friday, Fairfield had to play two Class 2A basketball-only schools in No. 5 Ponder and No. 11 Peaster.
Against Ponder, guard/forward Eric Bradford came off the bench to contribute 10 points to a 61-59 win. The Eagles also had 18 steals, led by Billy McMillian with seven.
McMillian was the star of the 51-47 win over Peaster, hitting six three-pointers and scoring 24 points to lead Fairfield.
In the championship game, Jarrett scored a team-high 18 points, including two free throws that put the Eagles up by three. Martin’s Mill had two chances to tie the game but missed on both.
To get to the final, Martin’s Mill had beaten Burkburnett and Argyle, two teams ranked above the Eagles — at No. 5 and 6, respectively — in the Class 3A rankings.
It was a historic run for Fairfield that almost didn’t take place.
Despite getting Manning back in the first-round game against Forth Worth Christian — the No. 14-ranked team in the Large School Division of private schools — the Eagles had to play two extra overtime periods to win, 76-68.
Fairfield started off slow, trailing FW Christian 28-10 at one time.
It was looking bleak for Fairfield, but the Eagles battled back and had a chance to close the game out in regulation, but Palmer missed two free throws. He did redeem himself at the end of the first overtime by making a buzzer-beating basket to extend the game.
Fairfield entered the Whataburger Tournament with the least impressive resume and past record of its competitors.
Each team the Eagles faced had either a first-team or second-team all-state player from last year on its roster.
“We were the no-name team at the tournament,” Worley said. “We felt real fortunate to even be invited. We didn’t know if we’d ever be able to win it. We just went to get to play the caliber of schools (that were there).”http://www.corsicanadailysun.com/sports/local_story_002094019.html?keyword=topstory
Tonight Fairfield will travel to Bellmead and play La Vega who is ranked #16 by TABC and 10 by TexasHoops.com