Fairfield picks up SEC win Friday

As Fort Madison fell into deep foul trouble in the second half of Friday?s contest at Fairfield, the Trojans went to the free throw line and stretched a five-point lead to as many as 14 to end the third period en route to a 46-30 Southeast Conference victory.

The first six points of the 9-0 Fairfield (3-16, 1-7 SEC) run came from the charity stripe as the Trojans enjoyed an 11-1 deficit in team fouls. Derek Byrnes then beat the buzzer with a corner three-pointer to send Fairfield into the fourth quarter with a 46-30 lead. Fort Madison (2-16, 1-7) never cut the lead to less than 12 points in the final eight minutes as five Fairfield seniors left the court on senior night with their first conference victory of the season.

?I?m just happy that the seniors could go out with a win,? said head coach Jeff Ebling. ?They?ve been working hard and deserved to get this one.?

The Bloodhounds? 30 points is the lowest total of the season given up by Fairfield, and also allowed the Trojans to avenge a 35-33 loss at Fort Madison on Jan. 11.

?Losing down there by two points in a game we didn?t play very well really felt like one we let slip away,? Ebling said. ?They wanted this one pretty bad, and they went out and got it.?

Fairfield made 18-28 free throws while Fort Madison made just eight total trips to the line and struggled from the field.

?It?s not like we shot very well, ourselves but defensively we were right there challenging every shot they took,? said Ebling. ?They also had a height advantage, but we did well on the boards and the guys really got after it.?

Grant Curran scored the first two buckets of the game for Fairfield, but Fort Madison enjoyed an early 7-4 lead before five straight points from Byrnes gave the Trojans a lead at the mid-point of the opening quarter that they would never surrender. Byrnes and Curran both scored 11 to lead a balanced Fairfield scoring attack that featured seven apiece from big men Willie Ghent and Davis Lowenberg. Josh Hyde was perfect from the free throw line for the game and finished with six points.

?We made some good passes, found some open guys underneath, and really attacked them well all night,? Ebling said. ?That?s what we have to do if we?re going to be competitive.?

With the win, Fairfield hopes for a similar result in tonight?s regular season finale at home vs. Chariton.

Fort Madison @ Fairfield

Ft. Madison ? 9 12 4 5 ? 30

Fairfield ? 12 16 11 7 ? 46

FORT MADISON ? Ross 0 1-2 1, Luse 2 0-0 5, Muth 0 0-0 0, Edwards 1 1-2 3, Hunter 0 0-0 0, Westfall 0 0-0 0, Grinstead 0 0-0 0, Perry 6 0-0 13, Hayes 0 2-4 2

3-point goals ? Luse 1, Perry 1

FAIRFIELD ? Byrnes 4 1-3 11, Moran 1 2-2 4, Hyde 1 4-4 6, Curran 2 7-12 11, Reid 0 0-0 0, Lowenberg 2 3-5 7, Ghent 3 1-2 7, Total 13 18-28 46

3-point goals ? Byrnes 2