Chaos ensues, Fairfield prevails

FAIRFIELD — What started out as a great basketball game for Fairfield against Iowa City High on Monday night ended with chaos.

Fairfield would win the game 77-63, but not before drama ensued on the court.

As the game progressed, tensions began to rise from the Iowa City High side. After a pair of technical free throws, which came from the ejection of the Little Hawks head coach, an Iowa City High fan was ejected for berating the referees in the early stages of the fourth quarter.

Tensions boiled over with just two minutes to go in the game, with the Trojans leading by 14, 77-63, as Fairfield’s Tate Allen was fouled by Iowa City High’s Evan Lampe. The two earlier crossed paths when Lampe tried to rip the ball out of Allen’s arms after he dove for a loose ball in the first.

This time around the foul committed was Lampe’s fifth and final, but instead of heading over the bench, Lampe beelined for Allen knocking him over with full force and proceeding to throw a punch while Allen’s back was on the court.

Coaches from both teams rushed the court to break up the scuffle. After a five minute intermission to calm the pressure, the referees made the decision to call off the contest, notching the Trojans second straight win, 77-63.

Despite the drama, it was great outing for the Trojans.

The Trojans jumped out to a 7-3 lead, before the Little Hawks lept back in front. They would lead by at most three up until the 3:19 mark.

With the game locked at 11-11, JJ Lane buried back-to-back threes to push the Trojan lead to 17-11. They would never trail again.

“The scout team does a really good job,” Fairfield head coach Mick Flattery said. “Our assistants do a really good job at getting the game plan that I want them to run. Our guys did a really good job defensively. Our guys made great shots. We had huge baskets from everyone and great balance all around.”

After a three by City High made it just a five point game, 20-15, Fairfield sophomore Riley Perkins dropped in a three to make it 23-15. Perkins was huge for the Trojans on the night, as he would connect on six shots from deep.

“It feels great to be a part of this rotation,” Pekins said. “It feels great. I hit my shots when I was open and teammates got me the ball. They knew I was hot and that’s how it went. It just feels great.”

Fairfield continued to work in the second quarter.

A Max Weaton and-1 and a Perkins three sparked what would be a 17-7 run to the midway point in the second period. Lane capped off the run with three to make it a 17 point affair, 39-22, the Trojans largest lead of the night.

City High rallied back to the halftime whistle though as they put together a run of their own, 11-3, to get it back to single digits at the break, 42-33.

To start the third, the Little Hawks got it to five, 42-37, before Ryan Higgins broke the scoring spell with a pair.

The Trojans were able to keep the margin in their favor.

With 2:55 to go in the third, City High came as close as they would the rest of the way out, cutting it to just four, 50-46. Once again Fairfield answered.

In the final minutes, Allen scored five straight to make it 55-46 and with less than 30 seconds to go, Perkins sunk a three to make it a 10 point game heading into the final eight minutes of action, 58-48.

In the fourth, Fairfield was able to hang on, never letting City High get back to single digits.

Weaton finished with 24 points and 15 rebounds for Fairfield. Perkins finished his hot shooting night with 22 points. JJ Lane added 19 points and six assists. Allen ended with eight points. Higgins and Myles McEntee each had two.

“We just got to keep going,” Perkins said. “We have to keep driving and we’ll do well. We’re staying as one and that’s really positive for us. If we keep doing that, we got it.”