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Washington Evening Journal
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Fairfield fades in 2nd half
Trojan boys compete with Pella early, Dutch go off in final 2 quarters
FAIRFIELD — The Fairfield boys basketball team had its hands full on Tuesday night when a tough Pella squad came into town.
The Trojans were looking for their first win over the Dutch since 2017, but a tough second half doomed the team to a non-conference defeat.
Pella led 19-7 after the first quarter, but the Trojans cut the lead all the way down to three points, at 22-19 midway through the second period.
“We've struggled with a lot of offensive movement and shooting on one and two passes,” said head coach Nate Perkins. “Tonight we moved the ball better, and we controlled the clock more. We played good rotational defense and made them take tough shots.”
The Trojans were right in it up into the final two minutes of the second quarter, when Pella went on a runt to stretch it to 37-21.
Fairfield did get a spark at the end of the second period. Riley Perkins took a pass from Luke Konczal and launched a half-court shot into the hoop at the first half buzzer, and the game was 37-24 at the break.
Unfortunately for the Trojans, Pella turned it on in the final two quarters. Pella outscored Fairfield 24-14 in the third quarter and 19-4 in the fourth.
“All the things we did right in the first half kind of came back at us in the second half,” Coach Perkins said. “We all got a little tired. Our shot selection wasn't as good. Our ball movement wasn't as good.”
The Trojans were battling illness coming into the game, and Coach Perkins said playing a depthy team like the Dutch didn’t help. Pella dominated the boards in the second half, and out-rebounded Fairfield 41-27 altogether.
“Most of our guys aren't that tall,” Perkins said. “We have to rebound as a group, and they crashed hard tonight.”
Riley Perkins led the squad with 3 points, including the team’s only three 3-point baskets on the night. Eli Zillman and Sam Weaton each had 10 points and six rebounds. Ben Boatright finished with six points, and Konczal finished with three.
All 42 of Fairfield’s points came from the starting five.
Fairfield is now 1-5 on the year. The Trojans will put their 0-2 record on the line at home against Keokuk (4-1, 2-0) on Friday night.
