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Fairfield foils MP for Flattery’s 300th win
JJ Lane pours in 18 points as Trojans earn revenge against Panthers
Andy Krutsinger
Feb. 12, 2022 2:31 am, Updated: Feb. 13, 2022 11:15 am
MT. PLEASANT — Fairfield boys basketball coach Mick Flattery has now won 300 games in the sport of high school hoops.
Flattery’s Trojans knocked off rival Mt. Pleasant 47-41 to earn their head coach a milestone victory in their final Southeast Conference bout of the year.
Not only did Flattery’s bunch earn number 300, but they moved into a tie with Mt. Pleasant for fourth place in the SEC and snapped a five-game losing streak to the Panthers in the process.
“This one tonight was more important than 300,” Flattery said.
The Trojans jumped out to an early 14-5 lead but Mt. Pleasant clawed back to cut Fairfield’s lead to 14-12 after the first quarter buzzer. The Panthers would tie it up briefly in the second quarter, but Fairfield would lead 26-21 at halftime and 39-30 after three.
Fairfield guard JJ Lane was red-hot from the field all night. He scored 18 points on the night to lead the Trojans’ charge.
“Our conference has been tough on us this year, so this is a big win for us,” Lane said. “Mt. Pleasant is always one of our biggest rivals, so we always want to come in and compete with them.”
Max Weaton scored 11 points to give Fairfield two double-digit scorers. Evan Haines put up eight points. Tate Allen had six, and Joey Valdez scored four.
Mt. Pleasant’s Payton Hagans put up 14 points in the loss. Aaiden Ashton scored eight. Dewon Trent had seven. Carter Amos had six, and Owen Vansickel had four.
“There were about three minutes in the third period and three minutes to start the fourth where we were pretty stale,” said Mt. Pleasant head coach Eric Rawson. “We've got to move on and regroup. It's that time of year.”
Fairfield is now 9-10 overall. Mt. Pleasant is 8-12. Both squads ended the SEC schedule at 3-7.
Both the Trojans and Panthers have one more regular season game left. Mt. Pleasant will end its season on Tuesday night in Pella. Fairfield will be done one night earlier, as Flattery looks for win number 301 at Iowa City West on Monday.
Flattery said he is proud of the players he has coached over the years, and of the adults they’ve become.
“It's more about the relationships,” said Flattery. “Hearing that they're now dads, or business people or whatever. It's cool that I get to coach some of the guys' kids now. Fairfield is a great place to coach.”
Fairfield’s Joey Valdez (4) and Hunter Cecchini (23) leap up for a rebound on Friday night in Mt. Pleasant. (Andy Krutsinger/The Union)
Fairfield’s Max Weaton (right) drives the ball while being guarded by Mt. Pleasant’s Carter Amos (left) on Friday night. (Andy Krutsinger/The Union)
Mt. Pleasant’s Owen Vansickel splits the Fairfield defense on a layup attempt on Friday night. (Andy Krutsinger/The Union)
Mt. Pleasant’s Aaiden Ashton pulls down a rebound during the Panthers’ home loss to Fairfield on Friday night. (Andy Krutsinger/The Union)