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Washington Evening Journal
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Trojans fight to the end
Fairfield hoops gives mild scare to 2nd-seeded Mount Vernon in Substate quarters
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
MOUNT VERNON — The Fairfield boys basketball team brought the fight to second-seeded Mount Vernon on Monday night.
The Trojans made the Mustangs work for all four quarters, despite having 10 less wins coming into the Class 3A Substate 4 quarterfinals. Unfortunately for Fairfield fans, the team still fell a little short, dropping the contest 66-57 to close out the 2024-25 boys basketball season.
“They didn't have anything to lose,” Trojan head coach Nate Perkins said of his squad. “They came out, played hard and took advantage of opportunities.”
Fairfield let it be known early that the matchup between the second and seventh seeded teams in the substate wasn’t going to be a runaway. The Trojans traded buckets with Mount Vernon throughout the first eight minutes, and had the game tied in the final seconds of the first.
The game was tied 12-12, and the Trojans had the ball with a chance to go ahead before the first quarter buzzer, but a missed opportunity turned into a half-court heave by the Mustangs, and a foul on the shot put Mount Vernon on the line. Two of three free throw attempts sank, and Mount Vernon led 14-12 after the first quarter.
The Mustangs stretched that advantage to 35-25 by halftime, but Fairfield would get it back to seven, trailing 47-40 after three quarters.
The Trojans cut the game down to two possessions in the fourth, but couldn’t hold off Mount Vernon’s inside offense, which led the Mustangs to a 53% shooting day. Fairfield shot over 50% as well, but the Mustangs were able to put up eight more shots than the Trojans in the game.
Fairfield’s Riley Perkins went off in the second half and ended the night with 28 points, most of which came on the back of eight 3-pointers. He was 8-for-13 from beyond the arc, and also led the team with five assists.
Elli Zillman had a nice night too, scoring 17 points. Andrew Myers finished with five. Ethan Bisgard had three points and three steals. Voss Richardson ended the day with three points, and Luke Konczal went for one point, seven rebounds and two blocked shots.
The Trojans will lose three seniors in the offseason; Perkins, Konczal and Ryan Giberson. Fairfield went 6-16 this year, winning five more games than last season.
“They're coming along as far as basketball skills go,” said Perkins of his returners. “They've taken that step, so the future looks good.”
