Trojans on to the next one

The Fairfield boys' basketball team improved to 17-3 overall after defeating Centerville for the second time in three weeks with a 51-29 opening round victory Monday night in the Class 3A substate 5 bracket.

The Trojans scored the first 15 points of the game en route to a 22-8 lead after eight minutes of play.

'We came out with as much energy as our crowd--which was electric!!” said Fairfield head coach Mick Flattery who added, 'To Centerville's credit, they got back into the game right before half.”

The Big Reds outscored the home team 12-6 in the second quarter with a spurt before the halftime buzzer that cut their deficit to single digits.

'We talked about at half that we had to take better care of the ball,” explained Flattery. 'Way too many unforced turnovers. Our defense, once again, was really good. We forced 23 turnovers and held Centerville to only three offensive rebounds and 1-6 shooting from 3-point land.

Fairfield grinded out a physical third period that saw several players from both sides hit the deck or something harder, including junior Drew Martin getting flung into the scoreboard on a loose ball, however, the Trojans held a 9-4 advantage in scoring that extended their lead to 37-24 heading into the final frame of play.

A 14-5 sprint to the finish for Fairfield inspired the jersey-clad student section to chant, 'We-believe-that-we-just-won,” led by junior soccer standout Leone Gichure who was surrounded by FHS student-athletes and classmates.

'Really appreciate our home crowd once again,” added Flattery. 'Their Trojan spirit really helped make our gym a fun atmosphere. We need all of your help, plus more Thursday. This is our last home game of the year. Let's pack Trojan gymnasium with black and orange.”

Stats

'Carson Crile was on fire early, scoring all eight of his points in the first quarter while dominating the boards with 11 for the contest; Collin Breen scored 12 of his 15 points in the first half and was off to a great start. In the second half it was more inside scoring with Tristin [Waugh] and Austin [Simpson] doing much of the damage and Drew gave us great energy off the bench as always.”

Collin Breen 15 points, five deflection, three rebounds, three assists and three steals; Tristin Waugh 14 points, six rebounds and four steals; Carson Crile eight points, 11 rebounds and two assists; Austin Simpson seven points, eight rebounds, four deflections, four assists and three blocked shots; Cole Engle five points, three deflections and two rebounds; Drew Martin two points, four steals and three rebounds. 'Drew was great on the backside of our press, anticipating bad passes and coming up with many steals.” - Coach Flattery

Next

Fairfield will host 11-9 Mt. Pleasant Thursday at 7 p.m. inside Trojan Gymnasium at FHS with the victor facing the Oskaloosa/Washington winner Monday Feb. 25, either in Fairfield or Osky.