HUNTINGTON, W.

Sunday, January 30, 2000

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – At 6-foot-4, 240 pounds, there’s plenty of room for the Fairland Dragons to climb on Jay Capper’s back.

After losing to Tolsia in Wednesday’s semifinals, Capper took charge as he led the Dragons to a 68-57 win over the Huntington St. Joe Fighting Irish Friday to claim third place in the Class A-AA division of the Huntington St. Joe Invitational at Memorial Field House.

"We’ve played with better chemistry and we need to get back to that. Jay knew the urgency (to win) and he played well the whole game," Fairland coach Joey Thacker said. "He made a point to assert himself. He put us on his back and carried us."

Capper put together a huge game with 26 points, 11 rebounds, and three steals as Fairland claimed third place.

"I was disappointed with my effort Wednesday night," Capper said. "I told myself before the game I was going to show people Fairland was a good team. We’ve been playing good basketball up until Wednesday.

"Aaron (Swanton) handled the ball well and shot well. He shot with a lot of confidence."

Swanton and others helped ease some of the load on Capper’s back. Swanton had 16 points including 4-of-5 from 3-point range.

Buddy Massie had nine points and four assists while J. W. Jones had six rebounds and Josh Dunfee nine points.

"This has been a tough week," Thacker said. "Dunfee’s uncle was in an accident and he’s been in critical condition. He played well with a lot of heart. I’m proud of him."

St. Joe (3-12) was led by Adam Gursky with 19. Ryan Cole had 14 and Chad Lake 10.

The Irish had visions of upset in their mind early as they jump out to a 15-4 lead and were up 19-12 at the end of the quarter when Gursky hit a 15-footer with three seconds on the clock.

Fairland (8-4) responded with an 8-0 run to start the second quarter as Swanton nailed a pair of 3-pointers.

Down 24-20, Capper hit three straight field goals inside and Fairland took a 26-24 lead.

Cole sank two free throws to tie the game, but Swanton’s 3-pointer gave Fairland a 29-26 lead at the half.

Swanton and Massie hit 3-pointers to open the second half and Fairland used another 8-0 run for a 37-28 lead.

A 3-point play by Capper at the 2:14 mark pushed the lead to 51-32 at the 2:14 mark, but a 3-pointer by Cole and four points by Gursky got the Irish back within 51-41 at the end of the quarter.

"We played in spurts on both ends of the floor," said Thacker.

The Dragons scored the first five points of the fourth quarter, but St. Joe closed the gap to 58-51 on a layup by Cole with 2:10 to play.

But Capper followed up a missed shot, Swanton sank two free throws, and Capper hit a 15-footer to settle outcome.

FAIRLAND – 12 17 22 17 – 68: Josh Dunfee 3-6 (3-4) 0-0 9, Aaron Swanton 5-10 (4-5) 2-2 16, Buddy Massie 2-6 (2-4) 3-4 9, J. W. Jones 1-3 (0-0) 0-2 2, Jay Capper 12-17 (0-0) 2-3 26, K. C. Jones 1-3 (0-0) 3-3 5, Glen Chapman 0-2 (0-0) 0-0 0, Jeff Crespo 0-0 (0-0) 0-0 0, Darren Colburn 0-0 (0-0) 1-2 1. Totals: 24-47 (9-13) 11-16 68. Fouls: 9. Fouled out: None. Rebounds: 26 (Capper 11, J.W. Jones 6). Assists: 11 (Massie 4, Swanton 2, Dunfee 2). Steals: 6 (Capper 3, J. W. Jones 2). Turnovers: 11.

HUNTINGTON ST. JOE – 19 7 15 16 – 57: Martin Cherry 2-5 (0-0) 0-0 4, Adam Gursky 6-13 (3-6) 4-4 19, Ryan Cole 5-9 (2-4) 2-2 14, Chad Lake 5-10 (0-0) 0-0 10, Chris Evans 1-1 (1-1) 0-0 3, Seth Blatt 0-1 (0-0) 1-2 1, Alex Boyer 1-1 (1-1) 0-0 3, Corey Johnston 1-2 (1-2) 0-0 3, Alex Baker 0-0 (0-0) 0-0 0. Totals: 21-42 (8-13) 7-8 57. Fouls: 14. Fouled out: None. Rebounds: 14 (Cole 5, Lake 5). Assists: 6 (Gursky 4, Cole 2). Steals: 6 (Cole 4, Gursky 2). Turnovers: 11.