GLENHAYES, W.Va. — I thought the Elks Hoop Shooting foul shooting contest wasn’t until Thursday?

The Tolsia Rebels, ranked No. 3 in the West Virginia Class AA poll, used 24 of 40 free throw shooting to hang on and beat the Fairland Dragons 56-53 Tuesday in a non-league game.

“Free throws tell a lot of the story,” Fairland coach Chad Belville said. “(B.J.) Evans and (Kenny) Muncy got loose inside and got a lot of offensive rebounds in the second half. They were just really physical inside.”

Evans scored 28 points including 10 of 13 at the line. Muncy had 21 points and made 9 of 15 foul shots.

Fairland (3-3) had to do its damage from the field but made just 21 of 59 attempts for 36 percent. The Dragons were only 8 of 10 at the line.

“Our kids played their tails off. We played the No. 3 team in West Virginia and we had a chance to win. I was proud of the kids,” Belville said.

The Dragons took a 53-52 lead with 20 seconds to play. But Tolsia sank four foul shots and the Dragons had two 3-point attempts rim out before the buzzer.

Evans had 7 points as Tolsia took a 12-9 first quarter lead.

Fairland used its press to rally and take a 24-17 halftime lead.

The Dragons went up 26-17 to begin the third quarter before Tolsia went on a 13-0 run and came back to take a 35-34 lead at the end of the quarter.

The Rebels (3-1) made 21 foul shots in the second half and were 15 of 21 from the line in the fourth quarter.

Michael Lamb had 18 points and 7 rebounds while Cole Hatfield got 13 points and 3 assists to lead the Dragons.

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FAIRLAND (3-3): Zach Jordan 1-6 0-0 3-4 5, Matt Bloomfield 4-7 0-0 0-0 8, Jordan Kersey 1-3 0-0 0-0 2, Ethan Long 0-1 0-0 0-0 0, Cole Hatfield 3-13 2-4 1-1 13, Jacob Lucas 1-4 0-0 0-0 2, Zach Ferguson 1-1 0-0 -0 2, Michael Lamb 7-14 1-3 3-3 18, Caleb Hatfield 0-2 0-0 0-0 0, Dustin Bumgardner 0-1 0-0 1-2 1. Totals: 21-59

8-10

53. 3-point goals: 3-7. Rebounds: 35 (Lamb 7, Long 7. Assist: 9 (Hatfield 3). Fouls: 25. Fouled out: Lucas Bumgardner. Turnovers: 16.

TOLSIA (3-1): B.J. Evans 9-16 0-2 10-13 28, Shanie Priest 1-1 0-2 5-8 7, Kenny Muncy 6-14 0-0 9-15 21, Adam Muncy 0-4 0-0 0-2 0, Andrwe Banfi 0-2 0-0 0-0 0, Derrow Parsley 0-1 0-0 0-0 0, Brandon Stacy 0-4 0-1 0-2 0-2 0. Totals: 16-47

24-40

56. 3-point goals: 0-5. Fouls: 16. Fouled out: None.