Fisher, Dragons upset Oak Hill

Published 12:54 am Sunday, January 16, 2011

By JIM WALKER

Tribune Sports Editor

CHESAPEAKE — Sometimes numbers tell the story, and sometimes they don’t.

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Big and small numbers told the story for the Fairland Dragons as they beat the No. 5 ranked Division III Oak Hill Oaks 46-35 Saturday in the second annual Beasts of the Southeast basketball classic.

Chad Fisher had the big numbers with 29 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five steals. Evan Salyers finished with just five points, but his work inside against Oak Hill’s two big men was vital to the win.

“That’s the best I’ve seen both Chad and Evan play,” said Fairland coach Nathan Speed. “Chad seemed to be everywhere. Evan’s numbers weren’t there, but he did a great job inside.”

Oak Hill (8-2) lost for the second straight day. The Oaks fell at Lucasville Valley 60-49 on Friday, their first regular season loss since the 2008-09 season.

Garin Stiltner and Jesse Slone scored 10 points each for the Oaks. Drew Cannon had seven rebounds.

Fairland (6-4) took a 10-8 lead in the first quarter as Fisher scored eight points. Westen Hale had all six of his points in the quarter for the Oaks.

Fisher scored eight more points in the second quarter as Fairland went up 18-12 at the half.

The Dragons went up 28-20 at the end of the third quarter as Fisher scored five points.

Fisher scored eight more points in the fourth quarter including 6 of 8 from the line. Garin Stiltner had eight of his 10 points in the quarter for the Oaks.

“This was a big win for us. I don’t think two weeks ago that we could have won a game like this,” said Speed. “We’ve made so much progress. Our maturity is better. We’re starting to develop team chemistry.”

Fairland plays Wahama, W.Va., at 9 p.m. Wednesday in the Huntington St. Joe Invitational.

Oak Hill 8 4 8 15 = 35

Fairland 10 8 10 18 = 46

OAK HILL (8-2): Drew Cannon 3 0 0-0 6, Garin Stiltner 2 2 0-0 10, Jesse Slone 3 1 1-3 10, Western Hale 0 2 0-0 6, Drew Haislop 0 0 1-2 1, Kyle Love 0 0 0-2 0, Luke Hammond 0 0 0-0 0, Austin Brown 1 0 0-0 2. Totals: 14-41 2-7 35. Fouls: 17. Fouled out: Hale. 3-point goals: 5-16. Rebounds: 27 (Cannon 7). Assists: 6 (six with 1 each). Steals: 3 (Stiltner 3). Turnovers: 16.

FAIRLAND (6-4): Jon Baise 1 0 0-0 2, Fisher 6 3 8-13 29, Alec Warner 0 0 0-0 0, Eric Riley 0 0 0-0 0, Blaine Fuller 1 0 0-0 2, Jonathan Holbrook 1 1 3-5 8, Matt Campbell 0 0 0-0 0, Evan Salyers 2 0 1-2 5. Totals: 15-36 12-20 46. Fouls: 11. Fouled out: None. 3-point goals: 4-13. Rebounds: 27 (Fisher 10, Holbrook 6). Assists: 7 (Fisher 5). Steals: 10 (Fisher 5, Salyers 3, Fuller 2). Turnovers: 9.