By JIM WALKER

Tribune Sports Editor

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Wahama was on fire and the Fairland Dragons’ defense got burned.

The Wahama White Falcons shot a sizzling 67 percent from the field and held on to beat the Fairland Dragons 80-75 Wednesday in the semifinals of the St. Joe Invitational Blue Division.

The White Falcons were 8 of 13 from the 3-point line. Fairland shot well, hitting 30 of 61 from the field but just 6 of 21 from behind the arc.

“The offense was working, but it’s hard to defend the way they shot 3-pointers,” said Fairland coach Nathan Speed.

“We have to do a better job defensively trying to slow down teams when they’re on fire like that.”

Chad Fisher had a strong all-around game with 17 points, four rebounds, 10 assists and four steals to lead the Dragons (6-5).

Three other Fairland players were in double figures as Evan Salyers scored 16, Jonathan Holbrook 15 points and Jon Baise 13.

Matt Arnold and Issac Lee scored 22 points each for Wahama (8-3) while Ryan Lee and Tyler Kitchen scored 12 each.

Fairland jumped out to a 14-2 lead at the start of the game, but Wahama battled back to get within 16-11 at the end of the first quarter and trailed just 36-35 at the half.

Wahama went up 56-53 after three quarters and led 78-75 when Alec Warner came up with a steal with 24 seconds to play.

Holbrook had a 3-point attempt go in and out. Wahama got the rebound and Arnold was fouled and hit two free throws to seal the win.

Host St. Joe beat Wayne in the other semifinal game. Fairland will now play Wayne at 7 p.m. Friday in the consolation game.

Wahama 11 24 21 24 = 80

Fairland 16 20 17 22 = 75

WAHAMA (8-3): Issac Lee 9-14 2-4 22, Elijah Honaker 3-5 2-2 8, Matt Arnold 8-10 3-4 22, Trenton Gibbs 2-5 0-0 4, Ryan Lee 4-6 2-2 12, Tyler Kitchen 5-6 1-1 12. Totals: 31-46 10-13 80. Fouled out: None. 3-point goals: 8-13 (I. Lee 2-3, Honaker 0-1, Arnold 3-5, Gibbs 0-1, R. Lee 2-2, Kitchen 1-1). Rebounds: 29 (Arnold 7). Assists: 20 (R. Lee 8, Kitchen 7). Steals: 7 (R. Lee 3). Turnovers: 23.

FAIRLAND (6-5): Jon Baise 5-11 0-0 13, Chad Fisher 7-20 2-3 17, Eric Riley 2-2 0-0 4, Jonathan Holbrook 6-12 1-1 15, Evan Salyers 7-9 2-3 16, Blaine Fuller 1-3 4-4 6, Matt Campbell 2-4 0-0 4, Ale Warner 0-0 0-0 0, Thayer Flynn 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 30-61 9-11 75. Fouled out: None. 3-point goals: 6-21 (Baise 3-8, Fisher 1-7, Holbrook 2-6). Rebounds: 20 (Fisher 4). Assists: 17 (Fisher 10). Steals: 11 (Fisher 4). Turnovers: 13.