Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — The Fairland Dragons made every second count. Especially the last second.

Shane Stevens sank two free throws with 1.4 seconds to play and the Fairland Dragons dealt the Class A top-ranked Huntington St. Joe Fighting Irish their first loss of the season 60-58 Wednesday in the St. Joe Classic.

The win also avenged an earlier 66-59 loss at St. Joe on Jan. 14.

“We played well defensively, we took care of the ball and we rebounded the ball well. I was especially happy with the defense,” said Fairland coach Nathan Speed.

Tyler Campbell and Stevens turned in solid defensive efforts and Chance Short had 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Dragons (7-7).

Evan Maddox led Fairland with 17 points and three assists and Stevens had 12 points. Campbell had six rebounds.

Huntington St. Joe (14-1) was led by Travis McNeil with 18 points on six 3-pointers and Keith Clemons who scored 17.

St. Joe was up 16-10 at the end of the first quarter. Clemons scored seven points in the second quarter but Stevens hit a pair of triples and the Dragons trailed 30-22 at the half.

The turning point came in the third quarter when Maddox scored seven points and the Dragons outscored the Irish 23-13 to go up 45-43.

“We had a really big third quarter that set us up,” said Speed. “We normally don’t play that way in the third quarter. The kids responded well when we came out of the locker room. We picked up the intensity in the second half.”

McNeil hit two more treys to keep the Irish in the game, but the Dragons countered with four points each by Campbell, Maddox and Short.

Fairland had the ball with 3.7 seconds left and Stevens was fouled with 1.4 seconds left and hit both shots for the win.

The Dragons plays Boyd County at 9:30 p.m. Friday as the St. Joe Classic continues.

Fairland 10 12 23 15 = 60

Hunt. St. Joe 16 14 13 15 = 58

FAIRLAND (7-7): Thayer Flynn 0-0 0-1 0-0 0, Chance Short 5-10 0-4 2-4 12, Luke Phillips 2-3 0-1 0-0 4, Nathan Campbell 1-1 0-1 0-0 2, Evan Maddox 6-13 1-3 2-4 17, Shane Stevens 1-2 2-2 4-4 12, Tyler Campbell 4-4 0-0 1-1 9, Trent Wilcoxon 2-2 0-0 0-0 4. Totals: 24-47 9-13 60. 3-point goals: 3-12. Fouls: 16. Fouled out: Phillips. Rebounds: 32 (Short 12, T. Campbell 6). Assists: 5 (Maddox 3). Steals: 6 (Phillips 2). Turnovers: 15.

HUNTINGTON ST. JOSEPH (14-1): Keith Clemons 6-14 1-3 2-5 17, Travis McNeil 0-0 6-8 0-0 18, Brian Conaty 3-11 1-4 0-0 9, Anthony Rabel 3-7 0-0 2-4 8, Josiah Pierson 0-1 0-1 0-0 0, Payne Meadows 2-5 0-2 2-25 6. Totals: 22-56 6-14 58. 3-point goals: 8-18. Fouls: 18. Fouled out: None. Rebounds: 16 (Rabel 6). Assists: 3. Steals: 6 (Rabel 3). Turnovers: 11.