Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

JACKSON — It turned out that 3-out-of-4 was good enough.

But just barely.

Fairland played well for three quarters of the game, but poor play in the fourth quarter nearly got them beat as they held off the South Point Pointers 49-38 in the Division III sectional tournament semifinals on Wednesday.

The Dragons had a seemingly comfortable 34-17 lead going into the fourth quarter, but the Pointers got within two points before some clutch foul shooting by Chance Short down the stretch preserved the win.

“The biggest difference — defensively — we played great for three quarters. The fourth quarter we just came out and extended too much,” said Fairland coach Nathan Speed.

“They wanted to dribble drive, dribble drive, kick. We did a good job staying in the paint and getting help side and rotating for three quarters. We came out and guarded too tight.

Offensively, we started missing a few shots and panicked offensively. Ty (Staten) did a great job did a great job coming in and running the point, taking care of the ball and getting the ball down the floor and getting us in our offense.”

The lead changed hands eight times in the first quarter until Isaiah Howell hit a 3-pointer to put Fairland up 12-8.

Two free throws by Short and a 15-footer by Tyler Campbell put the Dragons ahead 26-13 at the half.

Two foul shots and a steal and layup by Staten put Fairland up 30-15. Campbell and Gunner short both made layups before a 12-footer by Brady Rickard had the Pointers down 34-17 at the half.

After shooting just 8-of-30 from the field over the first three quarters, the Pointers finally got in gear as they went on an 13-0 run to begin the fourth quarter to trail 34-30 with 4:05 to play.

But two big plays by Stephen Wagoner with a layup and then a steal and layup got the Pointers within 38-36 with 2:20 to go.

A layup by Killin Van Horn stopped the run and Short converted a 3-pointer play with 1:43 to play.

Short converted 5-of-6 and Gunner Short 1-of-2 from the foul line over the final 1:08 as the Dragons began to pull away.

“Our bench played great. Gunner came in and played well. Luke (Thomas) came in and played well. When Isaiah picked up his fourth foul early in the fourth, that kind of hurt,” said Speed.

“Offensively we missed a few shots and then we were afraid to shoot. We were timid to attack the rim. Rickard getting in foul trouble helped us. We kept trying to attack him offensively and that limited some of his minutes tonight.”

Chance Short had 14 points — he was 10-of-12 from the foul line — and eight rebounds to lead the Dragons (14-8). Staten had 10 points and Howell grabbed eight rebounds.

Rickard had 14 poitns and eight rebounds for the Pointers (3-20) while Ryan Gibson had 10 points and six rebounds. Wagoner finished with 8oints and five rebounds.

Fairland now plays Coal Grove at 8:30 p.m. Saturday in the sectional finals.

South Point 8 5 4 21 = 38

Fairland 12 14 8 15 = 49

SOUTH POINT (3-20): Chris Woodard 0 0 0-0 0, Stephen Wagoner 2 0 4-7 8, Brady Rickard 6 0 2-3 14, Elijah Adams 2 0 0-2 4, Ryan Gibson 4 0 2-3 10, Cody Runyon 0 0 0-0 0, Alex Whitt 0 0 0-0 0, Jared Whitt 0 0 0-0 0, Drew Adams 0 0 0-0 0, Douglas Shaffer 0 0 0-0 0, Evan Bailey 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 15-46 8-15 38. 3-point goals: 0-12. Rebounds: 11-off. 19-def. = 30 (Rickard 8, Gibson 6, Wagoner 5). Team rebounds: 2. Assists: 5 (Wagoner 3). Steals: 4 (Wagoner 2). Turnovers: 12. Fouls: 25. Fouled out: Rickard (4th 4:52).

FAIRLAND (14-8): Chance Short 2 0 10-12 14, Isaiah Howell 2 1 0-0 7, Nathan Campbell 1 0 0-1 2, Tyler Campbell 4 0 1-4 9, Kollin Van Horn 2 0 0-3 4, Luke Thomas 0 0 0-0 0, Gunner Short 1 0 1-2 3, Ty Staten 4 0 2-4 10, Hayden James 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 17-42 14-26 49. 3-point goals: 1-8. Rebounds: 13-off. 28-def. = 41 (Howell 8, C. Short 8). Team rebounds: 6. Assists: 5 (Staten 2, G. Short 2). Steals: 5 (G. Short 2). Turnovers: 11. Fouls: 18. Fouled out: None.