Jim Walker
jim.walker@irontontribune.com

SOUTH POINT — There’s a reason the Fairland Dragons are 15-1. They always seem to find a way to win.
Tied with time running out, the Dragons hit some clutch free throws as they edged the South Point Pointers 50-46 in an Ohio Valley Conference game on Tuesday.
“We had our chances. We didn’t play well the first half and we missed three or four layups down the stretch. But our kids held them to 15 points in the second half. We played hard. I can’t fault our effort,” said Pointers’ coach Travis Wise.
Fairland (15-1, 9-0) was led by Aiden Porter and Gavin Hunt with 13 points each. Clayton Thomas had 12 points and Jacob Polcyn added 10.
Austin Webb led the Pointers (7-7, 5-4) with a game-high 20 points to go with 8 rebounds and 3 assists.
The Pointers tied the game at 44 with 2:46 seconds left. Fairland took a 45-44 on a foul shot by Hunt with 1:53 to play.
South Point got the ball back but was called for an offensive foul and Porter hit a pair of foul shots to give the Dragons a 47-44 lead and they held on for the win.
Fairland took a 23-10 lead in the first quarter as Porter hit a 3-pointer and scored 7 points and Thomas had a pair of 3-pointers.
Brody Blackwell had 7 points including a 3-pointer for South Point.
Fairland went up 35-20 at the half as Thomas and Hunt scored 4 points each. Webb had 8 of South Point’s 10 points.
The Pointers began their comeback in the third quarter as Webb hit two 3-pointers while Chance Gunther, Mason Kazee and Blackwell all hit 3-pointers and the lead was sliced to 42-37 to set up the fourth quarter.
On Friday, Fairland hosts Portsmouth. South Point goes to Huntington St. Joe on Wednesday and Gallipolis on Friday.
Fairland 23 12 7 8 = 50
South Point 10 10 17 9 = 46
FAIRLAND (15-1, 9-0): Jacob Polcyn 4 0 2-2 10, Aiden Porter 3 1 4-6 13, Gavin Hunt 4 0 5-6 13, Clayton Thomas 2 2 2-2 12, Jordan Williams 0 0 0-2 0, Zander Schmidt 0 0 0-0 0, Tevin Taylor 1 0 0-0 2, Nate Thacker 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 14 3 13-18 50. Fouls: 12. Fouled out: None.
SOUTH POINT (7-7, 5-4): Jake Adams 0 0 1-2 1, Chance Gunther 3 1 0-0 9, Nakyan Turner 0 0 0-0 0, Mason Kazee 0 1 0-0 3, Darryl Taylor 2 0 0-0 4, Austin Webb 6 2 2-2 20, Braxton Horn 0 0 0-0 0, Brody Blackwell 1 2 1-4 1-1 9. Totals: 18-38 4-5 46. 3-pt goals: 6-10. Rebounds: 22 (Webb 8, Blackburn 6). Assists: 9 (Gunther 4, Webb 3). Steals: 8 (Turner 4). Turnovers: 10. Fouls: 16. Fouled out: None.