By Mark Carpenter-
A quick start and a 12-point first quarter from senior Sam Buddelmeyer were the catalyst for the Fairfield Lions as they made the longest trip in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference on Friday, Jan. 25. The Lions were in Adams County as the opponent on Homecoming Night for the Manchester Greyhounds and on the strength of a 24-point opening period, the Fairfield five spoiled the festivities at the Hound Pound, handing the host Greyhounds a 69-48 defeat.
After Fairfield took the JV game 59-42, the varsity Lions came out with a giant roar, scoring on their first seven possessions of the game. An early trio of buckets by the southpaw Buddelmeyer, a pair of buckets directly resulting from Manchester turnovers, and a three-point goal by Bryson Simmons gave the visitors a 15-6 lead midway through the opening period.
The Buddelmeyer assault continued as the senior swing man tallied three more buckets and after Manchester’s Isaiah Scott hit two free throws in the final seconds, the Lions still took a 24-14 lead into the second stanza.
The Hounds got baskets from Kyle Reaves and Scott on their opening two possessions of the second period to get within single digits, but a three-pointer from Conner Priest put the Lions back up by 11 at 29-18. A pair of Scott charity tosses at the 3:43 mark made it 31-22, but Fairfield responded with two baskets to take a 13-point advantage. Before the first half ended, Reaves drilled a three-point goal from the wing and Jacob Calvert hit a 15-foot jumper and at the intermission, the Lions’ lead had been cut to 37-27.
The third quarter spelled doom for the home team, however, as the Lions doubled them up 18-9 to further extend their lead. Baskets by Isaiah Redmon and Dylan Colvin kept the Hounds within striking distance early in the third, but 10-2 run to close the frame left the visitors in the proverbial driver’s seat, leading 55-36 with one quarter to go.
As the fourth quarter began, the Hounds again scored on their first two possessions, baskets from Colvin and Carl Ricketts, but it was not enough to dent the Lions’ big advantage. The two teams traded scores through most of the final period, the Hounds getting another basket from Reaves and a late jumper from Daulton McDonald, but the night belonged to the Lions, who put a small damper on the Manchester Homecoming celebration by handing the home team the 69-48 loss.
In the conference win, the Lions were paced by Buddelmeyer’s game-high 18, with two more teammates joining him in double figures, Bryson Simmons with 15 and Wyatt Willey with 14.
The Greyhounds were led by Isaiah Scott’s 15 points, with Kyle Reaves adding 9, Dylan Colvin 8, and Isaiah Redmon 6.
Manchester fell to 3-13 the following night when a trip to Sciotoville East ended in a 75-60 defeat. The Hounds will be back in SHAC action on Friday, Feb. 1 when they will host county rival Peebles and then again go out of conference on Saturday night to host the Piketon Redstreaks.
Fairfield
24 13 18 14 —69
Manchester
14 13 9 12 —48
Fairfield (69): Setty 1 0-0 2, Buddelmeyer 8 2-2 18, Willey 6 2-3 14, Saunders 2 1-2 5, Simmons 5 4-6 15, Priest 3 2-2 9, James Bentley 2 0-0 4, Jon Bentley 1 0-0 2, Team 28 11-16 69.
Manchester (48): Colvin 4 0-0 8, Redmon 3 0-0 6, Reaves 3 2-2 9, Ricketts 2 0-0 4, Scott 4 7-8 15, Calvert 2 0-0 4, McDonald 1 0-0 2, Team 19 9-10 48.
Three-Point Goals:
Fairfield (2)- Simmons 1, Priest 1
Manchester (1)- Reaves 1
