Second half drought dooms Indians

By Mark Carpenter

People’s Defender

It was a big school-small school Southern Hills Athletic Conference showdown on December 17 at Peebles High School as the Indians hosted the Fairfield Lions. The Tribe came into the contest with three wins in their first three outings of the 2-24-25 campaign, all three of those wins in conference play and what fans saw on this night was two teams playing with high levels of intensity in a game that turned out to be a tale of two halves.

From the opening tip off, the intensity on both ends was evident from players, fans and coaches and the game began with a technical foul on Fairfield, dunking in warmups. Peebles’ Josh McClary hit one of two from the stripe and things were off and running. Fairfield took a 5-4 lead on a Logan McIntosh try but the Indians answered with Carson Reed connecting from deep to put the home side up 7-5. Another McIntosh three gave the lead back to the Lions, but later two free throws from the Indians’ Paxton Ryan tied the score at 10.

Back-to-back three-pointers from freshman Bo Johnson were part of a 10-0 Peebles run that put the home team in front 17-10, followed up by a bucket from the Lions’ Caleb Barrera, but an action-packed first quarter ended with Carson Reed scoring from the baseline as time ran out to give the Tribe a 19-12 advantage.

Both teams scored on their opening possessions of the second stanza, the Indians getting a Ryan three-pointer to lead 22-14. Two baskets from Reed stretched the Peebles margin to eight but the Lions continued to claw back, getting Brody Smith three to pull within 26-23. After an acrobatic drive and score from McClary, a bizarre set of circumstances resulted in a trio of free throws from Fairfield’s Griffin Friend, coming as part of a technical foul on Peebles when a player checked in without the referee’s knowledge. That cut the Peebles lead to a single basket and a bucket by Smith sent the two teams to the intermission with the promise of an exciting second half and the Indians holding a slim 29-28 advantage.

The Lions grabbed the lead early in the third quarter, a quarter which was highlighted by 10 different lead changes. At the 6:40 mark, a pair of Garrett Shiveley free tosses put Peebles up 33-32 and a later McClary three-ball flipped the scoreboard again to 36-35 in the home team’s favor. The back and forth sequence continued until a December freeze hit the Indians late in the third. With the proverbial lid on the basket the Indians’ offense hit the skids and the visiting Lions took full advantage. After a Shiveley offensive rebound and score with 3:10 left in the third, Fairfield went on an 8-0 run, half of those points coming from the foul line, and took a 48-40 lead. The Indians broke a little of the ice when Johnson tossed in a high-arcing floater in the lane but the Tribe now trailed by six as the final period began.

With the shot just not falling for the home team, the Lions started the final quarter with 1 6-0 run (making it a 14-2 run overall) and roared to a double digit lead at 54-42, then did an outstanding job of playing keep away and letting the clock run to their advantage. The Indians bounced back with five straight, two Ryan free throws and a Johnson three-pointer, but that came with just 19 seconds to play. The final four points went to the Lions as they left Peebles with a hard-earned 58-47 victory in their ledger.

The Lions improved to 4-0 on the season, 3-0 in the SHAC, and were led in scoring by 20 points from senior Logan McIntosh with Griffin Friend right behind with 19, including a 9 for 10 performance from the charity stripe. Brody Smith also hit double figures for the winners, adding 14 points.

Peebles dropped to 3-2 on the season, 3-1 in the conference, and were paced by three players in double figures, led by Bo Johnson’s 15, with Carson Reed and Josh McClary adding 12 and 11 respectively.

After a trip to North Adams on December 20, Coach Josh Arey and his squad will be back in action on December 27, hosting the East Clinton Astros in non-conference action.

Fairfield

12 16 20 10 —58

Peebles

19 10 13 5 —47

Fairfield (58): Friend 4 9-10 18, Barrera 1 0-0 2, Smith 6 1-2 14, L. McIntosh 7 4-5 20, Newman 1 0-0 2, Q. McIntosh 1 0-2 2, Team 20 14-19 58.

Peebles (47): Shiveley 1 2-2 4, Reed 4 3-6 12, Johnson 6 0-1 15, Ryan 1 2-2 5, McClary 3 4-6 11, Team 15 11-17 47.

Three- Point Goals:

Fairfield (4)- Friend 1, Smith 1, L. McIntosh 2

Peebles (6)- Reed 1, Johnson 3, Ryan 1, McClary 1