(January 3rd, 2015) – MORENCI: Down 13 points heading into the fourth quarter, the Eagles knew that they needed to have a huge final quarter offensively if they had any hope of getting back into the game.
Fayette made the short trip across the northern border as they took on Morenci on the Michigan school’s home court. The contest was expected to be a challenging one for the Eagles, and it did not disappoint in that regard.
The first quarter saw both teams play well defensively. When the buzzer ending the period sounded, Fayette was behind 10-8. Both teams picked up the pace offensively in the quarter number two, putting up 15 points a piece. The Eagles went into the locker room down a mere 2 points at 25-23.
Morenci’s defense halted the Eagle assault almost entirely in the third quarter. Fayette scored just 4 points in the period, giving up 15 to their host along the way. Suddenly down by 17, the Eagle boys needed to find their offense in the fourth quarter if they were to have a shot at winning the contest. Fayette responded by scoring 23 points in a furious rally. Morenci had too much firepower, however, adding 19 more points to their own total. Fayette lost to the hometown boys of Morenci, 59-50.
Koby Biddix led the Eagles in scoring with 23 points. The senior connected on an astounding 7 three-point shots. Fellow Fayette senior Skylar Lantz added 10 points, while Jerad Seiler put up 6 points by hitting a pair of threes himself. Alec Bost registered the team’s only other three-point field goal as he totaled 5 points.
Free throws were a concern for the Eagles against Morenci. Fayette only managed to earn 11 shots from the line. They were only able to put 3 of those attempts through the bottom of the net. Morenci made 10 of their 17 attempts from the charity stripe, giving them almost as many makes as Fayette had attempts. It’s very difficult a team to win when they shoots less than 30% from the line, while their opponent has a success rate over 50%.
Perimeter defense was also a problem for Fayette. While they made 9 threes as a unit, they also gave up 9 threes to Morenci. 27 points from beyond the arc is too much to give up and still expect to win.
Even with all of these problems, it was just one bad quarter offensively that held back the Eagles. Their offense is explosive, and can erase a good many mistakes. Morenci was able to play just enough defense to secure the victory.
Most of the teams on Fayette’s schedule won’t be able to do so.