SCOOP AND SCORE … Nic Borojevich goes to the hoop for a left-handed layup for Swanton in the second quarter of Tuesday night’s win at Fayette. (PHOTO BY JACOB KESSLER, STAFF)
By: Nate Calvin
FAYETTE – Swanton senior Nic Borojevich put the Bulldogs on his back in the second half by scoring 18 points (11 in the fourth quarter) on his way to a game-high 25 points in the 51-41 Swanton win.
Kayden Davis started the second half with an inside bucket to tie the game 16-16 before a triple from Demetrius Whiteside put Fayette back on top at 19-16.
Borojevich began to assert himself with an offensive rebound put back followed by a 2/2 trip to the foul line as Swanton took a 20-19 lead with 4:01 left in the third quarter.
Wyatt Mitchell quickly put the Eagles back in front with a bucket, but Borojevich went 1/2 at the line to tie the game and then Sam Betz hit a jumper as the Bulldogs grabbed a 23-21 lead.
The back-and-forth battle continued with Elijah Lerma scoring two of his team-high 23 points for Fayette to again deadlock the game this time at 23-23.
Swanton would then close the quarter with a 6-0 run to take their biggest lead of the night to that point as Davis scored down low to start the run.
Borojevich followed with a layup, and then Borojevich would get a steal and feed Betz for another layup as the lead ballooned to 29-23. Swanton continued to increase the lead with a Borojevich three-ball to start the final frame to make it a 32-23 game.
With the score now 35-25, the Eagles closed the gap beginning with a three-point play by Mitchell followed by a layup off a loose ball by Skylar Lester to cut the Swanton lead to 35-30.
Lerma would cap off the 8-0 run by taking a rebound and going coast-to-coast for a bucket and a foul as he drew Fayette to within 35-33 after the three-point play with 4:46 remaining.
Swanton responded though as Borojevich scored six points during an 8-0 spurt by the Bulldogs as they pushed the advantage back to 43-33 at the 2:46 mark.
Lerma knocked down a couple three-pointers to keep Fayette close, but Swanton went 6/7 at the free throw line over the final 2:46 to close out the win.
The 37-point second half by Swanton (12-1) saw the Bulldogs shoot 11/20 (55%) from the floor to finish the night 17/40 (42%) from the field to go with a 14/22 (63%) effort at the charity stripe.
Fayette (10-3) went 14/42 (33%) shooting the ball including 5/12 (41%) from beyond the arc.
Both teams started slow offensively with Swanton going just 3/10 and Fayette was 2/7 shooting in the opening quarter as Swanton held a slim 8-6 lead.
A three-point play from Lerma followed by a left-wing triple by Quinn Mitchell spearheaded a 6-0 Fayette run to start the second quarter and give the Eagles a 12-8.
Borojevich then scored four straight points to tie the game at 12-12 before the Eagles tallied four of the half’s final six points to take a 16-14 lead at halftime.
SWANTON 8 6 15 22 – 51
FAYETTE 6 10 7 18 – 41
JUNIOR VARSITY: Swanton, 53-17
Nate can be reached at sports@thevillagereporter.com