(March 6th, 2015) – BRYAN: Late game desperation and fouling to extend the game hid how close Fayette came to beating Hicksville on Friday on March 6.
The final score placed the Eagles on the wrong end of a 51-38 Aces win.
The Fulton County boys got off to an excellent start, beginning the contest with an 8-3 run. Yet Hicksville countered with a run of their own, finishing the first period with an 11-8 lead.
Hicksville would not trail again.
In the second quarter, each squad had an easy time scoring the ball. In fact, the Eagle boys and their counterparts from Defiance County each put up 13 points in the frame. With no change occurring in the gap between the two teams, Hicksville was able to retain their 3 point lead going into the half, 24-21.
The second half began with Fayette tying the contest with a three-pointer by senior Koby Biddix. The Aces were quick to respond, however, as their defense only gave up 4 more points for the rest of the frame. Hicksville had a swift reaction offensively as well, putting up 12 points in the span. That effort enlarged their advantage to 6 points with only the fourth stanza to play.
Fayette wasn’t the least bit discouraged by the Hicksville run in the third period. They continued to battle, tying the game once again at the midpoint of the final eight minutes, this time on a long-ranged shot delivered by Alec Bost. Yet the basket seemed to grow smaller for the Eagle boys after that, and shots simply stopped falling. A few long rebounds off of missed Fayette threes allowed Hicksville to run in transition down the stretch., leading to a series of fouls on the Eagles’ part.
This is what led to the deceptive 13 point victory for Hicksville.
Free throws were a big part of the contest’s result as well. Shooting just 7 foul shots, Fayette was only able to convert 4 of them into points. The Aces, meanwhile, went 17 for 23 from the line, gaining more than the difference in the game from the charity stripe. Some of this had to do with the Eagles trying to extedn the contest, but Hicksville was more aggressive on offense throughout the game as well.
Bost led Fayette in scoring, putting 3 triples through the bottom of the net on his way to 11 points. Biddix, for his part, contributed 7 points to the Eagle effort, connecting on a three of his own. Big men Jared Seiler and Tristan Bates added 6 points apiece to the Fayette scoring effort as well.