(January 10th, 2015) – FAYETTE: Hosting an undefeated Hicksville team on Saturday, the Eagles of Fayette needed a complete team effort to pull off a monumental upset.
And that’s what they got, as Fayette gave the Aces their first defeat of the season, 57-43.
The contest began with a tight first quarter. The hometown Eagles were able to best their guests from Hicksville in the period 11-9. In the following quarter, Fayette was able to put a bit more space between themselves and the Aces. Outscoring Hicksville 16-9, Fayette carried a 27-18 lead into the locker room at the half.
With the Aces on the ropes, Fayette attempted to deliver the knockout punch in the third period. Controlling the tempo of the quarter, the Eagles added to their lead with a 12-5 showing. With a 39-23 advantage at the start of the fourth quarter, the boys of Fayette were not going to let the game slip away. Despite a barrage of points put up by Hicksville in the final period of play, they weren’t able to chip away at the Fayette lead. This is because the Eagle offense rose to the occasion, nearly matching the explosive effort of their opponent. When the dust cleared, Hicksville had managed to score 20 points to end the game, while Fayette countered with 18 down the stretch.
Fayette was able to win so convincingly for a number of reasons, but perhaps the most important of them is that they shared the basketball extremely well. The Eagles made 18 assists as a team, led by the 8 handed out by senior Skylar Lantz. This selfless attitude gave the Fayette players better looks at the basket, which in turn eliminated a lot of shot selection issues most teams tend to have at the high school level.
Better shot selection typically leads to better shooting percentages, and this game was no exception. The Eagles shot 67.7% from the floor as a team against a stingy Aces defense. Senior Koby Biddix connected on all 4 of his shot attempts, including a three-pointer, on his way to 9 points. Lantz went 3 for 4 shooting, as he offered 8 points to the Fayette victory effort.
Rebounding was also a strong part of Fayette’s game in the win against Hicksville. Pulling down 21 boards, the Eagle boys were able to bring in 18 defensive rebounds to ensure the Aces didn’t get a lot of second chances at scoring. While they only managed 3 offensive rebounds in the contest, it is important to note that Fayette only missed 10 shots total on the night.
With just 13 turnovers, the home team handled the ball with poise. Given how often they were passing the ball, committing so few mistakes is an especially impressive number for Fayette.
Alec Bost and Wade Burkholder each led the Eagle offensive with 11 points apiece. Bost knocked down his sole three-point attempt, while Burkholder went 3 for 5 from beyond the arc. Tristen Bates added 10 points with a strong performance from within the paint. Jared Seiler contributed 7 points in the win as well.