FAYETTE 12/28/2013— Fayette was able to hold off a 20 point fourth quarter rally, and squeak by with a victory in a border battle against the Bulldogs of Morenci, coming away with a narrow 48-47 overtime win.
The tone for the close contest was set early on in the game, as only a single point would separate the two teams at the end of the first quarter, with Fayette leading 10-9 after eight minutes of play.
In the second quarter, the Eagles were able to created a bit of separation, outscoring the Bulldogs 16-5. Koby Biddix and Chandler Sanford both drill three pointers to help create this separation for Fayette, and igniting a spark for the rest of the team at the same time. The Eagles would take a 26-14 lead in to the intermission.
Fayette’s lead would expand to 15 in the third period. Biddix did his part in the quarter by hitting another three, along with Wade Burkholder who hit two three pointers of his own. This lead the Eagles to a 38-23 lead after three quarter, and it seemed as if the Eagle’s would be able to cruise to an easy win.
However, Morenci would go on a fourth quarter tear, scoring 20 points, and holding Fayette to only five points and only one field goal. The fourth quarter comeback by the Bulldogs was enough to force the contest in to overtime tied at 43.
In the extra period, the Eagles would recover from giving up a 15 point lead in the fourth quarter, and would score just enough points to come away with the win. While Fayette only scored five points in overtime, they only allowed Morenci to score four, giving the Eagles the narrow win, 48-47 in overtime.
Chandler Sanford lead all scorers with 17 points. Also scoring for Fayette was Wade Burkholder who had 12, Skylar Lantz and Koby Biddix both were able to put up six, Justin Stultfutz, Jerad Seiler, and Tristen Bates all scored two, and Tyler Cox rounded out the Eagle scoring with one.
-Mitchell Peebles
