A 61-48 win by the Firebirds Thursday in a Division I district semifinal game in Vandalia earns them a shot at No. 1 in their own backyard.
Fairmont will play top-ranked Lakota West in a district final game at 7 p.m. Saturday at UD Arena.
“I love it for this team because having the opportunity right in our backyard at UD Arena, night game, that’s really cool for them,” Fairmont head coach Eric Trent said. “Winning this game is awesome for them and I’m happy for them to be able to experience that too.”
A 20-4 second quarter run saw Fairmont hit a trio of threes to turn a six-point deficit into a 27-15 lead in a span of 4:57.
Seniors Kaden Ralston and Kam Thornton combined to make seven of the eight shots the Firebirds hit from beyond the arc and all seemingly came at key moments.
“I’m really happy with the way we played, especially with almost a three week layoff after our last game with such a big layoff,” Trent said, noting Fairmont played its last regular season game on Feb. 13. “It can be hard then, especially in a win or go home situation, to execute and we started a little slow, but once we got our feet under us, I was really proud of the way we played.”
Jayden McGraw, who led the GWOC in scoring this season, had 21 points and was a constant force in the paint.
As Springfield attempted to switch between man-to-man, 2-3 and 1-3-1 zone defenses, Fairmont’s ability to remain patient, analyze and consistently find the right attack point frustrated the Wildcats.
“We had an idea of the game plan defensively that we want to execute and throw a lot of different looks at them,” Springfield head coach Matt Yinger said. “They did a good job preparing and being ready for them.”
Senior Charles Cunningham made sure Springfield went down swinging. He scored a season-high 30 points from all over the floor.
“He puts in work relentless, 6 a.m. mornings every day. He’s a gym rat and loves the game and for him to be able to have a moment like that in the tournament is a real blessing for him and was fun to watch as a coach,” Yinger said.
Springfield (9-14) played without senior E.J. Rice, who led the Wildcats in scoring this season.
Fairmont extended its lead to double digits early in the second half and never let it get under 10 points.
Fairmont (15-8) played two other Greater Miami Conference opponents this season — losing to Mason 46-45 in the season opener, and defeating Fairfield 69-57 in its penultimate regular season game.
Saturday will be the third time they’ll play a GMC team. It will be the most important game of the season for the Firebirds as they attempt to win their first district title since 2022.
“It’s gonna be tough. We knew that pretty much no matter where we went on the bracket, you get to a district championship it’s gonna be a tough matchup,” Trent said. “We’re gonna prep as much as we can with the one day in-between and we’ll be ready to go there.”
Centerville’s strong starts downs Beavercreek
A victory over Winton Woods to end the regular season was the big win that mostly eluded Centerville this winter.
The confidence gained from that result was evident Thursday as the top-seeded Elks rolled from the opening tip in its 62-27 win against No. 6 Beavercreek.
“We played well down there on the road, and it was a tournament-like atmosphere,” Centerville head coach Brook Cupps said. “You’re going into unfamiliar territory. It’s a team that you had to execute against and that’s really what you’re looking for late in the season.”
Centerville (17-6) scored the initial 13 points of the game and led 19-6 after the first.
Credit: Steven Wright
Credit: Steven Wright
Freshman Julian Sam knocked down two triples in front of the Beavercreek bench to open the scoring. Sam Keely then scored while being fouled in transition and Trey Sam on another fast break converted a layup to force a Beavercreek timeout and build a double-digit lead in the first few minutes.
A trio of juniors scored in double figures for the Elks. Myles Houston had 13 points to lead the team, while Trey Sam and Keely scored 11, respectively.
“He’s very talented, super coachable, and he’s an elite level defender,” Cupps said of Houston, who has scored in double figures in consecutive games for the first time this season. “He’s gaining confidence offensively. He can shoot, it just is a matter of him being confident, but I thought the guys did a good job finding him.”
Centerville advanced to play No. 13 Sycamore in a 1 p.m. tip Sunday at Xavier’s University’s Cintas Center.
The Elks this season defeated Moeller and split with GWOC runner-up Wayne, while dropping other marquee non-league games to Wyoming, St. Xavier, Fishers (Ind.) and The Christ School (N.C.)
“Even if you lose those games, it heightens your awareness of doing things right. It’s good for you,” Cupps said. “We just want to keep putting ourselves in those situations.”
Beavercreek junior Jack Haskins had nine points in the loss. The Beavers finished the season 5-18 overall.
Centerville won both regular season meetings against the Beavers, 86-59 on Dec. 6 at home and 59-50 in a Feb. 6 road game.
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