Troy led 44-32 early in the third quarter but couldn’t hang on. After Fairborn took the lead at the end of the third, Lilley hit a 3-pointer with four minutes left in the fourth to put Fairborn up 60-52. Troy never got the deficit smaller than six after that.
“He’s a four-year starter and he kept his composure,” Fairborn coach Nathan Chivington said. “Our team stepped up the defense there when we needed it, right when Lilley got hot.”
The Skyhawks advance to play Xenia in a second-round game on Tuesday at Centerville.
Xenia 67, Fairmont 37: Xenia used stout defensive pressure to earn a 67-37 win. It's a much different result from a regular-season matchup between the two, which Fairmont won 66-43.
“We committed on defense for 32 minutes tonight,” Xenia coach Kent Anderson said. “We didn’t defend in that first game. We still continued to play defense tonight regardless of what we were doing at the offensive end. Then when we got going offensively, it was lights out.”
It turned into a blowout in the third quarter when Xenia had a 16-4 scoring advantage. The Buccaneers consistently forced turnovers in the second half and scored on layups, while forward Meechi Harris controlled the boards.
“They wanted our heads on a silver platter, that’s what it looked like to me,” fourth-year Fairmont coach Blair Albright said. “That’s quite possibly the worst game we’ve had in my tenure at Fairmont, but that’s largely because of how hard Xenia competed. They literally outplayed us in every aspect of the game.”
Kobe Hughlett led Xenia with 18 points, while Andrew Forman led Fairmont with eight.
Springfield 85, Tecumseh 42: After a slow start, Springfield ran away to an 85-42 win over the Arrows and advances to face West Carrollton in a second-round game on Tuesday. It was the 100th career victory for Springfield coach Isaiah Carson, who took control of the program in 2011.
Tecumseh led 6-3 through the first two and a half minutes, but Springfield took the lead for good after senior forward Leonard Taylor stole the ball and scored on a one-handed slam with 4:34 left. He added another steal and dunk with about two minutes left to increase the lead to 17-10.
McKay led Springfield with 15 points, while Taylor added 14, all in the first half.
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