Boys D-II Bkb: Fairfield Union & New Lexington Advance to the Convo

Article presented by Kingston National Bank …

Fairfield Union took an extra four minutes to edge Gallia Academy 40-37 in overtime while New Lexington bested Washington 54-49 in the two Boys Division-II District Semi-Final games at Southeastern HS Wednesday night.

The Falcons and Panthers will meet this Sunday with a 2pm tip-off at The Convo in Athens for a trip to the Sweet Sixteen.

NEW LEXINGTON 54, WASHINGTON 49

The Blue Lions dug themselves a hole in the third quarter that was difficult to climb from. After clawing to a 13-13 opening period, New Lexington held a 27-24 edge at halftime. Ryan Hobbs landed a three-pointer before the buzzer. It was a start to a 16-0 run as Washington recorded five turnovers to open the third quarter. John Wall ended the scoring drought with a jumper from the top of the key at the 1:38 mark. The triple was the only score for the Blue Lions, while New Lex took advantage, outscoring Washington 12-3 and building a 39-27 lead through three periods. Seemingly sensing an end to their season, the Blue Lions roared from the 12-point deficit to within 44-41. Washington worked hard to pull close, but the Panthers got the job done at the line. All 15 of New Lexington’s points in the 4^th were via free throws, cashing in on 15 of 20 shots from the charity stripe.

The Panthers were paced by Hobbs and Ryan Stephens with 16-points each and Lukas Ratliff with 15. Also contributing, Bentley Hanson with 4 and Isaac Dick with 3. Washington was led by Garrett Rickman with 13, Tanner Lemaster with 12, Wall’s 10, Isaiah Haithcock with 8 and Javin Baker with 6.  

Washington finishes its Frontier Athletic Conference Championship Season with a 20-5 mark.

New Lexington is 21-4 and will head to the Convo Sunday to meet Fairfield Union at 2pm.

FAIRFIELD UNION 40, GALLIA ACADEMY 37 (OVERTIME)

The Falcons and Blue Devils battled to an overtime thriller with Fairfield Union coming out on top. They’ve avenged two of their three losses on the season thus far. After falling to both Teays Valley (52-39) and Gallia Academy (36-34) in December, the Falcons dusted off the Vikings in January enroute to claiming a share of the Mid State League Buckeye Division title. Wednesday, they turned back the Blue Devils in overtime on a shot by Caleb Redding as time expired.

After tying 8-8 in the first quarter, Gallia’s Wesley Saunders laid a shot off the glass before the half to give the Devils a 19-16 lead. The Falcons pulled to within 26-25 through the third and held a 35-33 lead before Kenyon Franklin tied the game at 35. In the overtime, Ted Harrah banked in the first basket and Gallia answered when Brody Fellure had a break away steal to knot the game at 37 with 29.9 seconds remaining. The Falcons worked the ball for the final seconds and Redding put the dagger in the Blue Devils’ heart with a three-pointer at the buzzer for the 40-37 victory.

Now the Falcons (22-3) have a shot at facing Tri-Valley (17-7) in the Regionals. The Scotties took Fairfield Union 54-49 January 19yh. The loss snapped a six-game winning streak. Since that meeting, the Falcons have won 10 straight. Tri-Valley defeated St. Clairsville 68-41 Wednesday to face Malvern this Saturday night at 7pm at Ohio University.