Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

RIO GRANDE — It was a wild weekend.

The Fairland Dragons were sluggish and won, then had their chances but lost a heartbreaker as they split a pair of games this past weekend.

Fairland (2-2) beat the Huntington St. Joe Fighting Irish 58-38 on Friday, then lost 69-66 to the Boyd County (Ky.) Lions on Saturday at the Newt Oliver Classic.

The Dragons missed 12 layups despite beating the Irish.

St. Joe took a 10-4 to start the game and Fairland coach Nathan Speed pulled his starters to send a message.

“I was a little disappointed in the energy we showed. We were playing our first home game and I felt like we would come out and play with a lot of enthusiasm,” said Speed. “Give St. Joe credit. They were the ones who came out and played with energy.”

Fairland rallied to take a 19-10 lead at the end of the quarter and it was 29-19 at the half.

The Dragons went up 40-27 after three quarters, but the Irish managed to cut the deficit to within 11 points with less than seven minutes to play.

Evan Maddox — who had 12 points — hit a 3-pointer to ignite a 12-2 run and Cody Midkiff scored 7 points in the surge as the Dragons put the game on ice.

Midkiff had 18 points after missing the first two games of the season. Dionte Braye had 13 points and 6 rebounds.

On Saturday, the Dragons trailed most of the game before getting within three points with five seconds to play.

Fairland ran a play and got off a 3-point attempt but the shot fell just short in a 69-66 loss.

“We had a good look, but we had three other chances and didn’t hit. We played well overall, we just didn’t shoot the ball well,” said Speed.

Maddox scored 20 points to lead the Dragons. Raines had 13 points and 9 rebounds and Midkiff had 11.

Boyd County hit eight 3-point goals in the win. Austin Hunt led the Lions with 19 points.

The Lions led 21-16 after the first quarter and 35-31 at the half before the Dragons got within 49-48 at the end of the third quarter.

 

 

Friday’s Game

Hunt. St. Joe 10 9 8 11 = 38

Fairland 19 10 11 18 = 58

HUNTINGTON ST. JOSPEH (0-2): Stephan Jenkins 1-1 0-1 1-2 3, Hunter Pratt 3-9 0-1 3-6 9, Brian Conaty 0-4 1-3 1-2 4, Mike Mayes 6-13 0-5 1-2 13, Anthony Rabel 2-5 0-0 1-2 5, Lakin Brooks 1-4 0-1 2-4 4, Weulf Goheen 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, Travis McNeil 0-1 0-0 0-0 0, Paul Gransfeld 0-1 0-0 0-0 0, Brandon Adkins 0-1 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 14-51 9-18 38. 3-point goals: 1-12. Rebounds: 25 (Pratt 9). Assists: 2. Fouls: 13. Fouled out; None.

FAIRLAND (2-1): Cody Midkiff 5-11 1-6 5-8 18, Thayer Flynn 1-2 0-0 0-0 2, Chance Short 1-2 0-3 0-0 2, Luke Phillips 1-4 0-0 0-0 2, Nathan Campbell 2-4 0-0 0-0 4, Kyle Raines 0-6 0-1 0-0 0, Evan Maddox 4-8 1-4 1-2 12, Dionte Braye 6-9 0-0 1-1 13, Tyler Campbell 1-3 0-0 0-2 2, Jacob Warner 0-2 0-1 0-0 0, Philip Beaty 0-0 1-3 0-0 3. Totals: 24-69 7-13 58. 3-point goals: 3-18. Rebounds: 37 (Maddox, Raines, Braye, N. Campbell 6 each). Assists: 12 (Midkiff 3). Steals: 7 (N. Campbell 3). Turnovers: 11. Fouls: 21. Fouled out: None.

Saturday’s Game At Rio Grande

Boyd County 21 14 14 20 = 69

Fairland 16 15 17 18 = 68

BOYD COUNTY (1-2): Brandon Taylor 4-8 0-0 0-0 8, Brandon Lowe 1-4 2-5 3-6 11, Austin Hunt 5-13 1-4 6-10 19, Todd Stacy 1-2 2-5 2-2 10, Jesse Wallace 0-1 0-0 0-0 0, Grayson Griffith 2-3 1-4 1-2 8, Bobby Anderson 2-3 0-1 1-2 5, Tristian Burgess 1-1 2-2 0-0 8. Totals: 24-56 13-22. Fouls: 19. 3-point goals: 8-21. Rebounds: 27 (Griffith 7). Assists: 12 (Anderson 4). Turnovers: 15. Fouls: 19. Fouled out: None.

FAIRLAND (2-2): Philip Beaty 1-1 0-0 0-0 2, Thayer Flynn 0-2 0-0 0-0 0, Cody Midkiff 2-5 1-6 4-5 11, Chance Short 1-6 2-4 0-1 8, Luke Philips 1-2 0-0 2-3 4, Nathan Campbell 2-2 0-0 0-0 4, Kyle Raines 2-3 2-3 3-4 13, Evan Maddox 7-13 0-7 6-7 20, Dionate Braye 1-3 0-0 0-0 2, Jacob Warner 0-1 0-0 2-2 2. Totals: 22-58 17-22 66. 3-point goals: 5-20. Rebounds: 33 (Raines 9, N. Campbell 6, Maddox 6). Assists: 9 (N. Campbell 3). Steals: 6. Turnovers: 10. Fouls: 20. Fouled out: Midkiff.