FLYING BETWEEN TWO WILDCATS is Devin Cunningham who added to the Eagle scoreboard.
The Fairfield Eagles split the games this week and fell into second place in District 19-4A. The Eagles dominated Rusk on the road 70-33 and lost to district leader Palestine 62-47 on Friday at the Johnson Activity Center.
The Eagles travelled to Rusk for the third game of district play against the winless Eagles. Jaise Oliver and Kobe Freeman teamed up for ten points and built a 17-9 lead in the first quarter. They ended the quarter on a 10-0 run.
Fairfield followed with extending the lead by 10 more when Oliver scored six and Daniels hit his first three of the season. Keshaun Crenshaw hit a pair in the quarter and the Eagles led 35-17 at the half.
Freeman scored the first two baskets of the half, the first coming on a dunk. Daquann McWilliams took over in the Eagle backcourt and score a pair of possession, one with a foul shot connected to it. Fairfield closed the quarter on a 13-0 run and a 53-23 lead after three quarters.
Cunningham and Freeman led four double digit scorers with 13 points. Oliver had ten and Crenshaw poured in a season high 11 with 16 rebounds and added four assists.
Fairfield returned to the Johnson Activity Center to take on the Palestine Wildcats. At the beginning of the game, the teams were tied for first in the district race.
D’Michael Bellfield scored the first points of the game and Eric Carthen added a three pointer. Freeman scored the first four of the game for the Eagles to keep the game close in the early moments. Matt Wages built a five-point lead with a three pointer and Quentin Cook scored a layup in the final seconds for a 17-10 lead after one quarter.
Oliver scored and was fouled to complete the three-point play and had a put back to close the gap. He scored 12 of the 13 points in the quarter and were able to close the gap to 29-23, but the Eagles missed all 11 of their three-point attempts. Palestine hit four shots in a row, coupled with a Wages three-pointer.
Palestine scored on their first three possessions, Bellfield scored eight in the quarter after foul trouble in the first half. Wages and Enoch Fatade scored and forced a Fairfield timeout. They would hit four more in the quarter, while the Eagles only hit three of 16 from the field. Fairfield was outscored 17-6 in the frame and the Wildcat lead swelled to 46-27.
Fairfield missed their first 18 three pointers in the game before DJ Houston hit three in the fourth quarter. Bellfield scored nine to seal the game and the 62-47 win.
Oliver scored 18 in the game to lead the way. Wages scored 16 and Bellfield added 17 of his game high 22 in the second half for the Wildcat win.
Fairfield has an open date on Tuesday and will travel to Mexia to take on the Blackcats on Friday very important contest.
(Sports Photography by Melissa Lee)
