The Fairfield Eagles fell in dominating fashion in the season finale at home against Palestine. The Wildcats outscored the Eagles 39-15 in the second half on their way to a 70-33 win at the Johnson Activity Center.
The Eagles and Wildcats ended the season tied for second place in District 19-4A and decided not to deal with the tie on the court. They flipped for position and the Fairfield Eagles won the decision and will take to the playoffs as the runner-up in the district standings. Mexia wins the district with Palestine third and Madisonville in the final playoff spot.
Palestine jumped out to an early 6-0 lead and Justin Abram broke through with a score to put the Eagles on the board. Rex Bean scored the final basket for Fairfield along with a couple of free throws by Tyler Smith. Enoch Fatade scored six in the quarter and the Wildcats led 19-6.
Fairfield closed the gap to 19-12 with a quick 6-0 run to begin the second period. Smith took a steal and scored and Kobe Freeman added a pair of scores. Palestine got those points back and then some with scores on five of their next six possessions. Abram hit a three pointer in the corner on a pass from Smith to close out the first half and a 31-18 Wildcat lead.
Palestine took control of the second half and never looked back in the blowout win. Quentin Cook hit a three and Palestine scored on nine of 18 shots and put 20 points up in the quarter to lead 51-27. Bean added a three pointer in the third along with baskets from Smith and Freeman. Bean hit his second three pointer of the second half as one of the two baskets in the fourth quarter.
Barrett ended the night with 20 points for the Wildcats to lead all scorers. No Eagle player topped double figures with Smith, Bean, and Freeman scoring eight points each and Abram finishing the night with seven points.
The Fairfield Eagles will travel to Huntsville High School to take on the Jasper Bulldogs, the third place team from District 20-4A. The game is set for a 6:30 p.m. tipoff.
(Sports Photography by Melissa Lee)
