The Fairfield Eagles won both games with the season winding down and remain in solid second place in the District 19-4A race with a home game against Palestine remaining.
The Eagles travelled to Madisonville on Tuesday and won in overtime 52-44. They trailed most of the time in regulation but took the lead and controlled it through the extra period.
Kobe Freeman and Carl Daniels hit the only shots in the first period and Madisonville hit four with a three pointer by Roundtree and the Mustangs led 10-7 at the end of one.
The Mustangs extended the lead heading into the half. Willis led off with a score and Stanley hit a three pointer from the corner and Johnson scored four points off Fairfield turnovers. Kamren Griffin, Freeman and Daniels each scored with three free throws but the Mustangs took a 26-16 lead into the lockerroom.
The Fairfield offense came to life in the second half with a three pointer from Rex Bean and scores from Daniels and Freeman. The game changed on the defensive side of the court and the Eagle defense allowed one of 11 in the third with most of the scoring coming from the charity stripe. Fairfield only scored 12 in the period but they allowed only seven and shaved the lead down to 33-28 entering the final period.
Tyler Smith hit a three pointer and Griffin scored inside and free throws put the game even in the final moments. Justin Abram hit a pair of free throws and the game was tied at 42-42 at the end of regulation. Freeman scored a basket in the overtime period and took the lead for the Eagles and they would not trail again. Fairfield hit all six free throws in overtime to close out the 52-44 win.
Griffin scored a game high 15 points and made nine of ten free throws and Freeman added 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Fairfield eliminated any hope of a good game in the first period of a dominating 80-36 win over the Rusk Eagles on the road Friday. Smith scored 11 points in the first period and Daniels added six and the Eagles jumped out to a quick lead. They hit their first five shots of the second period and first four of the second half and the Eagles extended the lead to 69-28 at the end of the third.
Aiden Brackens, Rex Bean and Kobe Shed did most of the damage in the final period with Bean making a pair of three pointers and Shed dropping a long range shot for the final points of the game. Brackens eight rebounds in the fourth period, five on the offensive end to keep the Eagles in control of the clock. Griffin scored 17 points to lead four double digit scorers on the night, with Freeman scoring 14, Smith adding 13 and Daniels scoring 12.
Fairfield will host the Palestine Wildcats in the regular season finale and then head to the playoff. The game could be important for seeding purposes for the Fairfield Eagles.
(Sports Photography by Melissa Lee)
