×

Tigers fall to Fairfield Union

Photo by Tyler Bennett Marietta's Derek Duckworth (5) looks to pass as Fairfield Union's Evan Conley (2) defends during Saturday's Division II sectional final game at Jim Myers Gymnasium in Logan, Ohio.

LOGAN, Ohio– The seventh-seeded Marietta Tigers came out the gates fast with a strong first half but were unable to keep the momentum going, falling to the second-seeded Fairfield Union Falcons 48-33 in an Ohio Division II sectional final Saturday at Logan High School.

Holding a seven-point lead going into halftime, the Tigers (7-17) came out trying to kill the clock, taking up three minutes of game time. Later, Marietta threw the ball away and wasn’t able to score until the three minutes left in the third, dooming the Tigers.

Gaining possession for the first time in the half, the Falcons (15-8) took advantage by dropping their first three shots coming out of the locker room.

The Falcons used their height advantage, getting points from Huston Harrah (4) and Andrew Moll (2) in the paint, making it a one-point Tigers lead before head coach J.D. Secrest called a timeout with 3:19 left in the third.

“They came out of the second and got some easy looks,” coach Secrest said.

The Tigers responded with an Austin Witucky bucket off a Derek Duckworth assist, but a bucket from Harrah and a last-minute 3 from Evan Conley gave the Falcons their first lead since the two-minute mark in the first quarter, taking a 28-26 lead into the final period.

In the fourth quarter, Derek Duckworth scored five out of the team’s seven points, but Conley scored 11 out of his game-high 20 points. The Falcons pulled away in the fourth, scoring 20 points over the final eight minutes.

The game got heated in the final moments of the fourth when driving to the basket, Conley found a wide open Harrah down low for an easy lay-in.

Pushing and shoving during the drive, Derek Duckworth and Conley got into an altercation that lead to Conley and Jacob Baker getting a technical one. While Derek and Mark Duckworth both received double technicals, causing the two to get ejected.

Derek Duckworth’ finished his final game as a Tiger with 10 points and seven rebounds, both team-highs, and Witucky was second with seven points.

Awarded four free-throws, Conley went 3 for 4 to give the Falcons an 11-point lead, putting the game out of reach.

The Tigers were outscored 31-9 in the second half and turned the ball over six times, compared to only having three in the first.

“Fairfield Union really upped their defensive pressure in the second half made it tough for us to get looks,” Secrest said. “When we got some open looks they just didn’t fall. We can’t complain about the majority of the shots they took. They just didn’t fall.”

A Conley 3 may have gotten the game going, but it was all Marietta in the first half, as the Tigers raced out to a 14-4 scoring run. Six different players scored for the Tigers — a Ryan Mannix triple got the Tigers their first lead of the day while Tony Munos got four points coming off the bench.

Marietta got its largest lead of the night off a Derek Duckworth jumper to make it a 10-point lead, but Chase Poston cut into the lead with a 3 with five seconds left.

Outrebounding the Falcons 11 to 6 and forcing eight turnovers in the first half, halftime was the worst thing that could have happened to Secrest and the Tigers, who were unable to keep up the momentum for rest of the game.

“It was one of those games where halftime is the worst thing that could have happened to us, cause we were playing really well and had a lot of momentum,” Secrest said. “We were proud of our kids, how hard they battled. We had some bad breaks this year. And hopefully, they put some time in the offseason and represent next year.”

The Falcons will play the third-seeded Washington Court House Thursday at the Convocation Center at Ohio University.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today