The Fairfield boys basketball team came agonizingly close to upsetting undefeated Hillcrest Academy but fell 59-54 on Saturday, December 20th, after the Ravens made crucial plays down the stretch. The loss dropped the Trojans to 1-5 while Hillcrest improved to 7-0.
Game Recap
Hillcrest built a 17-11 lead after the first quarter and held a slim 27-26 advantage at halftime. The Ravens extended their lead to 44-39 after three quarters, but Fairfield battled back in a dramatic fourth quarter.
With Hillcrest leading 46-39, Fairfield mounted a furious comeback. The Trojans tied the game at 52-52 with two minutes remaining, setting up a tense final sequence. Hillcrest answered with a basket to go up 54-52, then added another two points to extend the lead to 56-52.
Eli Zillman scored to cut the deficit to 56-54, and after Hillcrest missed two consecutive free throws, Rowan Kness had a chance to give Fairfield the lead with a three-pointer, but the shot fell short. Hillcrest went 1-of-2 from the line but grabbed the offensive rebound after the miss with 15 seconds left. The Ravens then pulled away with free throws to secure the 59-54 victory, holding their largest lead at seven points when they led 46-39 in the fourth quarter.
Team Statistics
Fairfield shot 23-of-59 from the field, 4-of-18 from three-point range, and 4-of-6 from the free-throw line. The Trojans grabbed 35 rebounds, dished out 12 assists, recorded 9 steals, committed 11 turnovers, and were called for 21 fouls.
Hillcrest shot 21-of-48 from the field, 2-of-8 from three-point range, and 15-of-29 from the free-throw line. The Ravens totaled 32 rebounds, nine assists, seven steals, 15 turnovers, and committed nine fouls.
The disparity at the free-throw line proved crucial, with Hillcrest attempting 29 free throws to Fairfield’s six.
Fairfield Stats
Ethan Bisgard delivered a season-high 21 points on 10-of-16 shooting, adding eight rebounds, two assists, and five steals before fouling out with three seconds remaining. Bisgard battled throughout the game with foul trouble, as he picked up three in the first half and his fourth in the third quarter. That didn’t stop his aggressiveness in the fourth quarter with 11 of his 21 points coming in the final frame. Eli Zillman recorded a double-double with a season-high 13 points and 10 rebounds while contributing two assists and one block. Drew Myers struggled from the field, shooting 2-of-14 and 1-of-10 from three-point range, but still contributed seven points, with a big layup late in the fourth quarter, along with seven rebounds, four assists, and one steal. Axl Starr went berserk in the third quarter for seven points, two rebounds, one steal, and one block. Brock Atwood contributed 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal.
Rowan Kness provided a spark off the bench with six points on 2-of-3 shooting from beyond the arc, as well as three rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Jeremy Parker, Nolan Smith, and Spencer McCready also saw action off the bench.
Hillcrest was led by Nolan Miller with 19 points, Gibson Scott with 16 points, and Kale Bailey with 15 points.
Coach’s Perspective
Fairfield head coach Nate Perkins praised his team’s effort while acknowledging areas for improvement.
“I think we saw what Ethan and Eli are capable of doing. Definitely, we still have things we need to work on. Execution out of timeouts was not where it needs to be for us to be successful,” Perkins said.
Perkins addressed the foul discrepancy that limited his team’s aggressive style of play.
“As for the foul situation, I think we actually played really good defense. Some of the ‘hand check’ and ‘hustle’ fouls we had called were just good defense or play-on in most 3A or 4A games. We adjusted and continued to play hard, but I think how the game was officiated limited our athleticism and kept them at the free-throw line. They shot 29 free throws to our six,” Perkins said.
Despite the loss, Perkins acknowledged his team had opportunities to win.
“With all that said, we still had opportunities to go ahead in the final minutes and a couple of chances to tie, and we missed some crucial shots and moments where we needed to execute,” Perkins said.
The coach expressed pride in his team’s resilience and effort.
“They played their butts off today on a bounce-back night after a tough loss, going into a place that is really hard to play. I’m proud of the guys, and they’re continuing to make strides as we go into break,” Perkins said.
The Trojans (1-5) will look to build on this competitive performance when they return from the holiday break.
Photography courtesy of Lee Muntz.
