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Fairfield routs Hamilton

Indians show intensity against Big Blue after loss to Mason.

Torrell Sutton (50) of Hamilton blocks the shot of Keon Benjamin (32) of Fairfield during their game Friday at Hamilton High School. Fairfield won 68-45. contributed photo by robert leifheit

Leifheit Torrell Sutton (50) of Hamilton blocks the shot of Keon Benjamin (32) of Fairfield during their game Friday at Hamilton High School. Fairfield won 68-45. contributed photo by robert leifheit

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By Jay Morrison, Staff Writer 1:55 AM Saturday, February 11, 2012

HAMILTON — The Fairfield High School boys basketball team was humbled Tuesday night, and Hamilton paid for it Friday night.

Coming off a blowout loss at Mason that ended their hopes for a Greater Miami Conference title, the Indians displayed an intensity that coach Tim Austing hadn’t seen in weeks as they jumped on Big Blue early and never let up en route to a 68-45 victory that spoiled Senior Night at HHS.

“We didn’t feel like we had the intensity and effort that we try to pride ourselves on over the last few weeks,” Austing said. “Our big focus was getting back to being an aggressive team and getting back to playing physical man defense, and I thought the kids did a good job of that and set the tone early.”

Fairfield (15-4, 9-4 GMC) forced a pair of early turnovers and hit back-to-back 3-pointers to start the game with a 10-0 lead that eventually swelled to 18-3 before the first quarter had ended.

“I kept telling our guys coach Austing was going to have his players ready because of what happened to them at Mason,” Hamilton coach Tim Robinson said. “I thought we were ready for it, but we couldn’t handle their physical presence on the perimeter or in the post.”

Fairfield senior guard Kyle Smith scored 14 of his game-high 18 points in the first half and finished just two shy of his career high.

“(Tuesday) was one of the most embarrassing losses I’ve ever been a part of, and we really used it as motivation,” Smith said. “We wanted to come out here with a lot of energy and play together as a team like we did at the beginning of the season. It felt awesome to play like that again.”

The Indians shot 52 percent from the floor, with seniors Brandon Murphy (12) and Keon Benjamin (11) and sophomore Tim Fleming (10) joining Smith in double figures.

Defensively they recorded 11 steals, blocked seven shots and forced Hamilton (4-15, 2-11 GMC) into 21 turnovers that led to 34 of their 68 points.

“They played hard and you have to give them all the credit in the world,” Robinson said. “They just took it to us from the time they walked on the floor until the time they left.”

Murphy had seven rebounds and four blocks to go along with his 12 points, while senior Devon Barlow added five steals and four points.

A bright spot for Big Blue was freshman Jamil Daniels, who only played the final six minutes of the game but ended up scoring a team-high 10 points and grabbing five rebounds.

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