However, Hamilton (2-7) was already playing without Cameron Jones, one of its top scorers, and couldn’t pull off the come-from-behind win.
“We really responded in the second half,” HHS coach Tim Robinson said. “We knew we could pressure them and get their bigs tired, but we used so much energy in doing that we just didn’t have enough left in the end.
“And they hit their free throws when it counted,” he added.
Besides Jones’ absence, senior Robert Merz was sitting on the bench early in the second period with three fouls. That aided Fairmont’s early success.
Matt Lee took advantage quickly by scoring 12 of his game-high 21 points in the first half as Farimont rolled to a 32-20 halftime advantage.
“Matt Lee is the most underrated player in our area,” Fairmont coach Hank Bias said. “He just quietly goes out there and gets the job done.”
Mark Shadowens, the Firebirds’ second-leading scorer, contributed 14 points.
But Big Blue’s second-half pressure seemed to get to the Firebirds, and Merz returned to the lineup to score all 10 of his points in the second half.
“He struggled shooting the ball, but it’s tough for a 5-9 guy to get the shots he likes against their height,” Robinson said.
So it was up to Patrick McGuff, who scored a team-high 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting including four 3-pointers.
Hamilton’s hot third-quarter shooting sliced Fairmont’s lead to single digits. In the fourth quarter, HHS clawed all the way to within two points at 56-54 with 1:19 to play, but the Firebirds went 5-of-10 at the line the rest of the way while the home team went scoreless.
Hamilton returns to Greater Miami Conference action Friday at home against Lakota East.
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2852 or sweaver@coxohio.com.
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