Senior guard Devin Turner scored a game-high 19 points and sophomore guard Colin Singer — who wasn’t even on varsity for that first game — went 4-of-6 from the line in the final 25.2 seconds as 18th-seeded Fairfield (9-14) upset seventh-seeded West Clermont (17-6) 49-46 in the nightcap of a prep boys basketball tournament tripleheader at Lakota West.
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Fairfield coach Jeff Sims wasn’t surprised by Singer’s clutch free-throw shooting.
“He didn’t have a very good game up to then, but we have confidence in him,” Sims said, pointing out Singer’s team-high five turnovers. “He’s a sophomore, sure, but he played varsity baseball as a freshman. If you put him in a competition, he’s going to win that competition.”
The Wolves, the Eastern Cincinnati Conference champions, led by four with 4:12 left in the game, but Turner’s left-handed tip-in of his own miss gave Fairfield the lead for good at 42-41 with 2:12 left in the game.
West Clermont didn’t help itself by committing 25 turnovers, including one in which one of its players ran untouched out of bounds while trying to get open. Fairfield finished with a 22-19 edge in points off of turnovers.
“We led in the fourth quarter of that first game, but we didn’t finish it,” Sims said. “We’ve gotten better at finishing games throughout the year. You have to learn to fight and compete.”
Fairfield led by as many as eight points in a sloppy first half marred by a combined 24 turnovers. DaShaun Simpkins and Courtland Smith each scored six points to lead the Indians, who expanded their lead to 31-20 on Turner’s layup with 3:13 left in the third quarter before West Clermont ended the quarter with a 10-0 run.
Fairfield is scheduled to meet 12th-seeded Winton Woods in a second-round game on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Hamilton. The Warriors eliminated 25th-seeded Lakota West (5-18) 59-46 on Saturday.
In the tripleheader’s middle game, the 29th-seeded Edgewood Cougars cut a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to five before succumbing to the 10th-seeded Elder Panthers 47-40.
Senior guard Gabe Allen scored eight of his game-high 18 points during a personal 8-0 run in the last two minutes while Elder was missing the front end of three bonus free-throw situations in the final 30.2 seconds, but the Cougars couldn’t maintain the momentum.
“My hats off to them,” Edgewood coach John Thomas said. “With our record, they could have packed it in, but they never did. They came to practice every day and worked hard every day. I told them I was proud of them. It’s tough for the seniors.”
Edgewood (5-18) never led after Elder (12-10) took a 5-4 lead on a Michael Bittner steal-and-layup with 4:19 left in the first quarter. The Panthers took command with an 8-0 run to open the second quarter, holding the Cougars scoreless until junior guard Peyton Daley banked in a 3-pointer with 2:56 left in the first half.
Edgewood played an active 2-3 zone defense the whole game.
“The plan was to force them into contested shots from the perimeter,” Thomas said. “That’s not been our primary defense, and (the Panthers) have a good motion offense and good coaching.”
Elder capitalized on six Edgewood turnovers to build a 10-0 advantage in points off turnovers before halftime. The Panthers’ bench outscored the Cougars’ bench 11-0 while taking command in the first half.
Bryson Merz hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give Elder a 14-point lead (34-20) with 4:16 left in the third quarter and opened the fourth quarter with a personal 5-0 run for another 14-point margin, 41-27.
The Panthers, who were whistled for one foul in the second half and seven in the game, are scheduled to meet fourth-seeded Oak Hills (16-6) in a second-round game on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Hamilton.
Edgewood 8-8-11-13—40
Elder 13-13-10-11—47
EDGEWOOD (5-18): Peyton Daley 2 0 5; Zach Hamilton 1 0 3; Gabe Allen 4 4 18; Caleb Allen 1 0 3; Logan Loftus 1 0 2; Eric Brooks 1 0 2; Isaiah Gambrell 2 3 7. Totals: 14-7-40
ELDER (12-10): Willard Cluxton 3 0 8; Michael Bittner 3 0 7; Matthew Luebbe 1 2 4; Eric Beck 1 0 3; Joe Royer 1 0 2; Bryson Merz 6 2 17; Anthony Holmes 1 0 2; Luke Kandra 2 0 4. Totals: 18-4-47
3-pointers: ED 5 (G. Allen 2, C. Allen, Daley, Hamilton), EL 7 (Merz 3, Cluxton 2, Bittner, Beck)
West Clermont 8-9-13-16—46
Fairfield 11-10-10-18—49
WEST CLERMONT (17-6): D.J. Vianello 2 0 4; Gavin Pitts 1 0 3; Donte Turner Jr. 2 0 5; Alex Wilzbach 3 1 7; John Aicholtz 5 4 18; Jackso Ames 4 1 9. Totals: 17-6-46
FAIRFIELD (9-14): Devin Turner 6 5 19; Zavian Ricks 1 0 2; Colin Singer 1 6 9; Caleb Cropenbaker 2 0 5; DaShaun Simpkins 3 0 6; Courtland Smith 3 0 8. Totals: 16-11-49
3-pointers: W 6 (Aicholtz, Pitts, Turner Jr.), F 6 (Turner 2, Smith 2, Singer, Cropenbaker)
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