Triad’s Hadley LeVan (3) wrestles the ball away from Cross Hackathorne of Fairbanks on Tuesday. LeVan scored 23 points as the Cardinals won, 51-49. Pictured at the right is Triad’s Briley Harlan.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
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A discrepancy between the scoreboard and the scorebooks for both teams turned Triad’s 51-49 victory over Fairbanks into a 51-47 verdict for the Cardinal boys on Tuesday.
On the court, the Panthers (1-3) finished with a point shy of the half-century mark. However, neither scorebook recorded Jacob Nicol’s fourth-quarter basket and the official result, according to FHS athletic director Larry Morris, is 47 points.
‘The scoreboard read 47 when folks left the game,” Morris told the Journal-Tribune this morning.
The scoreboard briefly flashed 49 points, but the running tally was changed during the game to match both books.
Had the correct score been recorded, the Panthers may have gone to a different strategy toward the end of the game to try and tie the score or win with a three-pointer.
Regardless of the final margin, both teams played the Ohio Heritage Conference contest with fierce intensity.
“I liked our tenacity,” said Triad coach Jason Malone. “Fairbanks is a good team that can go on scoring stretches. However, we worked hard on defense and got some great stops.”
The Cardinals (4-2) had taken a 36-27 lead with a little more than two minutes left in the third period.
The Panthers (who will travel to West Liberty-Salem on Friday), however, kept taking the battle to their OHC neighbors.
“We gave a great effort to come back,” said FHS coach Justin George.
The game was tight for most of the way, with Triad holding two-point leads of 14-12 and 23-21 at the conclusion of the first two quarters.
Fairbanks couldn’t get any more offense going during the first 16 minutes due some ballhandling miscues.
“We had a lot of turnovers in the post during the first half… at least six or seven,” said George. “Those were big and you can’t do that, especially when you have an advantage in the post like we did.
“At times we were a little too unselfish,” he said. “We had some drives to the basket where guys threw away a pass (instead of taking the ball to the rack).”
Hadley LeVan tallied seven of his game-high 23 points for Triad during the third quarter.
It was his trifecta that pushed the Cardinals (who will host Mechanicsburg on Friday) out to their biggest lead of the game.
Fairbanks’ Tyler Beem knocked down a three-ball that pulled the home team to within 36-30 by the end of the third quarter.
Cross Hackathorne, who led the Panthers with 19 points, hit a field goal and free throw in the early going of the fourth period.
The Cardinals were in no hurry to shoot on several ensuing possessions in their halfcourt offense.
That knocked precious time off the clock that the Panthers could not afford to lose.
Malone felt that Triad’s offensive patience eventually wore down FHS’ defense.
As time raced away, Fairbanks had to begin fouling to stop the clock.
The Panthers sent the Cardinals to the charity stripe, where “we made enough down the stretch,” said Malone.
To their credit, the Panthers refused to surrender. Noah Rausch buried a three-pointer and Hackathorne scored on a traditional three-point play to keep it close.
LeVan cashed in on a trio of clutch charity tosses within the final 30-plus seconds to seal the deal for the Cardinals.
Triad
LeVan 7-8-23, Harlan 3-4-12, Simonelli 2-0-6, Greve 2-1-5, Bails 1-0-3, O’Neal 0-2-2, Atchison 0-0-0, Instine 0-0-0. Totals 15-15-51.
Three-point goals: Harlan 2, Simonelli 2, LeVan 1.
Fairbanks
Hackathorne 7-4-19, Beem 2-2-7, Rausch 3-0-7, Horn 2-2-6, Smith 2-0-4, Nicol 1-0-2, Scheiderer 1-0-2, Green 0-0-0, Higinbotham 0-0-0. Totals 18-8-47.
Three-point goals: Hackathorne 1, Beem 1, Rausch 1.
The Panther jayvees improved to 3-0 with their 58-38 victory over the Jr. Cardinals.
Braylon Green led FHS with 13 points, while Layne Thompson led Triad (1-3) with eight.