Braylon Greene of Fairbanks goes for a layup as Owen Davis of North Union attempts to block his shot. Greene tallied 13-points during the Panthers’ 56-52 overtime win. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon)
The Fairbanks boy’s basketball team has had to deal with the struggles of uncertainty during the pandemic, only able to hold six practices in six weeks due to quarantine issues.
Wednesday was their return to play and six practices is all they needed to beat in-county rival North Union. The game couldn’t be settled in regulation, but it was the Panthers that came out on top, 56-52, in overtime.
Fairbanks head coach Justin George said it was a solid win for the now 1-1 Panthers.
“It has been a whirlwind couple of weeks,” George said. “It was an awesome team win tonight. Everyone contributed and that is all we can ask for.”
Both teams opened with strong defensive play in man-to-man coverage, but it was the Panthers that got the better looks. Carter Schultz found the bottom of the basket from beyond the arc, while guard Andy Higinbottom provided Fairbanks with eight points off the bench, one of his buckets coming in the opening quarter.
The Wildcats turned to their big man Zach Vernon in the post to pick up points. Vernon tallied a team-high 17 points with seven coming in the first quarter.
North Union head coach Brian Terrill said his team lost their way against their county rival.
“We played hard, I’m not questioning our effort, we just didn’t play smart or team ball,” Terrill added. “It isn’t selfishness; it was just too many people trying to do too much.”
The Panthers took a 14-12 lead by the end of the first, but the lead would be short lived. In the second quarter Fairbanks stretched their lead to 18-15 before Trevyn Feasel knocked down a trey to knot the contest at 18-18. The two sides exchanged defensive blows in the quarter before Braylon Greene hit a pair of jumpers to take a 24-22 Panther lead at the half.
Terrill said with teams being neighbors, he wasn’t surprised by the Panthers tough play.
“We’ve got a target on our back the size of Union County,” Terrill said. “It is everybody’s super bowl when they play us. We made a lot of enemies last year. We beat everybody. We are not going to get any body’s average game.”
The third quarter belonged to Cats as they put on the pressure with a press. Aaron Krebehenne scoped up a pair of steals that helped NU take a 34-28 lead during a six-point run, but Fairbanks’ shooters kept the pressure on. Schultz knocked down his second three-pointer with time expiring to pull the Panthers to within 34-31.
NU’s Vernon returned to form in the fourth quarter picking up a non-traditional three-pointer from the free-throw line that extended the Wildcats lead to 39-33.
Fairbanks answer with a pair of buckets from Trey Good and Greene. NU put on the press that allowed Feasel to pick up a steal and dish the ball to Krebehenne to extend the Cats’ lead to 41-37.
Fairbanks stayed a step behind the Wildcats through the next five minutes of the quarter. With 23 second left on the clock Good knocked down the trey from the corner that pulled the Panthers to within two at 47-45. The Cats lost the ball on a rebound and took their final timeout to set up a play.
The inbound pass went to Panthers’ Schultz in the corner. Schultz drove the baseline and hit a short jumper to tie the game at 47-47 with two seconds left.
George said it wasn’t the paly they were looking for.
“We tried to get him to come off, but North Union defended that well, but (Schultz) was able to drive the baseline and was able to make it,” George said. “We were looking for a jump shot in the corner, but he made a play.”
In overtime, it was all the Panthers. NU attempted to put on the press to catch Fairbanks in the backcourt, but the Panthers would work around to work out to a 52-47 lead thanks to a three-pointer from Good.
Terrill said his team just didn’t make good decisions.
“We made some stupid mistakes and let them back into the game,” he said. “When we pressed and allowed them to get up by five. We had control of the game at that point.”
North Union had to start putting the Panthers at the foul line where Fairbanks held on down the stretch going 6-8 to claim their first win of the season.
Terrill said the loss will hopefully snap his team back into form.
“A lot of this is discovering that we are not bulletproof,” Terrill said. “I told the kids a 100 times in the last two weeks that we got to start taking practices more seriously. We got to take our free throws more seriously. We got to shoot extra before and after practice and I don’t know how much of that soaked in. A loss like this will help get it soaked in.”
The Wildcats are now 4-1 for the season and are scheduled to return to action Tuesday against Kenton Ridge. Fairbanks is scheduled to play Catholic Central Tuesday.
FHS 14 10 7 16 9 56
NU 12 10 12 13 5 52
FHS: Good 4-2-13, Greene 6-1-13, Schultz 3-2-10, Higinbottom 4-0-8, Miller 2-1-6, Rausch 1-0-2, Wilson 1-0-2, Ziegler 1-0-2
NU: Vernon 7-3-17, Crabtree 4-2-12, Feasel 3-2-9, O. Davis 4-0-8, Krebehenne 2-0-4, H. Davis 1-0-2