Ryker Green (5) of Fairbanks goes up for a shot against Heath on Friday. The Panthers fell 47-45 during the Division III sectional final game.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
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The Fairbanks boys basketball team had its backs to the wall Friday evening.
The sixth-seeded Panthers trailed 43-33 against No. 7 Heath late in the fourth quarter during a Division III sectional tournament championship game on their home court.
One thing Panther Nation learned a long, long time ago is to never count out their favorite team until the last possible second.
Fairbanks (19-5) made a fierce comeback over the final minute, only to fall short of the Bulldogs, 47-45.
“We were down, but we clawed back,” said FHS coach Zach Brown after the season-ending setback.
The Panthers never got going with their offense until very late in the game.
They hit a couple of key three-pointers in the waning minute, but made just five-of-17 for the evening from beyond the arc.
They also committed 15 turnovers, many at critical junctures of the battle.
“Give Heath a lot of credit,” said Brown. “Their 3-2 zone caused us a lot of struggles.”
The Bulldogs slapped on the zone right from the opening tip and didn’t vary from it the entire game.
They employed the defensive alignment in order to make it difficult for the Panthers to get the ball inside for baskets.
Holtz Maine, Fairbanks’ 6-5 post player, managed nine points during the first half and finished with a game-high 15 despite the defense.
AJ Landon of FHS opened the contest with a three-pointer.
Maine scored on the backside of the Dogs’ defense for a 5-0 lead.
The initial period was nearly at its midway point before Jaxon Duston got Heath on the scoreboard with a trifecta.
After trailing by five, the Bulldogs went on an 8-1 run and took an 8-6 edge into the second stanza.
The visitors from Licking County doubled their lead to 12-6 after a three-ball from Ben Mason and a free throw by Duston.
The Panthers, however, kept scratching and fighting for everything they could get.
Dominic Kennedy snared a rebound and got the ball to Ryker Green for a basket.
Kennedy hit a pair of charity tosses and Maine score on an assist from Brayden Wiedmann.
With 4:32 left until halftime, the game was knotted at 12-all.
A trey by Will Robertson gave the Bulldogs a 15-12 margin.
Wiedmann once again assisted on a bucket by Maine, which pulled FHS to within 15-14.
Heath maintained one and three-point spreads over the next couple of minutes.
After several exchanges in possession, Robertson scored, sending the Dogs into the halftime break with a 21-16 lead.
Green buried a trifecta and hit another jumper to pull the Panthers within 24-21 during the opening minutes of the third quarter.
A stickback by Maine with approximately five minutes left in the period whittled the home team’s deficit to 26-23.
Robertson dialed up a trio of points and Jordan Kaminsky hit a basket that elevated the Bulldogs’ advantage to 31-23.
That forced the Panthers to call a timeout with 3:34 on the third-quarter timer.
Evan Wiedmann sliced the gap to five with a three-pointer.
About a minute later, however, Kaminsky responded with his own trey for a 34-26 Dog spread.
Both teams came up with empty possessions, leaving Heath up by eight with one quarter remaining in the game.
The Panthers had a difficult time trying to find gaps in the Bulldogs’ zone defense.
They expended a lot of time swinging the ball around the perimeter, looking for any type of opening.
It also didn’t help matters when Maine was whistled to the sidelines with his fifth foul and 1:59 remaining in the contest.
Heath gradually climbed to the 10-point spread (43-33) with 1:03 on the clock.
Brayden Wiedmann took one point off the deficit with a free throw.
The Bulldogs turned the ball over with 56.6 seconds to play.
FHS used its next-to-last time-out.
Once play resumed, Wiedmann knocked down a quick three-ball, pulling Fairbanks to within 43-37.
Duston sank a free throw to give the visitors a 44-37 margin with 33.3 ticks on the timer.
Wiedmann’s next trifecta closed the score to 44-40 with 17.4 seconds to play.
Fairbanks burned its final timeout and forced a Bulldog miscue with 14.5 seconds left.
By this time, fans on both sides of the FHS gym were on the edge of their seats.
FHS took the ball out under its own basket. The inbounds pass resulted in a three-pointer from Evan Wiedmann.
The Bulldogs led 44-43 with 7.7 seconds to play.
All they would have to do would be to get the ball in bounds and basically force the Panthers to foul.
Fairbanks opted to stop the clock, but did so in a rather unorthodox, but quicker way.
The Panthers didn’t have any more timeouts, but called one anyway.
“That was on purpose,” explained Brown. “We did it to stop the clock (as quickly as possible).”
Ben Mason was sent to the free throw line, where he gave Heath a 46-43 lead.
The Bulldogs called a timeout, knowing they still retained possession after the technical foul free throws.
Kaminsky was fouled when action got back under way.
He sank one free throw with 7.1 seconds left for a 47-43 advantage.
Evan Wiedmann scored a consolation basket for FHS on an offensive rebound to end the game.
Although disappointed with the loss that wrapped up the season, Brown was pleased with what his team gave him this winter.
“We won 19 games and shared a conference (Ohio Heritage Conference North Division) championship,” he said. “Our seniors… really all of our players took our program a step forward this year.”
Heath
Robertson 4-2-12, Mason 2-5-11, Devito 2-3-8, Kaminsky 2-3-8, Duston 1-3-6, Bayles 1-0-2. Totals 12-16-47.
Three-point goals: Robertson 2, Mason 2, Duston 1.
Fairbanks
Maine 7-1-15, Green 4-1-10, E. Wiedmann 3-0-8, B. Wiedmann 2-1-7, Landon 1-0-3, Kennedy 0-2-2, Orders 0-0-0. Totals 17-5-45.
Three-point goals: E. Wiedmann 2, B. Wiedmann 2, Green 1.