Fairbanks’ Tyler Beem goes up for a shot at Mechanicsburg on Tuesday. The Panthers won, 44-33.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
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“It was a win.”
Those were the first words out of head coach Justin George’s mouth after his Fairbanks Panthers defeated Mechanicsburg, 44-33, on the road during an Ohio Heritage Conference boys basketball game Tuesday evening.
The victory was the Panthers’ fourth in five games so far this season and also kept their conference record perfect at 4-0.
Other than that, there wasn’t much to say about a game that was less than sparkling for either team.
Both squads found the going very difficult on the offensive end of the court.
The Panthers and Indians combined for 38 turnovers and a ton of missed shots.
Each team had a number of good looks at the basket – when they weren’t turning the ball over – but the majority of those offerings failed to find the mark.
“This was one of those games that comes right after an emotional victory (last Friday in overtime against West Liberty-Salem),” said George. “It’s also tough to play and shoot in this gym.
“I think it’s a mental thing for us.”
Baskets by Tyler Beem and Cross Hackathorne gave FHS (which will travel to Northeastern on Friday) an early 4-0 margin.
Braylon Green later kicked the ball out to Jacob Nicol for a trifecta that pushed the Panthers out to a 7-2 lead.
The remainder of the opening quarter primarily consisted of empty possessions as turnovers thwarted both teams.
Hackathorne beat a defender in the paint for a 9-2 FHS advantage.
Mechanicsburg’s Jake Edwards scored in the waning seconds to cut the Indians’ deficit to 9-4.
Edwards tallied an old-school three-point play early in the ensuing set to narrow the gap to 9-7.
The Panthers went on a 12-3 run, thanks to a couple of buckets by Hackathorne and baskets from Nicol, Beem and Seth Standley.
By the time Mechanicsburg’s Joey Mascadri hit a charity toss, Fairbanks had built a 21-11 lead.
Chris Taylor’s free throw with 7.2 seconds to play pulled the Indians to within 21-12 at the break.
The Panthers shook off some of their offensive woes and climbed to a 32-17 advantage with a little more than three minutes left to play during the third quarter.
Hackathorne tallied a pair of buckets, while Nick Murray, Wyatte Miller and Standley also sank shots from the field.
Fairbanks took a 32-19 lead into the final eight minutes of play.
FHS maintained double-digit margins throughout the fourth quarter to remain undefeated in OHC action.
Turnovers were problematic for the Panthers, as they coughed up the ball 15 times.
“Those were a problem,” admitted George. “I think it was because we were mentally drained from Friday’s victory.”
The Panther bench boss did find some positives out of players who went into the contest off the bench.
“Nick, Wyatt and Seth each showed improvement on defense with their positioning and rotations,” said George. “We need to continue that as we move forward this season.”
Fairbanks
Hackathorne 7-0-14, Beem 3-2-8, Nicol 2-1-6, Green 1-2-4, Standley 2-0-4, Murray 2-0-4, Smith 1-0-2, Miller 1-0-2, Brackenridge 0-0-0, Calder 0-0-0. Totals 19-5-44.
Three-point goals: Nicol 1.
Mechanicsburg
J. Mascadri 3-4-11, Taylor 3-2-9, Edwards 3-1-8, Hurst 1-0-2, Hall 1-0-2, Smith 0-1-1, Bebout 0-0-0, Sadowski 0-0-0. Totals 11-8-33.
Three-point goals: J. Mascadri 1, Taylor 1, Edwards 1.