Fairbanks’ Braylon Green (23) attempts to thwart a Springfield Catholic Central shot attempt in Tuesday evening’s game. The Panthers beat the Irish, 32-30. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
The Fairbanks Panthers won’t have to worry about replacing scorched nets after Tuesday evening’s game against Ohio Heritage Conference foe Springfield Catholic Central.
What the Panthers also didn’t have to fret about after 32 minutes of action was a setback.
Neither team burned the nets, but in the end the Panthers came through with a 32-30 victory.
“We expected this game to be a struggle,” said FHS head coach Justin George. “They’re a young team that starts three juniors and a couple of sophomores.
“However, we knew they were going to be better than last year.”
Neither team cut loose to run up and down the court throughout the contest.
Both squads played a half-court offense that was slower-placed in tempo and one that featured a lot of passes and screens.
Both teams also used strong defenses to shut down scoring opportunities.
Braylon Green gave FHS (2-1) a 4-0 lead with a couple of early buckets.
The Irish responded when Tyler Galluch, one of only three SCC players to score, swished a trifecta.
Green dished the ball to Andy Higinbotham, who drove the lane for a shot that gave Fairbanks a 6-3 margin late in the opening quarter.
A jumper from Ian Galluch pulled the Irish to within 6-5 by the end of the low scoring-stanza.
Springfield Catholic picked up a little offensive steam during the ensuing quarter.
The Panthers, on the other hand, did not.
SCC closed down driving and passing lanes that made point production difficult for FHS.
Wyatt Miller opened the period with a shot that pushed the Panthers (who will play at Worthington Christian tonight) out to an 8-5 margin.
FHS then went into a long dry spell that wasn’t broken until Miller flashed around a screen and knocked down a shot that narrowed the home team’s gap to 12-10.
Tyler Galluch drop-stepped his way to a basket on the low block.
A stickback and traditional three-point play by Cole Ray sent the Irish into the turn with a 17-10 lead.
Compared to the first half, Fairbanks put on an offensive explosion to begin the third stanza.
Green scored on the low block and Kyler Wilson buried a trifecta that pulled FHS to within 17-15.
The Panthers regained an 18-17 edge at the 5:40 mark when Carter Schultz drilled a three-ball.
The Irish later knotted the game at 19-all.
The stalemate, though, was short-lived.
Schultz came up with a steal on the defensive end of the floor and took the ball to the hoop for a 21-19 FHS advantage.
Miller pulled up for a jumper, sank it, and was fouled on the play.
His charity toss gave the Panthers a 24-19 lead with 2:34 left in the third set.
Tyler Galluch hit a late bucket that sliced FHS’ margin to 24-21 by the end of the quarter.
Ian Galluch’s trifecta tied the battle at 24-24 once play resumed.
The combatants swapped leads over the next few minutes.
There were exchanges in possession on both sides of the ball after Higinbotham tied the game at 27 with a free throw.
Miller later worked his way around a screen from Green for a three-pointer that returned a 30-27 lead to the Panthers.
“Wyatt, Carter and Kyler each hit big three-pointers tonight,” said George.
The Irish (who went into the game with a 3-1 record) missed on a long trifecta attempt and Green was fouled on the rebound.
The senior post player swished both charity tosses for a 32-27 FHS lead.
The Irish had only 30.4 seconds left to cut into the Panthers’ advantage.
They called a couple of timeouts, the final of which came with 7.7 ticks on the timer.
When action resumed, Ian Galluch was spot-on with a long shot from beyond the arc.
That pulled the Irish to within 32-30 as time expired.
Fairbanks
Miller 4-1-10, Green 3-2-8, Schultz 3-0-7, Higinbotham 1-1-3, Wilson 1-0-3, Good 0-1-1, Tobe 0-0-0, Rausch 0-0-0, Ziegler 0-0-0. Totals 12-5-32.
Three-point goals: Miller 1, Schultz 1, Wilson 1.
SCC
Galluch 3-2-10, T. Galluch 4-1-10, Ray 4-2-10, Threats 0-0-0, King 0-0-0, Young 0-0-0, Kampman 0-0-0, Kavangh 0-0-0. Totals 11-5-30.
Three-point goals: I. Galluch 2, T. Galluch 1.
Fairbanks’ reserves (2-1) won the preliminary game, 37-30.
Alex Crowe led the Jr. Panthers with 13 points.