By AARON SNYDER — The Independent
LLOYD — With a state tournament on the brink, Fairview faced a formidable challenge Tuesday night at The Greenhouse at Greenup County High School.
The Musketeers competed closely with the Eagles for a little more than three quarters, but Fairview kept its focus and completed the task at hand, pulling away to defeat Greenup County 57-43.
Fairview coach Derek Cooksey thought the win could serve as a stepping stone to a good showing in the Touchstone Energy All “A” Classic, the 16-team state tournament that begins Thursday at Eastern Kentucky University, where the Eagles will face Owensboro Catholic in the opening round.
“I have to be pleased,” Cooksey said. “I’d rather us play a tough team on the road than wait five or six days and go down and play in the tournament. I think this game is going to help us.”
Greenup County (10-9) erased an early deficit to tie the game at 24 apiece following a basket by Jacob Prater off of a Fairview turnover.
Somebody needed to step up for Fairview, and senior Caleb Collins decided he was going to be that player.
“I knew we had to do something because they kept coming back on us,” Collins said. “I just kept coming off ball screens, and I just kept driving the ball.”
Collins attacked the basket repeatedly in the third quarter. Collins broke the 24-24 tie by converting back-to-back three-point plays by penetrating in the paint.
However, Greenup County again battled back behind junior forward Trey Williams. A Williams’ trey tied the game again at 32 apiece.
Eagles senior J.D. Adams, who had 10 points, supplied a three-point play and then Collins buried a jumper to give Fairview a five-point cushion going into the fourth quarter. Collins scored 10 of his game-high 21 points in the third quarter.
“He’s stepped up the last three or four games,” Cooksey said of Collins. “Seemingly, we’ve rode him in certain stretches. That’s what you want to do. When it comes down to crunch time, he’s had all the experience; he’s had enough confidence to take those shots.”
Williams almost single-handedly kept Greenup County in the game throughout the second half, but it was not enough to overcome Fairview’s hot shooting in the final minutes. The Eagles went 6-for-6 from the floor in the fourth quarter.
According to Greenup County coach Tim Fraley, Williams, who had only three free-throw attempts, should have been at the foul line more often.
“Trey Williams is a really nice offensive player who does not get the respect from the officials that he should get,” Fraley said. “I thought he got hand-checked and bodied in the last two or three games and he’s not getting to walk to the free-throw line.”
The junior was still able to score 20 points and keep the Musketeers within striking distance for most of the game, even without post player Michael Hampton.
Hampton was sidelined for one game due to a violation of team rules. According to Fraley, there was some miscommunication and the junior missed a shootaround Tuesday.
Fairview (15-2) raced out to a 9-0 advantage which was started by a Brent Jackson 3-pointer. Jackson finished with 14 points. Greenup County’s Hayden Stephenson broke open the scoring for the Musketeers, and he finished with nine points and seven boards.
AARON SNYDER can be reached at asnyder@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2664.
