Sports
Meigs Marauders One and Done Against Fairfield Union
By: Joseph Hennessy
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The Meigs Marauders went one and done against the number two-seeded Fairfield Union Falcons 62-53 on Feb. 25. A big game from junior Christian Mattox and play off the bench from freshman Weston Baer just was not enough for the Marauders to get the win.
The first quarter was a battle back and forth. Not much scoring occurred during the first, but that did not stop the crowd from getting rowdy. A foul call from the referee on both teams over a double box-out by Meigs’ Dillon Mahr and Jared Kennedy on Colin Woodside from Fairfield Union caused both sides of the stands to erupt. The crowd was alive for the rest of the game from this early call. The Falcons led 11-8 when the buzzer sounded for the end of the quarter.
The action crept into the second quarter and both teams went to their bench. Baer subbed into the game for Meigs and instantly made an impact with two three pointers and a lay-up over a Fairfield Union defender. Although just being a freshman in his first playoff game of his career, his presence was known early in the gym. Unfortunately for the Marauders, not much action from Baer followed as these were the only points he scored in the whole game.
As for the Falcons, coming off the bench was Sophomore Evan Conley. Conley took the role of point guard, controlling the pace and scoring for Fairfield Union. His impact, like Baer, was quick and beneficial. The stat line for Conley proved his dominance. 19 points and six rebounds off the bench was a key reason the Falcons walked out the gym with a win and some netting.
The half ended and the score was 28-27. The gym was quiet as the two seed was in a close fight with a seven seed. As the buzzer sounded and both teams jogged onto the court to get ready to play, something clicked with the Fairfield Union players and they stepped up their defensive play. Only giving up a total of five points in the third quarter influenced the Falcons to pounce on their opponents.
The fourth quarter got a little more exciting as Meigs clawed as much as they could to get back in the game. Mattox wouldn’t give up and ended with 20 points. But down by 11 with 3:17 left in the game, Kennedy fouls out giving up the Marauders height in the paint against the tall roster of Fairfield Union. Because of this, the Marauders had to foul late where the Falcons took advantage making 14 of 20 free throws in the game. The buzzer sounded and the game was over. The Marauders fell to the Falcons, 62-53.
Fairfield Union ended the game out-rebounding Meigs 27-16. Meigs also shot 21 percent from three point land.
The Falcons will play the Chillicothe Cavaliers at the Convocation Center March 2.