Lions dominate Tomcats to advance to district semifinals
By: Andrew Rowan
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LEESBURG, Ohio (WOUB) — The Trimble Tomcats hit the road Thursday night to take on the Fairfield Lions in the first round of the Southeast District Division VII playoffs. The Lions outplayed the Tomcats through aggressive defense and impressive rebounding to take home the victory 69-32.
Right from tipoff, both teams set the precedent that they wanted to control the game with quick and aggressive play, but it was Fairfield who struck first, with the first score of the night coming from a three-point shot by sophomore Caleb Barrera, forcing Trimble to call a timeout. The press from the Lions was too much for the Tomcats to handle as they only scored three points off a three-point shot from sophomore Brady Jajczyk, ending the quarter 18-3 Fairfield.
The Lions kept their foot on the gas pedal going into the second, pressuring the Tomcats to take shots, but could not find the net, and many of those missed shots became turnovers, feeding the Lion lead. Midway through the quarter, Trimble attempted back-to-back threes, but both were rebounding end and then Fairfield made two three-pointers of their own. Leading the way from beyond the arc was sophomore Brody Smith, who went 3/3 in the quarter alone. Some personnel changes late from Trimble weren’t enough to make a difference as Fairfield went into the locker room up 44-14.
After coming out from halftime, Fairfield kept doing what they did best, overwhelm then strike. Lions senior Logan Mclntosh played his best quarter in which got himself a double-double.By keeping the script the same, the deficit only grew bigger, bringing it to 57-21.
With the running clock in effect, the game concluded with a victory for the Lions, 69-32. Smith and Mclntosh lead the team in points scored with 16 each. Despite the loss, Jajczyk had a nice performance, piling up 13 solo points. The win advances Fairfield to the district semifinals next Tuesday, where they will play the Western Indian.