12-22-2021
BY JACK BULLOCK
FAIRFIELD - According to Coach Scott McElravy statistically speaking his Fairfield Mules had been struggling hitting shots from the 3-point arc so far during the 2021-22 season.

You wouldn't know it from their shooting performance on Wednesday night at home.

In a make-up game from a December 10th weather postponement the Mules came out and 'rained' 3-pointers on the Eldorado Eagles early.

Fairfield made six of its 10 3-pointers in the opening quarter as they raced out to a 24-7 lead before Coach Josh Bradley's Eagles knew what happened.

Although the Eagles played pretty even with the Mules the rest of the way, the beginning was too much to overcome as Eldorado dropped to 1-2 in the league and 5-5 overall with a 63-45 loss.

Fairfield improved to 8-3 overall and 2-1 in the BDC East Division as both teams take a break before heading into the 57th annual Eldorado Holiday Tournament December 27-29.

Six-two senior guard Dylan Best was 'the best' from the arc for Coach McElravy, as he hit five from beyond the arc with three of the 3's coming in that opening frame.

Best topped all scorers with 23-points overall.

“Well Dylan (Best) has been shooting it really well and with the T-town and Casey games it was good to get another scorer out there because Eric (Rodgers) has been carrying the load for us. Dylan has been on a nice three-game streak. He has been playing with a lot of confidence,” said Coach McElravy.

Teammate junior Eric Rodgers added 16-points for the Mules as he canned four of the club's trifectas, matching Best with three of the 3's in the first quarter as the outside onslaught began early.

The other made 3-pointer came from senior guard Noah Barger, who hit his in the second quarter.

Barger ended up with 10-points while senior guard McGwire Taylor added nine on the night while hauling down seven-rebounds and dishing out six assists.

A bright spot on the night for Eldorado was junior guard Josh Owens, who ended up leading the Eagles with 16-points.

Junior Gage Heath added 13-points for Coach Bradley's squad while junior Parker Price pitched in nine-points.

Dylan Henshaw only scored one-point (1-of-2 from the foul line) but ended up with seven-rebounds for Eldorado.

The key numbers for the whole game, which set the tone for the host team, came in the first eight minutes.

The Mules 'kicked it' in high gear early by hitting 9-of-11 from the field, with 6-of-7 from the 3-point line.

Best hit two of his bombs in the early going sandwiched around a Rodgers' trey for a 9-0 lead early.

Another basket by Barger made it 11-0 with 4:14 left.

Eldorado finally got on the scoreboard with Owens turning a shot near the basket into a three-point play.

Sophomore Boston Bradley added some points for Eldorado on a nice lob pass from Heath before Fairfield went on another run.

That run was 13-0 in a little less of three minutes.

Best nailed down his third 20-footer in the quarter to start the run.

Taylor added a drive in the lane for a basket before Rodgers wrapped two of his 3-pointers around a transition score.

The second 3-pointer from near the top of the circle pushed the lead to 24-5 with :47 left in the first quarter.

A score by Owens closed the first at 24-7 Mules.

Much of what happened offensively for Fairfield was text book 'penetrate and dish' as the Mules found the open shooter at the arc and the shots found the mark.

The good news for Eldorado is that they hung tough throughout the remainder of the game.

After Fairfield extended the lead to its largest at 34-12, the Eagles scored six-of-the-last-seven points in the half.

Owens scored four of the points on a pair of free throws and a baseline drive while senior Trevor Milligan added a basket as Eldorado trailed 35-18 at the half.

“Maybe one of these days we'll figure that first quarter out. We talked about it that they (Fairfield) were going to penetrate and kick but we were a bit late on our rotations and when you are late against a team like this and they get hot it is what it is,” said Coach Bradley.

Eldorado made its only big run of the game to make things a bit interesting in the third quarter.

Trailing 42-22 after a pair of Barger baskets for the Mules, the Eagles scored the next 10-points.

Consecutive 3-pointers from Heath and Price got it going and then Price and Owens added field goals in the lane.

When Owens hit his shot on a drive off an inbounds play, the Eagles were down just 42-32 with 2:39 remaining in the third quarter.

“They (Eldorado) had Hamilton County down after three quarters so we knew they were a solid team coming in,” said Coach McElravy.

Unfortunately that was the end of the run and the highlight reel for Eldorado.

Fairfield closed the quarter and began the final stanza with nine-consecutive points to put an end to the visitors' rally.

The first seven of the points to close out the third came from Best on a drive in the lane, a 3-pointer and then a back door cut for a lay in on an assist from Taylor for a 17-point lead.

Eldorado got a pair of late 3-pointers from Heath and Owens before Fairfield closed things out with 5-of-6 free throws for the 18-point final margin.

“There was no quit in them (our team) and we kind of challenged them at halftime. We said you're not going to hit a 17-point shot but we could get it to 10 we would have a chance,” said Coach Bradley. “We got it to 10 but they (Fairfield) hit some big shots and got the lead back up. The second, third and fourth quarter we were right with them.”

Fairfield ended up 23-of-40 overall and 10-of-17 from long range, totals that will produce wins on most nights in high school basketball.

Coach McElravy's club held Eldorado to just 17-of-42 overall and 6-of-20 from the arc.

The Mules only committed five-turnovers compared to 13 from the Eagles.

Rebounding ended up close with hosts having a 22-21 advantage.

“And once we got that going (dribble-penetrate) we got some backdoor plays in and that is kind of our game; if you're going to come out and guard us we're going to try and backdoor you,” said Coach McElravy. “We have brand new guys and they haven't played much varsity action and not in front of crowds at all last winter but they will get better the further we go.”

The Mules are the four-seed in the 16-team Eldorado Holiday Tournament and will face 1-8 Anna-Jonesboro at 1:45 pm the opening day.

Eldorado is unseeded and will face sixth-seeded Black Diamond Conference rival Carmi-White County at 4:45 pm.

“I thought we did a much better job in the second half so we got a few things we can talk about and get ready for the tournament,” said Coach Bradley.

Eldorado (45) – Heath 2 3 0-0 13, Bradley 2 0 0-1 4, Henshaw 0 0 1-2 1, Owens 5 1 3-3 16, Price 1 2 1-2 9, Milligan 1 0 0-0 2, Phelps 0 0 0-0 0, Ralston 0 0 0-0 0. 2FG-11, 3FG-6, FT-5-8, PF-14.
Fairfield (63) – Barger 3 1 1-2 10, Taylor 2 0 5-6 9, Robbins 1 0 0-0 2, Rodgers 2 4 0-0 16, Best 4 5 0-1 23, J. Milner 1 0 1-2 3, Harrelson 0 0 0-0 0. 2FG-13, 3FG-10, FT-7-11, PF-13.
Fouled Out – None.
Technical Fouls – None.