02-03-15
BY JACK BULLOCK
WAYNE CITY - It only took a few moments into their game at Wayne City on Tuesday night for the Fairfield Mules to show everyone who was the boss in Wayne County.

Coach Scott McElravy saw his club jump out to a 17-1 lead before the host Indians knew what hit them.

Getting 18-points from both Nathaniel Lackey, a 6-foot-8 senior center, on the inside and 18-points from 5-foot-11 senior guard Andrew Gifford, mostly from the outside, the Mules buried the Tribe, 63-37 in a game that wasn't as close as the score would indicate.

Wayne City, after falling behind early, never got within double-digits of the the guests the remainder of the game as they saw their overall record slip to 9-12.

Coach Codie Smith saw his club struggle on both ends of the floor in the loss as Fairfield was in complete control from the outset.

The Mules improved to 15-7 on the season with junior forward Sky Kollack adding seven points while junior Colton Land and sophomore Macklin Snyder added six points apiece.

Lackey score the first six points for Fairfield getting the ball inside as Wayne City could do little to control the lane.

Hitting his first three shots, Lackey put his team up quickly 6-1 with just 1:25 gone in the first quarter.

Gifford soon got going with a pair of free throws and a conventional three-point play.

In between he fed Lackey for a back-door lob for a two-handed slam dunk.

When Lackey added his fifth basket of the quarter, Fairfield led by 16-points.

Most of the Fairfield success offensively in the first quarter came from the defensive end of the floor.

The Mules forced Wayne City into 10 first quarter turnovers as the Tribe also missed their first six field goal attempts.

By the time 6-foot-2 sophomore Chad Dickey scored with :28 left, the game was out of hand.

“I thought our defensive intensity was really good there in the first quarter, we got up 17-3 and it's a big game for them (Wayne City) and its a county rival so we knew that they would come in tonight with a lot of intensity,” said Coach McElravy. “I'm really proud of the way our kids are playing defense. We are getting out and pressuring the ball a little bit better and forcing some turnovers.”

Fairfield didn't let up on their county foe in the second quarter, getting off to another good start by scoring the first six points of the frame.

Land shared in the wealth with a pair of baskets and Lackey delivered on another drive as the lead reached 23-3 with 6:37 remaining.

A pair of free throws by Nick Downen stopped the Fairfield run momentarily but the Mules quickly kicked it back into gear.

Fairfield put the game's outcome to rest with a 15-0 run.

Nine of the points came on a trio of 3-point bombs by Kollack, Snyder and Gifford in that order.

Kollack also added a steal and fast break lay in and Lackey laid in a rebound basket.

When Gifford close the charge with a trey from the right corner on an inbounds play, Fairfield had a 38-5 lead.

Wayne City managed to get a few points in the second quarter, mainly from the foul line as Dickey (2) and Downen (4) combined for six consecutive free throws.

A rebound basket by Dickey and a 3-pointer from junior guard Eric Green got the Tribe to double-digits in scoring, closing Wayne City's best run of the night at 11-2 as the two teams headed to halftime at 40-16.

Wayne City turned that run into six-more points in succession to begin the second half with Downen and Dickey each scoring again while sophomore Christian Tubbs added a basket on a drive.

But Fairfield had seen enough and put the game to bed with a 9-0 run of its own.

Gifford,, Land and Lackey hit consecutive shots and a 3-point bomb on the left wing by Snyder putshed the lead to 49-22.

Both teams went to their reserves to finish off the final quarter.

Dakota Young, a 6-foot-3 senior forward, who made national news in December for playing in a game after an ATV accident cost him part of his right leg, came into the game and played in the final minutes.

Young got the ball underneath the basket, posted up a Wayne City player and scored the final points of the game for the victorious Mules.

Fairfield was sharp on Tuesday night in every phase.

Coach McElravy saw his club scorch the nets with a 26-of-51 performance overall (50.9 percent) and 4-of-14 from the 3-point arc.

With Lackey leading the way with eight rebounds, the Mules owned the glass 25-20 and they committed just nine-turnovers in the win.

For the hosts, they committed 19 of their 24-turnovers in the first half as they had the game taken away from them by a strong defensive effort by the invaders.

Wayne City was just 11-of-36 from the floor and 3-of-16 from the arc.

The Indians head back to the hardwood on on Friday hosting Midland Trail Conference rival Odin and then they travel to Edwards County on Saturday.

For the Mules its back to business in the Black Diamond East Division with a game against Eldorado at home on Friday night and then a trip to the Benton Shootout to take on Casey-Westfield.

“We have really unselfish kids and and I love the group that we have out there,” said Coach McElravy. “Lackey and Gifford are our two main guys but we have some other kids who can step up. Lackey gets double and triple teamed sometimes and he isn't afraid to dish it back out. One of the keys to being a good team is being able to share the ball. And we have done that this year.”