The Fayette boys picked up another win over a struggling opponent Thursday night, defeating Jamestown 55-48 on Senior Night. It was the Falcons’ final home game and marked their fourth win in a challenging season.

“We celebrated our seniors and honored Cash Valencia as he would have been a senior this year also,” said Fayette coach Jon Bishop. “It was a very emotional night that was capped off by a nice win by our guys.”

Like the girls’ game before it, the boys played what was widely considered an “ugly” game. Fayette stepped onto the court with a record of 3-21. Jamestown fared no better, entering Fayette’s gym 1-21 overall and an eight-game losing streak. Like Fayette’s previous win six days prior, the game was as much a matter of pride as anything else.

The Falcons clearly felt the call to win, and their desire for victory was palpable. Fayette’s three seniors, Kristian Pulliam, Gabe Bonen, and regular starter Tristan Swanson, were honored between games. 

“It’s an emotional night,” Bishop said. “They give so much time and effort to our team that it makes me proud to be their coach. This season had been tough, but it’s been great to coach these young men and see them play together.”

Jamestown also felt the motivation to earn a second win on the season. The Eagles took an early lead when junior Tate Duncan knocked down a 3-pointer on the game’s first possession. Another triple from junior Tyler Wilson gave the Eagles a 6-2 lead after two minutes.

After sophomore Carter Vroman converted a pair of free throws, the Falcons answered with a 3-pointer from junior Kaleb Friebe to take their first lead of the game. 

Wilson put Jamestown back in front by one point with a two-point basket before both teams combined for a nearly four-minute dry spell. Vroman sank another free throw with 34 seconds left to tie the score at 8-8.

Fayette loosened up in the second quarter, opening with 10 straight points over three and a half minutes. The Falcons would outpoint Jamestown 16-7 in the second frame to go into halftime in front by nine, 24-15.

Friebe made two of his three shots from the arc in the first half. 

Bishop said his team moved the ball well but struggled to knock down the shots. “It’s a struggle because those are shots that we can make,” he said. “You can’t get frustrated because if we’re taking the right shots, and keep attacking the way we need to, finding seams and things like that. I encouraged them at halftime to keep doing that because we’re going to have to keep moving the ball like that.”

Bishop said the halftime discussion was about countering Jamestown’s 1-2-2 zone. It would take nearly the first four minutes of the second half to figure it out before the Falcons would score. Jamestown, meanwhile, opened the third quarter with nine straight points to tie the game at 24-24. Fayette finally found the basket with a bucket from junior Thomas Elliott to retake the lead. But both teams would trade punches throughout the remainder of the third quarter.

Knotted up at 32-32 with a minute left in the period, Fayette found its footing and scored the final six points, capped by a 3-point shot from Friebe with two seconds left to lead 38-32 with one quarter left to play.

Jamestown again surged back in the opening minutes of the final stanza, coming as close as one point with a three-point play from Wilson with six minutes left. Fayette created some breathing room with an 8-2 run, but again, the pesky Eagles crept back in, this time with a 7-1 run to make it a one-point game with 1:14 on the clock.

Fifteen seconds later, Elliott cashed in with another key basket, a 3-pointer from the right side to give the Falcons a two-possession lead.

The Eagles fought back from the arc, but shots bounced away. Following a miss from Wilson, Fayette sophomore Payton Oeth pulled down a crucial rebound and drew a foul. He sank the second of two free throws to make it a five-point game. Friebe then made the final two free throws of the game with 12.8 seconds left to secure the win for Fayette, 55-48.

“It’s nice to have a close one that you can come out on top with,” a relieved Bishop said after the game. “I’m proud of the way they gutted it out. We had some foul trouble late in the game. I thought we maybe would not be able to get Kaleb back in. But I also thought we had a lot of momentum. Those guys were doing what we needed them to do.”

Fayette benefitted from strong play from its two big men inside. Oeth and Vroman each finished with double-doubles, scoring in the paint and crashing the boards. Oeth finsihed up with 15 points and 13 rebounds to go along with five deflections and three steals. Vroman added 12 points and a game-high 17 rebounds with a block, one assist, three deflections, and a steal.

“I thought we were going to take a few more threes, and then we ended up getting to the hole and dishing it off and being successful with that,” Bishop said about his team’s inside game. “We did a really good job with that 1-2-2 zone. We attacked when we needed to and took open shots.

“I knew we were going to win the rebound battle,” he continued. “Carter does a great job of going after the ball and using his athleticism. I’m so proud of how he plays and how hard he plays. And Payton was right with him.”

Friebe finished 15 points and team-highs in assists with six and steals with four. He also had five deflections and four rebounds and took a charge in the first half.

“It was nice to see Kaleb bounce back a little bit and knocked down some shots. That was good,” Bishop said.

Senior Tristan Swanson finished his final game on the Fayette court with three points on a shot from the arc in the fourth quarter, along with two rebounds, an assist, and a steal.

“Tristan Swanson has been around since he was a freshman,” Bishop said. “You just have a special bond with kids like that. You go through the longest season on the sports calendar. You spent a lot of time with these guys in practices and games and long bus rides. It’s just special.”

Elliott added five critical points off the bench, including a 3-pointer. Sophomore Charles Alexander added three points and junior starter Kevin DeLaTorre added two points with seven rebounds, three assists, three deflections, and two steals.

For Jamestown, Wilson led all scorers with a stunning 28 points.

While both teams conclude the regular season with disappointing records, all teams now revert to 0-0 as the postseason begins. Fayette was seeded last in the seven-team Class 2 District 7 Tournament and faced second-seeded, and seventh ranked New Franklin Tuesday night after the Advertiser went to press. Fayette has struggled mightily against the Bulldogs in two games this season.

“It’s going to be a new season. And we have a tough one to start,” Bishop said. “When you get into this district tournament, you have to play, and you have to compete. I think we’ve got some guys who are ready to do that. New Franklin is a good team. We’re still going to have to show up and make sure we’re taking care of the ball and do what we’re supposed to do. If we do that, I know we have a shot.”

New Franklin (23-3) is fresh from a thrilling two-point win over district opponent and third-seed Glasgow in the regular-season finale. The two teams are likely to meet again in the tournament semifinal.

The Class 2 District 7 Tournament, hosted by Glasgow, is one of the toughest in the state. At the tip of the spear is No. 1-ranked Salisbury, which has won at least 23 games in the last four seasons. A fourth-straight district title would put the Panthers well on their way to defending their Class 2 state crown.

Fayette and New Franklin were scheduled to tip off at 5 p.m. Tuesday. Glasgow was to face sixth-seeded Slater at 6:30 p.m. Should both Glasgow and New Franklin win, they will meet in the semifinals on Thursday for a chance to advance to the championship game.