Wayne survives in 2OT

Wayne junior guard Malcolm Curry
Fairmont sophomore guard Anthony Johnson
Wayne freshman guard Lawrent Rice
Fairmont senior guard Kaleb Hall
Fairmont senior forward Danye Lewis

Huber Heights, OH — The Fairmont Firebirds fresh off of a big win over Springfield traveled north to take on GWOC rival, the Wayne Warriors. Wayne was still recovering from a couple of close wins against Beavercreek in overtime and Butler. Fairmont jumped out to the early lead as Kaleb Hall and Anthony Johnson both played well in the first quarter. The Firebirds led after one 12-9. They continued to hit big threes in the second quarter as Johnson and Hall led Fairmont to an 8 point lead heading into the locker rooms. Wayne came into the second half with a comeback on their minds. Malcolm Curry hit shot after shot and then big man Ben Palma made his only points of the night as he hit a bigtime three to give the Warriors the lead with 2:24 to play in the third. This shot capped off a massive Wayne run that saw them take back the lead. Curry also added on a layup to give Wayne a three-point lead with 30 seconds left in the third quarter. Danye Lewis’s layup off the glass at the buzzer cut the deficit to one entering the fourth quarter. The fourth quarter was pretty back and forth as Lawrent Rice and Anthony Johnson traded buckets until Danye Lewis got an and-one with 4:17 to go to put the Firebirds up 42-38. Malcolm Curry tied the game back at 42 apiece with a layup with 3:27 to go. Then, just seconds later Curry got a steal and Cam Fancher saved it as he flew out-of-bounds and Curry grabbed the ball and made a layup while also being fouled. This run gave Wayne back the lead and gave them complete momentum of the game. Fairmont would battle back though as Gavin Hellard made a huge layup to tie the game at 46. Lawrent Rice held the ball down to around 10 seconds before he made his move. Anthony Johnson played him tightly and Rice passed it out to Cam Fancher who missed a three, Danye Lewis pulled down the rebound and Fairmont sent the game to overtime. Anthony Johnson and Malcolm Curry both hit mid-range jumpers to tie the game at 48 apiece before Damiene Boles held the ball down to 7 seconds. He drove under the hoop before kicking it out to Curry and than Danye Lewis saved the game again as he packed Curry at the buzzer to send the game to yet another overtime. To begin the second overtime, Curry was fouled and made a pair of free throws. Danye Lewis was also fouled as he had a chance to match Curry but he missed the first shot, before making the second and now the score was 50-49 Wayne still in front. Fairmont had to foul Malcolm Curry as Wayne continued to milk the clock. Curry made both free throws to make it a three-point game. With 30 seconds left, Anthony Johnson dribbled up the court and was fouled on a deep three. He would go on and make the first two shots before missing the third. Wayne dribbled down the court before Fairmont finally fouled Damiene Boles with 22 seconds left. Boles made the first free throw but missed the second and that gave Fairmont a chance down by just two. With just 10 seconds left Danye Lewis drove down the lane and was fouled by Boles (His fifth) and was sent to the line with a chance to tie the game. He missed the first free throw and then intentionally missed the second one. The ball tipped back perfectly and Anthony Johnson was able to get a three-point attempt off but it was no good and Lewis’s tip-in was no good. Kaleb Hall also tip the ball and it went in but he didn’t get the shot off in time as Wayne holds on to stun Fairmont in double overtime. Wayne senior Malcolm Curry had a game-high 23 points, freshman Lawrent Rice had 10 points. For Fairmont, Kaleb Hall and Danye Lewis both had 10 points, and Anthony Johnson finished with a team-high 17. The Wayne train will roll into Centerville high school on Friday and battle the #1 Elks. It will be a 7:30 PM tip and we will be there as well.

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