John Bruce, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
ATHENS — Using its size advantage in the paint, alongside dead-eye shooting from downtown, Fairfield Union overwhelmed New Lexington on Sunday to earn its first district championship since 2017 — and second-ever — by a 58-41 final.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
Fairfield Union (23-3) jumped out to a 26-11 lead at the break behind their two Caleb’s — Redding and Schmelzer.
Redding scorched the nets by knocking down his first four attempts from deep, while Schmelzer added nine points inside and assisted on four triples from the Falcons.
“Redding shot the ball incredibly well and helped us get off to a great start,” Fairfield Union coach Travis Schaefer said. “Caleb Schmelzer then took the reins and played great. I don’t think he’s scratched the surfaced of how good he could be. His potential is through the roof, and he’s figuring out how good he can be with the way he can take over a game at a moment’s notice.”
The Falcons used their length to keep the Panthers out of the paint, negating a large part of their offensive attack and also limiting the Panthers to only one shot on each trip. The Panthers shot only 3-of-19 from the field in the first half, while Fairfield Union started 10-of-17 from the field and an incredible 5-of-7 from deep.
“It breeds confidence into your team when you can be a pass first player and trust the other guys to knock down shots,” Schaefer said. “On a big stage like this, when you see everyone getting involved early, you see the confidence in our guys to grow a big lead and keep that momentum going throughout the rest of the day.”
New Lexington (21-5) began to make headway in the third quarter behind Isaiah Stephens.
Stephens, an All-Southeast District player, used a barrage of moves to get into the paint and more often than not, get to the free throw line.
However, the Falcons countered with Ronnie Rowley as the senior knocked down his second triple and scored on a baseline drive. Schmelzer capped off the quarter with a pair of free throws to secure a double-double on the afternoon, extending the Falcons’ lead to 37-22 after three.
The Panthers used an onslaught of triples from Lukas Ratliff and Ryan Hobbs to keep things interesting in the final quarter, but the Falcons’ Brennan Rowles calmly salted the game away at the free throw line, going 6-for-6 in the final quarter.
“The effort that we played with is something that we’ve made an identity out of throughout the season,” Schaefer said. “It all started defensively and game-planning for a team that like to drive the ball the way New Lexington does, and executing our plan the way we did, we’ve embraced that challenge and it’s led us to a district championship, which we’re very proud of.”
Schmelzer dominated the game throughout and had a game-high 22 points, 13 rebounds and five assists, while Redding finished with 16 points and was a perfect 4-of-4 from downtown. Rowley notched 10 points.
Ratliff led the Panthers with 19 points, most coming on his five triples in the second half. Hobbs added 12 points and a pair of triples as well.
The Falcons will return to action on Thursday, March 9, when they take on Tri-Valley in a Division II regional semifinal at Ohio University.
“This is a group that has embraced what we do in practice everyday … working hard and doing the little things right,” Schaefer said. “Yes, it’s a regional game, it’s a Sweet 16. But at the end of the day, it’s 32 minutes of basketball and we’ll be ready.”
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