Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
LEESBURG — Jayce Rothwell picked the most important night of the season to date to post his career scoring high.
With North Adams scheduled to travel to take on undefeated and state-ranked Fairfield — who came into the contest riding a 39-game regular season win streak — Rothwell made it his responsibility to repeatedly find nylon.
The junior’s 26-point performance helped his Green Devils (11-3, 8-0 SHAC) hand the Lions their first regular season loss since Feb. 11, 2022 — a 59-50 final in front of a jam-packed, frenzy-filled crowd.
CREDIT: Raymond Gleadle/SOSA
“Playing with [teammate] Bransyn [Copas], there’s so much attention on him that the defense sometimes forgets about the rest of us,” Rothwell said. “That’s where we show up. We’ve all grown a lot since last year. That Sweet 16 run we made was really big for us in development. This year, most of us are still juniors. We’re still growing. But it helps a lot having a guy like Bransyn on your team. He draws so much attention. When you have to step up, you step up.”
Rothwell, whose postgame response was as modest as they come, was sensational all evening.
His six first quarter points, combined with a 3 from Brestin Schweickert and a pair of scores from Copas and Cody Hesler, gave North Adams a 13-2 lead out of the gates.
That fast start, which was also fueled by a swarming defense that forced eight turnovers in the opening eight minutes, set the night’s tone.
“Coming out quick and getting that lead was huge,” Copas said. “Every time we come [to Fairfield], we know they’re going to play hard. They’re great defensively and they’re well-coached. So we knew that coming out and punching them in the mouth, getting the edge on them, would be huge. Just glad we did what we did early to suck the energy out.”
Tale of the tape
After taking the game-opening 13-2 lead, the Devils enjoyed a 15-5 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
But Fairfield (16-1, 9-1 SHAC) wasn’t going away easily. Cade Miller opened the second frame with a triple before Friend followed suit at the 4:44 mark, cutting the deficit to 17-10. When Trey House drilled his own 3 with 3:37 remaining, North Adams called a timeout in front, 17-13.
After a bucket from Copas on the other end and a jumper from Friend, Copas dialed long distance to end the first half, putting the Devils ahead 22-15 at the break.
In the third, the Lions made their strongest run. But not before Rothwell and company built their biggest lead of the evening.
Rothwell scored to begin the third and scored again with 6:32 remaining, making it 26-16. The junior then went 4-of-4 from the charity stripe — following a technical foul — and an additional bucket at the 4:57 mark, pushing the advantage to 32-18.
When Schweickert scored with 3:53 to go, the Devils had a 16-point advantage at 34-18.
But that’s when the Lions grabbed their lunch pails and went to work.
House started the party with a triple before Logan McIntosh scored with 2:44 left. House then hit 2-of-3 from the free throw line, followed by a pair of freebies from Friend — after the game’s second called technical foul.
When Friend drained a pair of free throws at the 2:14 mark, he polished off an 11-0 run and, all of the sudden, Fairfield had cut the deficit to 34-27.
PHOTOS: Images from North Adams’ win over Fairfield
“They came out with a lot of energy and [North Adams] coach [Nathan Copas] told us at halftime that they were going to play physical because they were down,” Schweickert said. “We wanted it more. They went on that run and we kind of calmed down. They were taking a lot of stuff away and we haven’t played a lot of teams that can do that. So we had to adjust. We made it work.”
After a timeout, the Devils answered with a pair of buckets from Connor Young, going ahead 38-31. Hesler then closed the frame with a put back, putting NA ahead 40-32 after three.
In the fourth, Fairfield managed to cut the deficit to just four at 42-38 — thanks to 3’s from Miller and House. But Rothwell scored with 4:01 to stop the run and the Devils hit their free throws down the stretch, putting an end to the Lions’ win streak and moving into sole possession of first place in the SHAC title race.
“[North Adams’ schedule] has prepared us a lot,” Copas said. “We’ve been battle-tested. So we knew we just had to come in here and play our game, and play with more energy. In the years prior, we came here and we didn’t play with enough of that. Tonight, we did that in a hostile environment.”
Stat book
Following Rothwell’s career high of 26 points was Schweickert with 15 points and six rebounds. Copas added eight points and two assists, and Hesler had six points and a pair of helpers.
Friend led the Lions with 25 points alongside a team-high seven rebounds. House finished with 13 points and Logan McIntosh also chipped in with seven points and six boards.
What’s on tap
While Fairfield attempts to get back into the win column on Tuesday at Hillsboro, North Adams is right back at it on Saturday, traveling to Portsmouth.
“We just have to keep coming to practice every day, watching film, and getting better,” Rothwell said. “Every team is going to give us their best shot. We’ve talked about that many times. It always seems like every team plays their best against us. We just have to show up and play our game, and no team should beat us.”
BOX SCORE
North Adams: 15-7-18-19 — 59
Fairfield: 5-10-17-18 — 50
North Adams: 20-39 FG, 17-20 FT, 2-15 3pt., 17 rebounds (Schweickert 6), 10 turnovers, 8 assists (Hesler 2, Copas 2). Scoring: Rothwell 26, Schweickert 15, Copas 8, Hesler 6, Young 4.
Fairfield: 16-43 FG, 12-12 FT, 6-16 3pt., 24 rebounds (Friend 7), 15 turnovers, 6 assists (House 2, Miller 2). Scoring: Friend 25, House 13, McIntosh 7, Miller 5.
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