FORT FAIRFIELD, Maine — The Tigers unleashed an active half-court zone defense Thursday and Washburn was unable to find an answer.
Fort Fairfield limited the Beavers’ potent offense to 10 field goals and a season-low in points while collecting a 60-40 victory.
The Tigers swept the season series, having won 66-57 nine days earlier in Washburn, and moved up to second place in the Class C North standings.
“We seemed a lot quicker in our zone,” said Tiger coach Logan McLaughlin. “We were getting out on their shooters a lot more, our help-side defense was good and the guys on top were active and got their hands moving. It was just sharp defense tonight.”
After an even first quarter, FF took control by going on a 10-0 run over the first seven minutes of the second, with junior point guard Ryan Player providing the biggest spark with eight of the points, including a pair of three-pointers.
The Beavers then utilized the three-point shot themselves to surge ahead. Trailing 24-14, they scored 13 of the game’s next 15 points during a stretch which began late in the first half and continued into the first couple minutes of the second. Noah Caron, Mccall Turner and Derek Baker all drained long perimeter shots to put their team on top by a point (27-26) with 6:11 to go in the third quarter.
After that, the Tiger defense took over as Washburn netted just two field goals the remainder of the game. FF ended the third quarter on a 15-3 flurry to go up 41-30, and then kept it going in the fourth for the comfortable win.
Washburn shot just 24 percent from the floor and 1,000-point scorer Jarrett Olson was limited to just eight points on 2-of-8 shooting before fouling out with 4:43 to play.
Sophomore forward Isaac Cyr was the Tigers’ top scorer with 15 points and he added 10 rebounds and six steals. Player contributed 14 points and while junior forward Chris Giberson tallied just seven, he added six assists and three steals.
The Tigers were also bolstered by the play of their bench, outscoring the Beavers in that department, 18-2. Six-foot-two junior Landon Kinney provided plenty of energy when he was on the floor and finished with 10 points and eight rebounds, six coming on the offensive glass.
“I just try to post up hard and go after the boards,” Kinney said. “Coach expects me to put all my energy on the floor and give everything I have.”
Fairfield’s Carter Bruce, a reserve guard, banged in a pair of threes and ended up with eight points.
Caron, a senior point guard, scored 13 of his team-leading 15 points in the first half and also dished out four assists to pace the Beavers, while Turner, who also fouled out, had seven rebounds.
