Mules Finish Fifth In Capital Classic To Open Hardcourt Season

Getting two wins on the weekend, and playing competitively in their two losses, Scott McElravy’s Fairfield Mules finished fifth in the 2023 Capital Classic, held in Lawrenceville and Red Hill.

The Mules opened their season against state-ranked Lawrenceville, falling 48-37, Friday afternoon. They returned Friday night and played a “non-tournament” game, beating Grayville, 66-55. The Bison were a late addition to the tournament after Mt. Carmel dropped out due to playing in the 3A football championship game. Grayville could only play two games, however, due to the season game limit. Therefore, their games did not count toward pool play standings.

Fairfield returned to tournament action Saturday morning, faltering down the stretch in a 42-37 loss to Vincennes Lincoln, a tournament newcomer. That pushed the Mules into a fifth place crossover game, where they beat Salem, 46-34.

Vincennes went on to face Teutopolis in the third place game, losing 50-46 despite leading by nine early in the game. Richland County knocked off Lawrenceville, 44-40, in the championship, completing a Capital Classic three-peat.

Fairfield’s start to the year got off to a rough start as they turned the ball over six of their first possessions and they fell behind the host Indians, 9-2. They trailed 16-6 at the first stop and would remain around that deficit for much of the game, trailing by as many as 14 in the game and never getting any closer than six.

The six point deficit came early in the third when Layne Tucker scored five quick points, but Lawrenceville pulled back out to a 33-21 lead by the end of the quarter, with Tucker scoring all seven Fairfield points in the frame.

Tucker finished with 15 points, going 6-of-15 from the field. Point guard Justice Dagg also reached double figures scoring, netting 10 points. Making his high school debut, freshman Jaylen Maners had six points off the bench. Fairfield was playing without returning starter Landon Harrelson, who had to sit a game after missing a practice for a family trip.

Fairfield made as many twos as the Indians, with both sinking 13, but the Indians knocked down five threes to Fairfield’s two, while also outscoring them from the free throw line. The Mules were just 2-of-15 on threes in the game. They also finished with 15 turnovers, six more than the Indians.

Lawrenceville 48, Fairfield 37

               2s            3s            FTA         FTM        TP

Fairfield

Easton    0              0              0              0              0

Dagg      4              0              2              2              10

JSnyder              2              0              0              0              4

Bliss       1              0              0              0              2

Tucker                4              2              3              1              15

Maners               3              0              1              0              6

Rebounds (Off-Def-Tot)—Layne Tucker 0-6-6, Jay Snyder 1-2-3, Justice Dagg 0-3-3, Jake Easton 1-2-3, Trent Bliss 1-2-3, Jaylen Maners 0-2-2, Total 4-18-22.

Turnovers—15.

eFG—47.1.

Steals—Justice Dagg 1.

Lawrenceville

Hardiman           0              0              4              1              1

Sanders              3              3              0              0              19

Cessna    0              1              0              0              3

Jenkins               5              1              4              2              15

Pargin 2              0              8              7              11

Rebounds—Maddox Pargin 2-5-7, Leyton Iver 1-3-4, Parker Hardiman 1-2-3, Landon Sanders 0-3-3, Bryant Jenkins 1-0-1, Total 5-16-21.

Turnovers—9.

eFG—52.6.

Steals—Jenkins 3, Sanders 2, Hardiman 1, Pargin 1.

Blocks—Hardiman 1.

After never leading in their season opener, the Mules never trailed in their second game of the season, scoring 21 first-quarter points in a 66-55 win over the Bison.

Fairfield’s offense never cooled in the game, as they finished with a 69 percent effective field goal percentage. That included 12 three pointers in 22 attempts, leading them to 1.23 points per possession.

Fairfield led 21-10 after one quarter and 42-27 at halftime. They were outscored by four in the second half, with the Bison getting back within four at 52-48 early in the fourth, but the Mules were able to pull away in the final minutes, sparked by a three from Creson White and a stickback by Maners off the bench.

Tucker again led the scoring, netting 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting. Harrelson returned to the lineup and scoring 16 points. Both seniors hit four threes each.

Sophomore guard Jake Easton bounced back from behind held scoreless in the opener by netting 10 points of five shots, while Dagg had nine points and finishing with a team-high plus-15 plus/minus.

Ty’Zae Rowland led Grayville with 21 points. Jake Hosman a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Zach Leavens added 10 points.

Fairfield 66, Grayville 55

Fairfield

Easton    2              2              2              0              10

Dagg      3              1              2              0              9

Bliss       0              0              4              3              3

Tucker                3              4              0              0              18

Harrelson           0              4              4              4              16

Maners               3              0              2              0              6

Gruen    0              0              2              1              1

Rebounds—Maners 2-6-8, Tucker 0-5-5, Landon Harrelson 1-2-3, Bliss 0-3-3, Easton 0-2-2, Creson White 1-1-2, J. Snyder 0-1-1, Dagg 0-1-1, Owen Gruen 0-1-1, Total 5-22-27.

Turnovers—9.

eFG—69.0.

Steals—Dagg 2, J. Snyder 1.

Blocks—Maners 3, White 1.

Gravyille

Rowland             5              2              5              5              21

Hosman              4              1              2              1              12

Leavens              2              2             0    0    10

Neeley    0              1              0              0              3

Worley                3              1              0              0              9

Rebounds—Jake Hosman 3-7-10, Ty’Zae Rowland 2-6-8, Kanaan Worley 0-4-4, Canyon Neeley 1-1-2, Total 8-18-26.

Turnovers—8.

eFG—47.1.

Steals—Rowland 2, Zach Leavens 1, Neeley 1.

Blocks—Neeley 1.

Vincennes Lincoln came into their first Capital Classic with high hopes, playing down in enrollment size and coming off a summer win over Lawrenceville. The Mules were able to hang with the favored Alices, and was tied with them at 30 in the fourth quarter, but they could not overtake them down the stretch, falling to 1-2 on the year with a 42-37 loss.

Fairfield led 15-13 at the first stop, getting three early threes, one each from Tucker, Dagg and Harrelson. The Mules were 6-of-8 from the field in the opening quarter, including 3-of-3 on threes for a 93.8 eFG. They would not top 42 percent in any of the other three quarters however.

Fairfield’s biggest lead of the game came at 18-13 in the second quarter, following another trey from Harrelson. They led 20-16 at halftime, after a low-scoring second quarter, that saw more blood stoppages for Easton than made field goals.

Fairfield’s offense came out in the second half slow as well, allowing the Alices to score seven straight points before Dagg found Trent Bliss for a three-point play more than halfway through the quarter for their first points of the period. Dagg followed with a three for another Fairfield lead, but that would be their last.

They managed ties at 27, at the end of the third, and 30, early in the fourth, before they got outscored 12-7 in the final five minutes. After turning the ball over seven times in the first three quarters, they had five in the fourth quarter alone, including two trips in a row after getting back within three with 65 seconds to play.

Lincoln 42, Fairfield 37

Fairfield

Easton    0              0              0              0

Dagg      2              2              0              0              10

Bliss        3              0              3              2              8

Tucker                2              1              1              1              8

Harrelson           0              2              0              0              6

Maners               0              1              2              2              5

Rebounds—Harrelson 0-5-5, Maners 2-2-4, Tucker 1-3-4, White 1-1-2, Easton 0-1-1, Bliss 0-1-1, Total 5-15-20.

Turnovers—12.

eFG—50.0.

Steals—Tucker 1.

Lincoln

Clegg       1              0              2              2              4

Benson               1              0              4              2              4

Hall        0              2              0              0              6

McCrary             0              1              2              2              5

Sanders              2              1              7              7              14

Hill         3              0              4              3              9

Rebounds—Darrius Hill 5-4-9, Joshua Clegg 3-1-4, Gus McCrary 0-3-3, Luke Hall 0-2-2, Joel Sanders 0-1-1, Total 8-12-20.

Turnovers—6.

eFG—38.2.

Steals—Hall 2, McCrary 2, Clegg 2, Sanders 1.

Going 0-2 in pool play put Fairfield up against Salem, who went 1-2 on the other side of the tournament. The Mules trailed 18-5 in the first quarter, but rallied within two with an 11-point run, played the Wildcats to a tie at 20 at halftime and then outscored Salem 17-7 in the third quarter to take control.

Fairfield again shot well from outside, hitting 10-of-17 from beyond the arc, helping them overcome a 6-of-21 showing on twos. They finished with a 55.3 eFG, while holding Salem to 39.7.

Harrelson led the scoring with 18 points, while Maners had 12 off the bench while adding seven rebounds.

Tucker had six points in the tournament finale, giving him 47 total points in the tournament, earning an all-tournament nod. He was 18-of-56 from the field, including 8-of-22 on threes.

Fairfield 46, Salem 34

Fairfield

Easton    0              1              0              0              3

Dagg      1              1              0              0              5

Bliss       1              0              0              0              2

Tucker                1              1              2              1              6

Harrelson           1              5              2              1              18

Maners               2              2              2              2              12

Rebounds—Maners 3-4-7, Bliss 0-6-6, Harrelson 1-3-4, Tucker 0-4-4, Easton 0-2-2, Total 6-21-27.

Turnovers—11.

eFG—55.3.

Steals—Tucker 3, Dagg 1, Harrelson 1.

Salem

Zimmerman       0              3              0              0              9

Greene                0              1              0              0              3

Tennyson           1              0              0              0              2

Warren               1              0              0              0              2

Nix          5              1              4              3              16

Richardson         1              0              0              0              2

Rebounds—Noah Nix 0-6-6, Brenan Lux, 2-1-3, Gavin Zimmerman 0-3-3, Connor Tennyson 0-2-2, Sam Greene 0-1-1, Ayden Rose 0-1-1, Miking Etress 0-1-1, Braden Rector 0-1-1, Ryegan Warran 1-0-1, Total 4-17-21.

Turnovers—11.

eFG—39.7.

Steals—Zimmerman 2, Lux 1, Tennyson 1.

Blocks—Nix 4, Rose 1.

All-Tournament

Ian Winkler, Richland Co. (MVP)

Bryant Jenkins, Lawrenceville

Arjay Keller, Richland Co.

Maddox Pargin, Lawrenceville

Joel Sanders, Lincoln

Joey Niebrugge, Teutopolis

Landon Sanders, Lawrenceville

Garrett Gaddis, Tuetopolis

Layne Tucker, Fairfield

Rex Hallam, Richland Co.

Gavin Zimmerman, Salem