Western (Latham) 68 Fairfield (Leesburg) 66 OT


 

Using records from Maxpreps.

The final game of the Chad Hodson Classic was worth the wait as the large crowd was treated to an overtime game, and we were treated to seeing three really good high school players battle, with two of them squaring off on what would be the play of the game.

Western (Latham) came in with a 4-3 record while Fairfield (Leesburg) supported a 6-1 record. Western had senior Drew Haggy and junior Kam James leading the show, and for Fairfield, Logan McIntosh, a junior, and Super Sophomore Brody Smith co-starring. Fairfield also had a wildcard in the pack in Griffin Friend, another sophomore.

This game was as good as a high school basketball game that I can remember seeing. Both teams were fast, with Western maybe a step faster. Both teams could pass, shoot, play defense, score inside and outside, along with nailing big free throws.

The game was tight all game long, with both teams acting like Ali and Foreman, laying haymaker after haymaker but refusing to be knocked out. McIntosh (25 points) and Haggy (25 points) took turns displaying skills that left fans with their mouths open, sitting on the edge of their little spot in the bleachers, and then James (21 points) and Smith (18 points) would take center stage doing the same thing, and just when you thought the excitement would each up, you had Friend (11 points) nail a big three. He had three total, with all of them coming in key moments of the game.

After the end of regulation, nothing had been settled, so we were treated to some overtime. During the overtime period with time running out and the game locked at 66, McIntosh had the ball, and he was tightly guarded by Haggy. Hollywood could not have written a better script. Haggy moved his hands so fast that it reminded me of a Western Legend named Smoke Jensen in a book series that I read that the human eye could verily see them as he stole the ball and raced down the court and scored on what would be the winning basket and sent the Western fans into a frenzy that went on until the games MVP's were announced and to the shock of nobody it was Haggy and McIntosh.

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