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On this date in area sports history …
Ten years ago on this date, Dec. 18, 1998, the South boys basketball team beat Fairmont 59-51 with strong play from Thomas Stephens, Elgrace Wilborn and Jordan Copeland. Complete story on the jump:
Published Dec. 19, 1998
DEFENSE DOES IT
SOUTH SHUTS DOOR ON FAIRMONT RALLY.
By Matt Thompson, News-Sun Sports Writer
Okay, sure … at times South’s defense looked every bit as stiffly choreographed as one of those “Old Navy” commercials, but with a rapidly developing pair of sophomores wreaking havoc on the visitors, that ultimately didn’t matter much.
With 24 points, senior Thomas Stephens provided the bulk of South scoring during the Wildcats’ 59-51 victory over Kettering Fairmont, but it was sophomores Jordan Copeland _ with 13 points, three steals and some solid man-to-man defense _ and Elgrace Wilborn _ with nine points, eight rebounds and six blocked shots _ that really raised some eyebrows Friday night.
“Elgrace is coming along,” said South Coach Larry Ham, whose team improved to 5-0, 3-0 in the Western Ohio League. “And Jordan is a sophomore that’s playing like a senior.”
Meanwhile, Fairmont _ with the exception of senior center Bryan Nelson, who matched a season-high with 34 points _ struggled just to find the bottom of the basket, shooting an icy 38 percent from the field. Take out Nelson’s 12-for-24 performance and that percentage drops below 30 percent.
“We continue to struggle shooting the basketball,” said Fairmont Coach Tim Casey, whose team is now 2-3, 0-3 in the WOL. “And I still think this is a good-shooting team.
“We’re just frustrated right now.”
The only other Firebird to even sniff double-figures was James Thompson, and he had just seven points on 3-of-10 shooting.
That’s not to say Fairmont didn’t make a game of it.
Fairmont battled back from an early 10-2 deficit by embarking on an 18-4 run _ nearly all Nelson _ that stretched into the early minutes of the second quarter.
“We’re not that used to playing guys that strong,” said Stephens. “Plus we didn’t have any backside help.”
Nelson was at times almost comically wide open, once allowed to get the ball all by himself directly under the basket with at least eight feet between himself and the nearest South defender. He made the basket to even the score at 14-all.
South responded by dropping down from man-to-man to a 1-3-1 zone, and _ after some initial confusion among the Wildcats _ that seemed more than enough to get the Firebirds out of their game.
“We just lost our aggressiveness,” said Casey. “We’ve got to do a better job of recognizing when teams change up on us, and not letting that take away our aggressiveness.”
With Fairmont pulling up lame, South slowly evened up the score, taking the lead for good when Stephens hit a long jumper as time expired on the half, 27-26.
As slim the margin was, it gave South a much-needed boost heading into the locker rooms.
“It gave us some momentum coming out in the second half,” said Copeland, who picked up just one foul despite applying heavy defensive pressure the whole game long.
South’s at-times-chaotic defense, combined with Fairmont’s chilly shooting touch, kept the scoring to a minimum through the third quarter, and the Wildcats slowly pieced together a lead that crested at 10 points, 48-38, with just under six minutes to play.
Once again, Nelson took over, scoring 13 of his points during the final stretch as the Firebirds got back in the game.
“Everybody had to guard him,” said Wilborn of Nelson. “But he was finding the open shots. You gotta give him his props this time.”
“It seems like every time there’s gonna be one guy who gets a bunch of points,” Stephens said. “But one guy can’t beat us, so that’s a good thing, too.”
The Firebirds pulled within three, 50-47, on a Nelson three-pointer with 3:51 left … but South closed out the game with a 9-4 run, most of those points coming on foul shots by Stephens and Copeland.
Ham was anything but pleased his team allowed Fairmont to hang around as long as it did.
“We had opportunities to put it away,” said Ham. “Missed layups, missed free throws at crucial points. Championship teams, or teams that want to contend for the league, have got to _ at those crucial points _ make those shots.”
South joins North and Beavercreek as unbeatens in the WOL. The loss likely precludes Fairmont from playing anything but a spoiler role in the league.
“This team has a lot of pride,” Casey said. “So they’ll be playing hard the rest of the way.”
FAIRMONT (51) _ Frick 0 0-0 0, Shoemacher 1 0-0 2, Kane 2 0-3 4, Thompson 3 1-2 7, Nelson 12 9-11 34, Wallace 2 0-0 4, McCloud 0 0-0 0, Sullivan 0 0-0 0. Totals: 20 10-16 51.
SOUTH (59) _ Richardson 0 0-0 0, Copeland 3 7-10 13, Stephens 7 7-10 24, Wilborn 4 1-3 9, Johnson 3 0-1 6, Thorpe 2 1-2 5, Womack 1 0-0 2. Totals: 20 16-26 59.
Fairmont 16 26 32 51
South 14 27 42 59
Three-point goals: South 3 (Stephens 3), Fairmont 1 (Nelson)
Records: South 5-0, 3-0 WOL; Fairmont 2-3, 0-3
Reserves: South, 59-47
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