Fairview coach Ryan Barry had quite a day on Monday.
During the day, he learned he was named the Northeast Lakes District Division III Coach of the Year, and later that evening, Barry guided the Warriors to a 70-63 win over Chagrin Valley Conference foe Kirtland in a Division III district semifinal at Wooster High School.
“That was a great day,” Barry said. “The coolest part is the kids, seeing their excitement after the game. It’s really hard to get to districts so to be able to get to a district final is special.”
Kirtland got off to a good start with seven different Hornets scoring at least two points on the way to a 20-18 first-quarter lead.
Fairview’s Will Allen then drained a pair of 3-pointers in the second quarter to help the Warriors rally from behind for a 36-32 halftime advantage. Allen drained four threes in the first half on the way to his game-high 24 points.
“I think the kids were ready,” Barry said. “We’re young, we start two sophomores, two juniors, and one senior, and you could tell they were a little nervous early on. We had some uncharacteristic turnovers against some pressure that we just saw on Friday, so it was a little weird to see us not prepared for that part of it, but emotions aside, the kids played great. They fought, they scrapped, they battled. Kirtland is so strong and physical, and we don’t necessarily fit that mold, but our kids battled and fought.”
Kirtland’s Nick Barisic drained a pair of 3-pointers in the third quarter and Will Sayle added one to help the Hornets regain the lead—51-49—heading into the fourth quarter.
That’s when Fairview’s defense took over and the Warriors outscored the Hornets in the final eight minutes of play, 21-12.
“One of the things I’ve been writing on the throughout the season, and specifically for the playoffs, is you win with defense and execution,” Barry said. “It seems silly, but playoffs games are won in the half court. You have to be able to defend in the half court and you have to execute some of your offensive sets and baseline and out of bounds. We did a really good job of that. I felt like we got almost every 50-50 ball.”
Senior Owen McMonagle sealed Fairview’s win with 5-of-6 clutch free throws down the stretch.
“That put the game away for us,” Barry said. “It was awesome.”
Burke Lowry, Nolan Davis, and Collin Lucas also scored in double figures for the Warriors. Lowry scored 11 points while Davis and Lucas both finished with 10. Rodriguez Beato contributed to the win with six points.
Barisic led Kirtland with 18 points, Vince Carriero added 16, Sayle finished with 11, Gino Blasini and Jack Green both scored six, Danny Alfieri pitched in with four, and Jake LaVerde finished with two points.
With the win, Fairview improved to 18-6 overall and will face the winner of the district semifinal between Cuyahoga Heights and Wooster Triway in a district championship game at Wooster on March 8.
Kirtland closed out the season with a 17-8 record.
