FAIRVIEW PARK — Fairview continued its year-to-year dominance of the Chagrin Valley Conference Metro Division on Saturday, rolling to a 79-52 win over host Brooklyn to secure a third consecutive league championship.
The Warriors have now separated themselves from the rest of the conference, pairing another CVC Metro crown with a district title and reinforcing their position as one of the area’s most consistent programs.
“It’s hard to win a conference championship, and thankfully I’ve been a part of six of them now, which is pretty awesome,” said Fairview head coach Ryan Barry. “There’s a lot of luck involved because you have to be healthy for a whole season, gut out a game that you might not have been ready to play or take seriously. We’ve been fortunate that we’ve had guys who just do whatever it takes to win, and it takes a lot of hard work and commitment.”
Fairview set the tone early with a Will Allen 3-pointer, followed by three consecutive midrange jumpers from Burke Lowry to build an 18-10 lead after one quarter.
Lowry stayed hot to open the second, drilling a triple and scoring underneath off an Allen assist. Allen then finished the next possession, pushing the lead to 38-19 at the break.
The Lowry–Allen connection that powered Fairview’s regional run in 2023-24 and three straight league titles was on full display again against the Hurricanes, as the duo played freely within the flow of the offense.
“Those guys have been playing basketball together for a long time, and the kids stay in the community, which gives us the chemistry you can’t coach or teach. There’s some stuff they did tonight that we didn’t set up or call; they just played,” Barry said. “They read off of each other and made moves to get each other going, and despite all the points they’ve scored, they locked in defensively, and when your leading scorers are your toughest defenders, the other guys really buy in as a team. They were great on both ends today, and they got other guys involved.”
Malik Walker II added a midrange jumper, Savijan Harris banked in a 3-pointer, and Shaddai Givens scored off a Devin Hardwick feed as Fairview stretched the margin to 58-36 after three quarters and never wavered down the stretch.
With the conference title secured and a potential 10-0 league mark pending a matchup with Beachwood, the Warriors now turn their attention to a demanding six-game closing stretch aimed at sharpening them for the postseason after falling short of expectations last winter.
“Last year we had a preparation issue, and that’s on me as a coach, and two years ago we had it. We made the ultimate goal and won a conference and district title, then last year, we didn’t do a good job of holding the standard in practice,” Barry said openly. “This year, the kids are holding everyone to the standard in practice. No matter how long we go for in practice, everyone is going 100 percent, and that’s the best when the players are leading. We’re halfway through to where we want to be, and we have more opportunities to get better and add more things on both sides of the ball, and all these guys believe we’re not a finished product, which is why they’ll be motivated in practice.”
Lowry led all scorers with 27 points on 11-of-13 shooting and added five rebounds. Allen finished with 20 points, four steals, and a block.
Harris contributed 13 points, while Walker II scored six.
Earlier in the day, the Fairview girls defeated Brooklyn 62-13 behind Ryane Kerrigan’s 24 points and a single-game school record eight 3-pointers.
Sadie Shugrue scored nine points, while Claire Dahler and Emily Larkin added eight apiece.
The Fairview girls travel to Independence on Jan. 27, with the boys visiting Beachwood the same day.
Brooklyn was led by Givens’ 18 points and Hardwick’s 13. The Hurricane boys visit Cuyahoga Heights on Jan. 27, while the girls host Valley Forge on Jan. 26.
