CANTON—The Fairview Warriors’ magical postseason run ended on Wednesday with a 70-49 loss to defending state champion Lutheran East in a Division III, Region 9 semifinal.
The Warriors closed out the year with a 19-7 record and hit several milestones throughout the season.
“It was incredible, man,” said Fairview coach Ryan Barry. “I tried to take a different approach to my coaching this year. I’ve always been hung up on the wins and losses and forgot to enjoy the day-to-day a little bit. I really tried to enjoy it with these guys, and I’m so thankful I did. They’re such a special group and being able to do that and still have the outcomes we wanted was special. It was a fun season.”
Lutheran East jumped out to an early 12-2 lead in the first quarter behind the play of standouts Jesse McCullough and Ronald Taylor before Fairview narrowed the gap down to 16-9 heading into the second quarter.
After trading baskets for most of the quarter, Fairview’s Burke Lowry drained a buzzer-beating 3-pointer that cut the Falcon lead to 40-26 at the intermission.
That’s as close as Fairview would get as Lutheran East pounced on the Warriors in the third quarter, 32-13, and took a 72-39 advantage into the fourth, they outscored Fairview in the final eight minutes, 18-10.
Taylor led all scorers with a game-high 35 points on 13-of-14 shooting, making his last 12 shots with seven 3-pointers total. McCullough posted a double-double with 30 points, 11 rebounds, and four blocks. Anthony Bruce contributed to the win with 11 points on 3-of-3 shooting from beyond the arc.
With the win, Lutheran East advanced to play Cardinal Mooney in the regional championship game on March 16.
Lowry led the Warriors with 20 points and Allen scored 15 points. Owen McMonagle and Collin Lucas scored six each for Fairview.
“Since I was willing to take a different approach, do more team-building stuff, and preach ‘togetherness,’ I think the kids bought into it really well,” Barry said of his coaching change. “We just always want to enjoy the moment. It changed how I did things a little bit, but the standards were always in place, and meeting the expectations is important. I really just enjoyed this group of kids.”
Barry’s only regret is that he didn’t change his approach sooner.
“I’m kind of kicking myself,” he said. “I feel like I haven’t always done this in my six years of coaching. Different approach, same results, and a much happier and enjoyable season for me.”
The Warriors added a flurry of milestones to their program history, winning sectional and district titles, claiming the Chagrin Valley Conference Metro Division crown, and being the lone CVC team represented in the regional tournament.
“Our No. 1 goal every year is to win our conference,” Barry said. “This is the third conference I’ve been in, and we’ve got four (conference championships) in seven years. That’s what we think of as our ‘standard’. It was challenging; we had to learn new teams, but the kids really stepped up. The coaching staff did a great job prepping us for every game. A district final game is something we have not been able to win, and it’s been a little frustrating. I’m so proud these guys were able to win it. We put those two goals on the board in practice. They were on (the board) all year. We checked them both off this year; that’s awesome. It’s not easy to do. We’re proud to represent the CVC. We’re still new here, and there are a lot of outstanding coaches there who do things the right way. We’re proud to be a part of a conference like that.”
Fairview will send off a pair of seniors in Lucas and McMonagle, who have developed into on-court coaches for the Warriors.
“Collin and Owen on the court are awesome, and they’re going to fight and always battle,” Barry said. “They’ve taught our guys how to fight, dig down, and find more. The way they prep in the offseason and practice in-season is second to none. We have a young team, and some of them don’t know what it takes on the day-to-day. These seniors have set the example for them; It’s like having two extra coaches out there. It’s awesome.”
Aside from the graduation losses, Fairview returns the bulk of its roster next season and Barry is confident the Warriors will be prepared to build off the success they enjoyed this winter.
“We’re young,” he said. “The goal for them is to not be satisfied. They should enjoy the heck out of this season and be proud of it, but when we start back up after the 30-day no-contact (period), the focus needs to be on how we sustain success and get better. We can’t be okay with where we’re at. As fun and awesome as it was, we can appreciate and enjoy it, but everybody’s got to get better. We have to really challenge ourselves this offseason.”
