FAIRVIEW, Ala. – The Fairview Aggies hosted the West Blocton Tigers for a Wednesday night hoops matchup and after getting off to a strong start, the Aggies kept things rolling in the second half to pull away and collect a 79-57 win over the Tigers.
Antonio Gambrill hit Fairview’s first basket of the game, then Kobe Payne drilled a three from the right wing, and Cade Yeager added a layup to give the Aggies a quick 7-0 lead. West Blocton knocked down a three for their first basket of the game, but Bryson Fletcher drilled a trey from the right wing, then Cylas Yarbrough and Yeager each added baskets down low to push the Aggie lead to 14-3. The Tigers hit a basket to cut it to 14-5, but Fairview finished the quarter strong as threes by Landun Smith, Payne, and Fletcher saw the Aggies take a 23-5 lead into the second period.
A pair of layups by Yeager and one by Payne increased Fairview’s lead to 29-7, then Yarbrough knocked down a pair from the free-throw line to make it 31-7. The Tigers, though, responded in a big way as they went on a 15-0 run to cut the Aggie lead to 31-22 with less then four minutes to go in the first half. They would later make it a 32-24 game, but the three-ball helped the Aggies finish the first half strong as Payne hit a pair and Nicholas Gregory hit one of his own and Fairview took a 41-28 lead into the locker room.
A three by the Tigers to start the second half cut it to 41-31 and later made it 42-33, but Payne quickly hit a three of his own and converted his and-one opportunity to make it 48-33. Yarbrough and Smith each hit one of their own from long-range to push the Aggie lead to 54-33, then Fletcher and Yarbrough each hit a basket in the paint as they took a 58-37 lead into the final period.
The Aggies continued to add onto their lead in the fourth quarter as baskets by Yeager and Smith made it 62-37, then threes by Payne and Gambrill increased their lead to 68-40. Despite a late run by the Tigers, the game was never in doubt for Fairview as they ended up taking the game, 79-57.
Payne led the way for Fairview (8-13) with 29 points. Yeager and Fletcher each added 10 points, while Yarbrough and Smith each ended up with nine points.
Fairview will travel to take on Scottsboro Friday night in a pair of area games.
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