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PROCTORVILLE — Friday was everything a fan could want in a rivalry.
Two teams with a combined 35-2 record and both undefeated in conference play with a share of the league title up for grabs.
Fairland and Chesapeake played a clean, hard-fought contest and let everything play out on the court.
And when push came to shove, ‘Mr. Fourth Quarter’ showed up.
After his team trailed all night long, Fairland’s Brody Buchanan flipped the switch and turned in a fourth quarter for the ages, pouring in 13 points to help push the game into overtime.
The extra time period was followed by double overtime, and in the end, Buchanan and the Dragons (19-1, 13-0 OVC) made a couple more plays than the Panthers did, clawing their way to a 55-49 win.
CREDIT: Brock Netter/SOSA
“This was a battle, and these kids just continued to scratch and claw their way. They believed they could win and never gave up,” Fairland coach Nathan Speed said. “Something we kept talking about in our huddles was that we worked too hard going back to last spring to lose our heads and not compete. It came down to getting stops on defense and believing that shots were, at some point, going to start falling.”
Buchanan’s heroics will be remembered most, considering he finished with 30 points — 21 of which came in the fourth quarter and both overtimes.
However, his defense on Chesapeake’s Maddox Kazee in the second half is what Speed says makes him the talent he is.
“He’s such a smart defender, and I think he’s a little underrated about how good of a defender he is,” Speed said. “We went to a zone in the second half to try and make Kazee run a little more, extend those passing lanes on him and make it tough when he drops down in the short corner or the post. Brody is so good at making adjustments on the fly and he wanted that challenge of guarding Maddox. The scoring is great, but he also leads the team in assists and he’s an unselfish player that makes any sacrifice for the good of the team.”
Chesapeake (18-2, 11-1 OVC) attacked the Dragon’s defensive interior early as Kazee, Ethan Kerns and Karson Frecka all scored to take a quick 9-3 lead. Both teams scored four points each the rest of the way as the Panthers remained ahead 13-7.
Kazee then took over in the second quarter.
What started as a bucket inside grew into an eight-minute clinic. He didn’t just match the Dragons bucket-for-bucket, he outscored them.
The sophomore forward knocked down three triples, scoring all 13 Panther points, compared to just 10 for the Dragons, to put Chesapeake ahead 26-17 at halftime.
“We talked at halftime and switched our defense to go towards more of a trap, which was hopefully going to speed them up a little bit instead of letting them move the ball around,” Speed said. “Although we weren’t converting shots, we knew eventually one was going to fall. But it all started with playing defense and getting them out of rhythm.”
Kazee cooled down in the third, but that was also in part to Frecka attacking inside. He opened with back-to-back buckets and that opened the floor for his teammates to operate.
Kerns, Kaiden Perkins and Jacob Skeens all connected on shots, as did Frecka, to keep the Panthers ahead 39-30 heading to the fourth.
After spending the third guarding Kazee, it was time for Buchanan to pull double duty.
“I always like to take the challenge of guarding the other team’s best player, and he made some great shots in the second quarter,” Buchanan said. “But him hitting those shots didn’t discourage us. We came out in the second half and believed that we were going to get stops and limit his impact.”
Buchanan continued to guard Kazee, while also turning up his aggression on offense. He went on a personal 8-2 run to open the fourth, bringing the Dragons to within 41-38.
Kazee got loose one time for a bucket, followed by shots from Kerns and Perkins for a 6-2 run, pushing the Panthers’ lead back up to 47-40.
However, Buchanan responded with a triple, followed by a bucket from Keegan Smith and a steal and score from Buchanan, for a 7-0 run to tie the game at 47-47, ultimately forcing overtime.
“We said coming out of halftime that we were going to take things one possession at a time, play together and we were going to win the game,” Buchanan said. “There wasn’t a moment where we lost confidence because we’re such a family and that allows us to have that belief. I’ve been waiting my whole life to play in front of a crowd like we had tonight, and I didn’t want to lose. I felt the game getting close, and we needed to make some plays and I wanted to make them.”
The first overtime saw just one shot attempt and four minutes of dribbling, thus leading to double overtime.
Smith knocked down a free throw to give the Dragons their first lead of the game, and Buchanan did the rest by scoring the final seven points to close out the victory, alongside a share of the OVC title.
Following Buchanan’s totals, Fransen added 12 points and six rebounds. Kazee finished with 17 points for Chesapeake, while Perkins had 12 points and Frecka added 11 points.
The Panthers will try and bounce back with a trip to Ironton on Monday. Meanwhile, Fairland tallied another marquee win on Saturday, besting South Webster in non-league play. The Dragons will now look towards a trip to Wheelersburg on Tuesday.
Then, on Wednesday, they’ll meet again — this time at Chesapeake.
“This is a massive win for us. It’s our rival, so it’s always the game you play the hardest,” Fairland’s Cliff Fransen said. “We automatically win a share of the OVC, which is a great feeling. We play them one more time, and the goal is to have the outright title.”
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