In their fourth-straight trip to the Class 3 – District 11 championship game, Fair Grove finally got to see what it’s like to come out on top on Saturday. The Eagles beat Conway 53-50 to claim their first district title in fourteen years.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS
“We knew it was going to be a dogfight,” said Fair Grove coach Tim Brown. “Conway poses lots of matchup problems for us with their guards. They wanted to control tempo. They do a good job of running their stuff. Coach Cope is a phenomenal coach and those seniors they have over there are warriors.”
Conway led 32-29 heading into the fourth quarter. Fair Grove outscored the Bears 24-18 in the final frame, including a 10-2 run. Senior guard Kyle Cavanaugh exploded for a game-high 26 points in the game, nine of which came in the fourth quarter.
“I was trying to do whatever I could do to help our team to win,” said Cavanaugh, “whether that was scoring 26, scoring five, scoring four, if someone else was hot, getting them the ball; I wanted to do whatever we could do to win.”
Cavanaugh went 3-4 at the free-throw line with under 30 seconds to play, helping to secure the game late.
“He's just playing on a mission,” Brown said of Cavanaugh. “He's been amazing for us for four years, and this time of year your seniors take over. I think he's the best player in our district and he proved that this whole tournament. You talk about a kid that refuses to lose, he had that mentality. And he told me earlier this week, he said, ‘You're going to have to rip me off this floor.’ He said, ‘We're going to win this thing. I want to keep playing.’ He backed it up.”
The Eagles fell to Strafford in the district finals the last three consecutive seasons. This year, Fair Grove squared off with the Indians in the semifinals. They finally got over that hump winning 64-60, propelling them into the title game with plenty of momentum.
“It's just special, it's been fourteen years since we won a district championship,” said Brown. “Our seniors, they've totally bought in. Not only have they played in four [title games], but they've been a big part of all four… If a group ever earned it, this group definitely earned it.”
Fair Grove was fortunate to host this year’s district tournament. They used their crowd as an advantage, and the fans shared the special moment with the team as they celebrated the district championship.
Fair Grove (25-4) will take on East Newton (18-11) in the sectional round on Wednesday, March 2.
“We're going to enjoy this one for sure at home,” Brown said. “But our whole motto was, let's practice Monday. We wanted to practice Monday and we wanted to keep going. We've talked about making this a season that no one forgets, we've got all the pieces and now we get to go tip up on Wednesday night and do it again.”
“My final thoughts are just like, wow!” said Cavanaugh. “I don't even know what to say. It's just so overwhelming that we got this win.
“[Coach Brown] wants to make sure that we're keeping our momentum going and that every time we step on the court and get to practice that we're working our butts off to make it to our ultimate goal, which is state.”
Fair Grove – 16 – 6 – 7 – 24 – 53
Conway – 12 – 11 – 9 – 18 – 50
Fair Grove – Kyle Cavanaugh 26, Garrett Kesterson 9, Steven Huskey 8, Mason Kesterson 5, Evan Fullerton 5
Conway – Chris Vavruska 17, Austin Chastain 13, Andrew Huckaby 11, Tayler Simpson 5, Jonathan Lucas 2, RC Shockley 2
