Lancers take down Fairfield, 65-53 (Basketball Boys Home Page)
By: BHARATH RAVISHANKAR - PrepSportsDOK.com
Posted December 26
The Saint Francis Lancers, led by junior Khalid Johnson (16 points), took down the Fairfield Falcons, 65-53 last Thursday night in Mountain View. The Lancers improve to 5-2 while the Falcons fall to 6-5.
Both teams came out strong on defense, and the play of senior guard Jalen Dupree gave the Falcons a 15-14 lead at the end of the first quarter. Dupree (13 points on 6 FGs), along with senior forward Terrence Fairley (12 points) took the Falcons to a 27-23 halftime lead.
But the Lancers came out with an explosive offense and went on an eight-point run to make it 31-27, a lead they would never relinquish. Near the end of the 3rd quarter, senior Jarod Diaz (game-high 17 points) hit three 3-pointers and an 18-footer in sequence to put St. Francis in control.
The Lancers played a strong perimeter offense, and they got their jump shooting going early. Inside presences Drew Dickey, a 6-9 senior, and Abu Tratter, a 6-4 senior, finished with just 12 and five points respectively, further highlighting how good the perimeter shooting was for the Lancers.
The athletic and tall Falcons, on the other hand, dominated the paint and scored a lot of second-chance points, as they have six players who are at least 6-3. During the second and third quarters, it seemed that Dupree would take over the game, with his hard drives and offensive rebounds, but Lancer guard Khalid Johnson was able to outplay him with his array of crossovers, fast break points, and perimeter shooting.
