FAYETTEVILLE —
Some nights, Curtis Miller has seen his team play solid defense.
Other nights, not so much.
Midland Trail’s 62-54 defeat of rival Fayetteville Saturday at the Fayette County Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Building fell into the latter category.
Labeling the Patriot win “very ugly,” Miller said his team’s defensive play was unacceptable. “One game we’ll play our best effort defensively, and the next game we’ll have absolutely no effort. This was the worst defensive effort we’ve had all year.”
The Patriots, though, did enough to keep the Pirates on the ropes most of the night. An inbound 3-point goal by Jake Grimmett pushed the Midland Trail lead to 54-40 with 3:35 left, but Fayetteville stayed in the fight. A pair of 3-pointers by Aaron Krise in the closing minutes pulled the Pirates back to within single digits, but they could get no closer than eight points.
“Midland Trail played hard,” said Fayetteville coach Todd Mann. “We took a lot of good shots, but we just couldn’t get the shots to fall.
“We just have to be able to finish.”
The Patriots utilized a 12-0 spurt spanning the end of the first period and the beginning of the second to break open an 8-8 game. The lead stood at 34-24 midway through the third stanza on a Tyler Skaggs drive, but the Pirates crept to within 40-32 at the end of the quarter on a Tyler McVey deuce with 0:23 to go.
Midland Trail, which won the first meeting between the two teams 69-44, placed five players in double figures in the scoring column Saturday. Rickie Carter led the way with 16 points, Collin Carte provided 13, and Grimmett, Skaggs and Austin Burdette scored 10 apiece.
Krise and Zach Semple netted 14 points each to power the Pirates. McVey and L.J. White chipped in eight each.
Midland Trail (8-11) entertains Class A No. 7 Greater Beckley Christian on Monday. The Patriots dropped a 72-62 decision to the Crusaders earlier this week.
Fayetteville (5-15) is slated to host Meadow Bridge Thursday.
For team high school basketball coverage, check us out online at www.register-herald.com and look for the link for In The Paint
Midland Trail (8-11)
Jake Grimmett 4 1-2 10, Collin Carte 6 0-0 13, Tyler Skaggs 4 1-3 10, Rickie Carter 7 2-4 16, Austin Burdette 4 2-5 10, Ryan Wilson 0 1-2 1, Steven Blume 0 2-2 2, Tristan Minor 0 0-0 0. Totals: 25 9-18 62.
Fayetteville (5-15)
Zach Semple 6 2-2 14, Aaron Krise 6 0-2 14, Tyler McVey 3 1-2 8, Jake Alton 3 0-0 6, Will Dooley 2 0-0 4, L.J. White 4 0-6 8, Caleb Bailes 0 0-0 0, Sam Abbott 0 0-0 0. Totals: 24 3-12 54.
MT 18 10 12 22 — 62
F 8 14 10 22 — 54
3-point goals — MT: 3 (Grimmett, Carte, Skaggs); F: 3 (Krise 2, McVey). Fouled out — none.
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