GOSHEN - Did it go in or not?

That's the question many people asked after Fairfield had ended the fourth quarter with a 19-4 run to win 61-51 over Wawasee on Tuesday.

A strange play that seemed to go Wawasee's way turned the momentum in the opening game of the season for both teams and spurred Fairfield to a 12-0 run that completely altered the game.

Wawasee led 45-42 with just over five minutes to go in the game when the Warriors' Jay Haugh drove the lane and was fouled. He was sent to the line to shoot two shots and missed the first. However, he knocked down the second shot to seemingly put Wawasee ahead 46-42.

But just before Fairfield inbounded the ball, the referees decided to discuss the play with the scorekeepers. They changed the call and said that Haugh had made the shot and since he missed the first free throw, the score should be 47-42, for a three-point play.

What seemed to be a positive for Wawasee took a sudden turn for the worse as Fairfield woke up and scored 12 consecutive points over the next three and a half minutes to take control of the game.

The strange thing to the entire turnaround is that nobody seems to know if Haugh's shot really went in.

"That was such a freaky play," Wawasee head coach Jerry Davis said. "I don't even know if the whistle was blown before the shot or after the shot. I don't even know if the ball went in. That may have given (Fairfield) a little fire."

Just getting to that point in the game took some strange action and that's to be expected in the first game of the season.

Fairfield led by as many as 10 points at 33-23 late in the second quarter and looked ready to finish the Warriors early. But a small 4-1 run to close out the half got Wawasee to within seven at 34-27.

In the third quarter, Jared Mahnensmith opened with a three-pointer that cut the lead to four points and Haugh followed that up with a steal and a layup to make it 34-32.

Trailing 38-34, Wawasee went on a 10-0 run that spilled over into the fourth quarter as Mahnensmith and Justin Shilling each scored four points to take Wawasee's biggest lead of the night at 44-38.

After the disputed play gave Wawasee a 47-42 advantage, Fairfield's Corbie Garber canned a three-pointer and Ryan Thwaits made a pair of free throws to tie the game. Greg Myers made three free throws after getting fouled shooting a three-pointer for the second time in the game to give the Falcons a lead they would not relinquish.

"At the start of the fourth quarter we had five consecutive possessions where we had defensive stops," Davis said. "Then we came back and missed two layups, took a bad shot, and turned it over ourselves. We had a chance at that point to really take command and we didn't do it. Their kids stayed better composed than ours did down the stretch. We've got a lot of work to do before we play again."

Davis did see some positives from the game. With Brad Brown in foul trouble for much of the game, Justin Shilling came off the bench to produce 12 points with only one turnover.

"Justin's a kid who just wants a chance to play," Davis said. "He just wants some minutes. He doesn't care if his name's in the paper, he doesn't care if he gets a rebound. He just wants to be out there and play some defense and set some screens and handle the basketball. He's not a flashy player but he does understand where his points are going to come from and how to get them. He doesn't put himself in a bad position on the floor."

Defensively, Wawasee did do a solid job. Fairfield only managed to shoot 37 percent, but the Warriors had 18 turnovers compared to 14 for the Falcons.

"In all fairness to the kids, they wanted to come out and show how much they've improved," Davis said. "We were trying to play nine or 10 players and that's going to take a little bit longer than trying to get chemistry out of five. We'll get there. It's just going to take some more work."

Wawasee (0-1) will be at Elkhart Central on Saturday. [[In-content Ad]]