Boys basketball season returned to the Hardwood Teepee Tuesday night as Wawasee tipped off the season for area teams by hosting rival Fairfield. Things were incredibly close for most of the game, with the Falcons extending their lead in the second half. The Warriors made a furious comeback in the final minutes, but it was too little too late as the visitors emerged with a 46-43 win.
The size of the Falcons was apparent in the opening minutes of the game, with the visitors picking up a pair of easy buckets down low against smaller defenders while also picking up a massive block on the first Wawasee shot attempt of the game.
Despite the size disadvantage, the home side was fearless when attacking the basket, putting three fouls on the visitors in the first three minutes. Not only that, but the Warriors did well on the offensive glass, creating multiple extra opportunities to get on the board.
Outside of a flurry of made shots by Fairfield’s Cole Knight in the opening minutes of the game, points were hard to come by for both teams. The two sides had combined for just 10 after five minutes of play, with the visitors up 6-4. The visitors were able to string a few more shots together in the final minutes to take their biggest lead of the night so far at eight.
Wawasee scored the final points of the first quarter with a little under a minute left in the game, but the team still found itself trailing 12-6 going into the second.
Nolan Holzwart began the next quarter with a three pointer to make it a one-possession game, then followed it up with an acrobatic layup to shrink the deficit down to one. Another three by Brayden Miller with five minutes to go tied things up, though only temporarily. The Wawasee defense was still having a tough time guarding Knight, who had already put himself in double figures scoring.
The first Warrior lead of the game came less than a minute later as the shots from deep continued to fall. This time, it was Kane Dukes putting a pair of them on the board. After a quarter in which points were a premium, stops were suddenly hard to get.
Each team continued to light up as time kept on ticking away in the first half. When the dust settled, it was Fairfield still on top, 22-20, as both sides headed into their respective locker rooms.
A quick start to the second half opened things up for the Falcons once more, as the visitors scored the first six points of the third quarter to go back up by eight points. Things continued to fall in the favor of Fairfield, as the team extended its lead to double figures with four minutes to go in the period.

    Senior Brayden Miller of Wawasee leans into Fairfield's Cole Knight while shooting during the first quarter...Nieter

The Warriors were able to do enough offensively to avoid things getting out of hand, but struggled to string enough together to cut away at the Falcon lead and tighten things up. The largest the visitors were able to grow their advantage to here was 13, but another three from Dukes made it a 10-point game going into the fourth.
Fairfield was much more deliberate offensively in the opening minutes of the final period, passing the ball around the perimeter and burning time off of the clock while remaining in front. A three by Miller with five minutes to go in the game brought Wawasee back within single digits, but a lot of work still needed to be done.
With just over three minutes to go in the contest, the visitors were able to go back up by eleven, putting even more pressure on the home side. That’s where things stayed for the next minute, as Wawasee was unable to figure anything out offensively. An and-one by Holzwart finally broke the drought and a second layup by the junior brought them to within six with a little over a minute to go.
The Falcons did well to burn some clock after getting the ball back, passing around the perimeter to get around the trap. A big steal by Dukes and another layup by Holzwart gave the home side some life once more, putting them within four with 23 seconds to go. After the two sides split a pair of quick baskets, Fairfield was still up by that amount with nine to go.
A pair of missed free throws for the visitors followed up by a layup for the Warriors put them within two with 1.8 seconds left. Needing a steal on the ensuing inbound pass, they were unable to get it as Fairfield survived.
Wawasee (0-1) is at Angola Saturday.