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SPORTS

Woodside physical play leads Falcons over Bloom-Carroll

Tom Wilson
Reporter

RUSHVILLE — There is still a lot to play for, as far as who wins the Mid-State League-Buckeye Division championship, but Fairfield Union made a huge statement Friday night against visiting Bloom-Carroll.

Playing in front of a packed gymnasium, the Falcons made no secret as to what their game plan was: Get the ball into 6-foot-5 sophomore Colin Woodside. He changed the way the whole game was played with his physical style of play.

The Bulldogs didn’t have an answer for Woodside, who, if he wasn’t scoring, was drawing fouls. He finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds and he was 14 of 21 from the free throw line.

Fairfield Union was able to steadily pull away in the second half and avenged a loss to the Bulldogs just eight days ago with a 62-56 win.

The Falcons improved to 17-4 overall and 11-2 in the league. They have one league game left, while the Bulldogs slipped to 16-4 and 10-2, and they have two league games remaining.

Because of Woodside’s play, Bloom-Carroll was in foul trouble the whole night and it had two starters foul out.

“We were focused all week,” Woodside said. “Friday is the game and we knew we had to come take it. I felt like I could push them around inside and I wanted the ball. It not only got them in foul trouble but it opened up our shooters.

“It has been a long time since we have beaten them. We look up (at the banners) every day and see that 1996 was the last time Fairfield Union has won a league championship and we know what we have to do to get us up there.”

Bloom-Carroll coach Tom Petty was disappointed with the Bulldogs’ defense, but gave credit to Woodside.

“They absolutely man-handled us,” Petty said. “Fouling is poor defense and we just fouled too much. We knew (Woodside) was a load. We dug in a little bit, but we can’t let our perimeter guys just stand there and let them throw it into him. We needed to get more pressure on the passer and we didn’t do that.”

After Bloom-Carroll opened the game with a 6-1 lead, the Falcons started going into Woodside almost exclusively the rest of the half. They were able to take an 11-8 first-quarter lead and led 24-23 at halftime.

Woodside struggled early at the free throw line, making only 2-of-7, but he finished the first half making six in a row.

“We feel that when Colin plays aggressively, it just sets the tone for everybody else on our team,” Fairfield Union coach Alex Eversole said. “It puts a lot of pressure on a defense and forces them to double down and leave a shooter.”

That is exactly what happened in the second half. The Falcons started the third quarter on an 8-0 run, with Thomas Green capping it off with a 3-pointer. Bloom-Carroll cut the deficit to 32-29, but that’s as close as it would get the rest of the way.

The Falcons took a 45-37 lead into the fourth quarter. Green and Lucas Thompson both hit 3s early in the fourth to help extend the lead.

Jared Laski led the Bulldogs with 15 points, while Gavin Brown and Grant Dozer finished with 14 each. Green had 20 points for the Falcons and Thompson finished with 10.

“Anytime you go up against a team that is a powerhouse that has years and years of success in the Mid-State League, it is always a measuring stick and you wonder if we are at that level or not,” Eversole said. “We have beaten some teams this year, but until you beat a top dog, you really don’t know if you belong at the top or not. I think we made sure that we definitely are in the conversation after this win.”

twilson@lancastereaglegazette.com

740-681-4358

Twitter: @twil2323

Stat Book

Bloom-Carroll 8-15-14-19 — 56

Fairfield Union 11-13-21-17 — 62

Bloom-Carroll: Grant Dozer 6 1-3 14, Smith 1 0-0 3, Brown 5 3-4 14, Grif Dozer 2 1-2 5, Laski 5 3-3 15, Harvey 2 0-0 5. 21-49 FG, 8-13 FT, 6 3pt. (Laski 2, Grant Dozer, Smith, Brown, Harvey), 30 rebounds (Brown, Smith 5), 8 turnovers, 5 Assists (Brown 2).

Fairfield Union: Smith 1 0-2 3, Woodside 4 14-21 22, Miller 1 -0-0 2, Thompson 3 2-2 10, Price 2 1-1 5, Green 5 7-8 20. 16-36 FG, 24-34 FT, 6 3pt. (Green 3, Thompson 2, Smith), 27 rebounds (Woodside 10), 7 turnovers, 7 Assists (Price 3).