By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
In a season of highs and lows, the Fair Play Hornets are trending upward at the right time.
Fair Play avenged a regular season loss to Climax Springs by defeating the Cougars 52-39 in the Class 1 District 7 Tournament title game on Friday night at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar.
Fair Play was the No. 1 seed in the tournament despite a 6-9 record since January, including four losses to teams in its district.
“We’ve had to fight the ups and downs,” said second-year Fair Play coach Deric Link. “We went through a stretch where we weren’t playing very well and we were all ready to just get mad at each other. But we got back on the right ship and decided to commit to each other and start playing together.”
Junior guard Adrian Hartshorn overcame foul trouble to score a game-high 17 for the Hornets (16-11 overall). Senior guard Codey Shuler added 14 points.
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The duo helped Fair Play pull away for good in the third quarter, where the Hornets outscored Climax Springs 21-8.
“Our strength is our guard play,” Link said. “They help us control the pace.”
It’s the first district title for Fair Play since the Hornets won back-to-back district titles in 2013 and 2014.
Fair Play faces either Sacred Heart (17-10 overall) or Green Ridge (17-8 overall) on March 3 at Smith-Cotton High School in Sedalia in the Class 1 sectional round.
About one month ago, Climax Springs won 54-36 at Fair Play on the Hornets’ homecoming night.
“We didn’t want them to beat us again, so we decided to come out and play hard, play good defense like we have the last few games,” Shuler said.
The Hornets had to scrap and claw just to reach Friday night’s title game.
Fair Play edged No. 8 seed Wheatland 49-43 in the quarterfinals, then needed a fourth-quarter rally to beat Halfway in the semifinals.
“We knew coming into this district that all eight teams were really competitive with each other,” Link said. “If you look at schedules and results, there wasn’t anybody who was just a lot more dominant than anyone else. That’s what makes playoff mode fun.”
Offense was at a premium early on. Fair Play led 15-12 at halftime. Climax Springs didn’t surpass 30 points until the latter-half of the fourth quarter.
“Our defensive effort was amazing,” Link said. “Any time you can hold a team under 40, that’s outstanding. Especially a team like Climax Springs.”
Both teams struggled at the free throw line. Climax Springs was 5-for-17 at the free throw line. Fair Play was 14-for-25 overall, but only 9-for-17 in the fourth which opened the door for a late Climax Springs rally.
Sophomore guard Mark Henderson led Climax Springs (19-9 overall) with 15 points. The Cougars were seeking their first district title since they went back-to-back in 2011 and 2012.
Fair Play 52, Climax Springs 39
Climax Springs 4 8 8 19 – 39
Fair Play 7 8 16 21 — 52
Climax Springs (19-9 overall) – Mark Henderson 15, Pake Moppin 9, Dylan Dake 4, Jessie McCartney 4, Samuel Cline 3, Matt Henderson 2, James McCartney 2
Fair Play (16-11 overall) – Adrian Hartshorn 17, Cody Shuler 14, Adam Bass 7, Kolin Thomas 5, Colby Durst 4, Landon Wright 3, Mason Hopkins 2
