Ads hold off Halls in region quarterfinals
His expression summarized the feeling for every navy-clad fan inside Lynn E. Sexton Gymnasium.
After leading Halls by as many as 15 in the fourth quarter Saturday, Farragut held on for a 65-63 win in the Region 2-AAAA quarterfinals.
A Dan Lanning layup and free throws from Lanning and Lane made the difference in the final minute, as FHS held off a Halls team that pushed the Admirals to the brink — even nailing a 3-pointer with less than two seconds remaining to mark the final margin.
Prior to the late answers from Farragut, the Admirals allowed their lead to wither away in a 10-minute span.
That push from Halls left Farragut coach J.P. Burris frustrated afterward, as he summed up the night in one sentence: “We have to be better if we don’t want our season to end.”
“A group of five seniors, as mature as they are and as much as they have played, you can’t blow a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter,” he continued. “We got lucky tonight. Credit to Halls. They played their hearts out and never went away. Our guys thought, ‘Oh, the game’s over,’ and you can’t play like that when you’re against a team that’s playing for their season.”
That play almost undid an 18-6 run, which featured a Reid Vining steal-and-slam that sent the crowd into a frenzy. But even as Halls made its biggest push, FHS found timely answers in its seniors.
Britton Lewis led the Admirals in scoring with 18 points, while Lanning and Lane had 12 each with 10 from Aidan Foshie.
Lewis remained a constant presence in the lane, while Lanning keyed the Ads with three timely 3-pointers. And Lane came alive late after scoring just two points in the first half.
“I thought Britton was pretty steady for us, and Fosh shot the ball well,” Burris said. “Dan made some big plays when we needed it, and it goes back to the fact that you can count on this group. But we have to make good decisions down the stretch.”
Altogether, the Admirals did enough to hold off a Halls team that saw three double-digit scorers: Gaige Harold (22 points), Colton Hoffmeister (17 points) and Miles Comparato (10 points).
After practicing Sunday and Monday, the Admirals looked to advance past a Hardin Valley team that defeated Central last Saturday for its first region win in program history.
Burris noted that he wanted a businesslike approach considering Farragut’s previous outing and the emotion fueling its next opponent.
“Congrats on the win, but this is not a night to celebrate,” he said. “Go home, go to bed, go to church and come ready to practice.
“Hardin Valley just won their first region game in the history of the school, so they will be on Cloud 9 and are playing well. We know their staff is really good; we just have to be ready to play.”
Since the game took place after press time, results can be found online via our Facebook page.
