By GARY KAUFFMAN
A little desperation can lead to big things.
Fairfield found itself in a desperate situation Wednesday night, trailing Churubusco by 17 points at the 5:30 mark of the third quarter.
But the Falcons rallied, outscoring the Eagles 37-17 from that point to post a 49-46 win in the second round of the Northeast Corner Conference tourney.
"There was no plan at that point, just desperation," Falcon coach John Wysong said. "All the things just kind of happened. We played harder than all get out and took some chances."
A key for the Falcon comeback was free throws. Fairfield drew plenty of fouls and made the most of their time at the free throw line.
The Falcons made 24 of 27 from the line. Tanner Foust went 12 of 13 and Chandler Kauffman hit seven of eight.
Foust had made his final eight free throws in Tuesday's game and hit his first 12 Wednesday for 20 in a row.
"He's feeling good," Wysong said.
Foust finished with 19 points and Kauffman had 11.
Things looked bleak for the Falcons in the first half. Defensively they played well but the offense couldn't handle 'Busco's physical strength.
"They were so physical and we weren't ready for it," Wysong said. "They knocked us on our heels and it took a while to adjust to it."
Fairfield trailed 23-12 at halftime and the third quarter started with more of the same.
The Eagles scored six unanswered points to make it 29-12.
But the Falcons answered with six straight points of their own. After a Churubusco basket, they scored four more, and then following an Eagle free throw, eight more unanswered points to close the quarter.
The 'Busco lead was 32-27 as the final seconds ticked away in the third. Kauffman drove to the hoop and when the defense collapsed on him, he kicked it out to a wide-open Derek Vogelzang who drained the 3 just before the buzzer.
It didn't take long for Fairfield to tie the game in the fourth. A steal by Kauffman led to a basket by Foust to tie the game.
The Eagles got up by four again, but a pair of Foust free throws tied the game again at 40.
Kauffman then gave Fairfield its first lead of the game with two free throws, and stretched the lead to four with a basket at 2:59.
Churubusco cut the lead to two with 29 seconds left, but the Falcons ran time off the clock and Foust made a free throw with 10 seconds remaining for a three-point edge.
The Eagles attempted a 3-pointer with a few seconds remaining but missed.
The Falcons will now host Westview Friday night in the semi-final of the tourney.
