Blake Rickard had the hot hand for Fairview all game long — and that paid off when it mattered most.
The senior standout punctuated a 25-point performance with a game-winning 3-pointer to lift the Aggies past Good Hope 72-69 on Friday night.
Rickard’s clutch bucket came with 4.5 seconds left — the Raiders missed a potential tying shot at the horn — and capped a 24-7 run for Fairview, which trailed by as many as 14 points early in the fourth quarter.
Kobe Payne, who added 13 points, drove the baseline on the Purple and Gold’s final possession — Dakota Overton had sank two free throws moments earlier to knot the game at 69 — and hit his teammate with an on-point pass in the left corner.
Rickard then took care of the rest, splashing his sixth trey to give the Aggies an early Christmas present.
“I’d been shooting hot,” he said. “I saw Kobe drive and I cut down to the corner. When it hit my hands, I just knew it was going to go in. We have worked really hard to get us where we are right now, and I give a lot of credit to coach (Calvin) Ganus. He’s always scouting and getting us ready for every team.”
Ganus, meanwhile, couldn’t have been more proud of his team following the gutsy effort.
“I think our kids were a little nervous and played a little timid early,” he said. “Good Hope is a good team and Drew does a great job with them. We knew it was going to be a dogfight. It got to a point where we started to get a little more aggressive and trapping a little bit. We got to within four and I was about to call off the dogs, but the kids said let’s keep on with it. We ended up hitting some free throws and making some plays there at the end. It was a good win for us.”
As for the aforementioned final possession, Ganus said he let the moment unfold organically.
“We’ve really struggled with getting the last shot,” he said. “With 30 seconds left, I just kind of let them play. Our kids had been making plays all game, so I let them do what they do. We’re trying to build this program on defense, so I knew if we got a bucket we could take care of it on the other end.”
Cade Yeager (10), Carson Jones (nine) and Landun Smith (eight) provided other top contributions for Fairview.
Jacob Haynes, Kmal Bell and Tucker Malin each scored 13 points for Good Hope. Tyler Cone (12) and Weston Hancock (11) joined them in double figures.
See below for more local roundup.
Friday — Dec. 22
Varsity Boys
J.B. Pennington 70, Cold Springs 69 (OT)
Ethan Day: 21 points
Cole Bales: 20 points
Hanceville 77, Cordova 57
Noah Jones: 20 points
Eli Clements: 9 points
Varsity Girls
West Point 42, Boaz 41
Liberty Shadix: 17 points
Laklin Shadix: 9 points
Thursday — Dec. 21
Varsity Boys
Addison 49, Vinemont 39
Jed Wilkins (A): 16 points
Isaiah Jones (V): 12 points
Jaxon Holcomb (V): 11 points
Madison Academy 67, Fairview 38
Kobe Payne: 13 points
Oneonta 51, Cold Springs 37
Cole Bales: 22 points, 13 rebounds
Varsity Girls
West Point 70, Fort Payne 40
Liberty Shadix: 19 points
Hallie Wheeler: 14 points
Laklin Shadix: 11 points
Kylee Quinn: 10 points
Vinemont 65, Addison 33
Reagan Robinson (V): 17 points
Maggie Burks (V): 12 points
Carley Stephens (V): 10 points
Ava Bartlett (A): 13 points
Gracie Roberts (A): 9 points
Madison Academy 38, Fairview 34
Lexi Golden: 8 points
Jayla Gorham: 7 points