One Hundred. 100. One double-zero. However you choose to pronounce it, that was the magic number accomplished by the Fairfield Central boys basketball team Friday evening as the seniors were honored in their final home game of the regular season.
The Griffins reached the milestone with 1:53 remaining in the fourth quarter on a put-back by reserve forward Denzel Jones. The home crowd of about 600 fans all stood to their feet in a standing ovation that lasted approximately three minutes, acknowledging FC’s rare feat.
“Coming into the game, all I wanted was the win. A hundred points just came along with us playing hard and sticking to our defensive assignments. It’s something that I haven’t seen since I’ve been here, so it does feel good,” Griffins head coach Miguel Burns said.
The game’s outcome was never in question as FC scored 28 points in the first and fourth quarter, man-handling the A.C. Flora Falcons 100-44. Friday evening’s contest was the second time the two teams have met this season with Flora taking the 82-77 win in the Jan. 15 match-up.
The 56-point spread is the largest margin of victory for the Griffins this season. FC reached the century mark for the first time since Fairfield Central’s 1998 State Championship team scored 100 in a regular season game that year.
“We wanted to send a message to the rest of the teams in the region. The Lower Richland loss fired us up. We felt like we weren’t supposed to lose that game,” said senior Mikel Trapp. “That was the hardest we’ve played all year, and to lose that game that way, it hurt. We came out and said we’re putting everything on the line tonight.”
The Griffins stated their case early on, forcing seven first-quarter turnovers and seemingly scoring at will.
Senior Shaquille Crumpton connected on two early 3-pointers and scored 8 of the Griffins first 13 points as Fairfield Central jumped out to 13-2 lead. Crumpton finished with 10 points, three assists and three steals.
On the night where the seniors were honored, it was an underclassmen that stole the spotlight. Junior LaCarlos Sampson scored 17 of his game-high 25 points in the first half, shooting three of four from 3-point range. Sampson also finished with two assists.
At the break FC held a commanding 47-20 lead over the stunned Falcons.
“This win was really big. We knew we all had to come together and play our hearts out. Tonight everybody was on the same page and this is the result of what happens when we play together,’’ said Sampson.
Trapp scored the Griffins’ first 6 points to open the second half and intercepted two falcon passes while the electrified audience watched in awe as FC increased their lead to 57-23 with 3:50 showing on the scoreboard.
NyJahwan McKinstry’s shining moment on the stage came in the final minutes of the third period when he snatched away an attempted pass, taking the ball coast-to-coast and finishing with a reverse lay-up worthy of any highlight reel.
The Griffins were ahead 61-23 at that point and in the midst of a 19-4 run.
“As the season comes to a close, we want to go into the playoffs on an up note. Tonight we came out on all cylinders and that’s what made the difference,” Burns added. “It gets us rolling after a tough loss. We need to win these next two games to start making some noise heading into the playoffs.”
As FC continued to build on their lead late into the fourth quarter, the crowd began to sense what was taking place as they jumped to their feet after each FC score.
Sampson put the Griffins in position to reach 100 points, knocking down two free-throws and giving them the 98-42 advantage with 2:02 left to play.
After Jones scored the final basket, Burns then began individually pulling the seniors from the game to receive their salutations from the home crowd.
Fairfield improves to 14-7 on the season and is 5-3 in region play. The Griffins remain in the second spot in the Region IV 3A standings. Trapp pulled in eight rebounds to go along with his 19 points and four steals.
Craig finished with 9 points, three assists and three steals. McKinstry added 12 points while junior Danny Miller dropped in 11 for the Griffins. Miller also had two assists.
The Griffins close the regular season on the road with two huge match-ups this week. They travel to Lugoff-Elgin tonight and then Chapin on Thursday evening.