Kettering Fairmont Firebirds boys’ varsity basketball team ends Christmas break on a high note

Kettering, Ohio – The Kettering Fairmont Firebirds boys’ varsity basketball team ended their Christmas school break with games against the Springfield Wildcats and the Fairborn Skyhawks.

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On Monday, December 27, 2021, the Firebirds traveled to Springfield to take on the Wildcats. Springfield was off to a slow start to the season. Going into the game against Fairmont, they had only played 3 games. They had a 1-2 record with an early win against Springboro 64-56 and then two consecutive losses to St Charles (67-52) and Wayne (82-65).

Kettering took control early and never looked back. The Firebirds outscored the Wildcats by 11 points, 18-7 in the first. Then they expanded their lead by outscoring Springfield by 9 points, 20-11 in the 2nd
quarter. This gave the Firebirds a substantial 20 point lead, 38-18 at the half. Kettering iced the game in the 3rd quarter by outscoring the Wildcats by 17 points, 31-14. Going into the 4th quarter the Firebirds had an insurmountable 37 point lead, 69-32. The Firebirds capped off their 8th victory of the year by outscoring the Wildcats by another 14 points, 18-4 in the 4th quarter to make the final score 87-36.

Kettering had four players reach double digits in scoring. Senior Guard #12 Anthony Johnson was the game’s leading scorer with 20 points. Johnson was 7 of 13 from the floor hitting 3 of 6 3-point attempts. Johnson was also 3 of 4 from the free throw line. Johnson added in 8 rebounds, 5 offensive and 3 defensive, and 3 assists. He also committed 2 personal fouls.

Fairmont’s Senior Forward #2 Dasan Doucet added 16 points to the Firebirds’ total scoring. Doucet was 5 of 10 from the floor and was 1 for 2 from 3-point range. Doucet was also 5 of 7 from the free throw line. He also contributed 8 assists, 7 rebounds, 6 defensive and 1 offensive, 2 steals, and 1 block. Doucet committed 2 turnovers and 1 personal foul.

Firebirds’ Junior Guard #11 Tyler Gentile came in off the bench to contribute 13 points. He shot 4 of 9 from the floor with 1 of 4 3-pointers. Gentile was a perfect 4 of 4 from the free throw line. Gentile also had 6 rebounds, 5 defensive and 1 offensive, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block. He committed 1 turnover but had no personal fouls.

Kettering’s Junior Forward #14 Jamison Rountree also came off the bench against Springfield to score in double digits. Rountree put 12 points on the board, shooting 5 of 10 from the floor hitting 1 of 3 from 3-point range. He also made 1 of 2 from the free-throw line. Rountree had 4 rebounds, 3 defensive and 1 offensive, 2 assists, and 1 steal. Rountree also had 1 turnover and 1 personal foul.

The Firebirds also had scoring contributions from Junior Forward #10 Eli Sherwood – 9 points, VJunior Guard #1 Cadyn Hower – 7 points, Junior Guard #22 Aden Marrero – 5 points, Senior Center #13 Braden Hicks – 3 points, and Junior Guard #3 Logan Adams – 2 points.

Kettering shot 54.4% (31 of 57) from the floor and 47.6% (10 of 21) from 3-point range. The Firebirds were also 75.0% (15 of 20) from the free throw line. They had 39 rebounds, 25 defensive, and 14 offensive, 23 assists, 7 steals, and 5 blocks. Fairmont committed 8 turnovers and 10 personal fouls on the night.

The Wildcats’ only player in double digits for the night was Sophomore Guard #11 Aaron Scott who scored 10 points. Springfield’s remaining points came from Sophomore Guard #21 Bryce Washington – 7 points, Senior Guard #3 Micha Johnson – 5 points, Sophomore Guard #10 Duncan Bradley – 4 points, Senior Guard #5 Delian Bradley – 4 Points, Sophomore Forward #14 Will Calhoun – 3 points, Senior Guard #22 Jamareon Wilson-Thomas – 2 points, and Junior Guard #1 Tyron Barnes.

The Wildcats shot 41.2% (14 for 34) from the floor, 57.1% (4 of 7) from 3-point range, and 36.4% (4 of 11) from the free throw line. Springfield had 10 defensive rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks. They also committed 14 turnovers.

Following their impressive road win, the Firebirds returned to Kettering’s Trent Arena to take on the Fairborn Skyhawks on Thursday, December 30, 2021. Fairborn plays out of the Miami Valley League and were 0-7 entering the game with Fairmont. The Skyhawks had lost to Beavercreek 83-48, Sidney 59-32, Greenville 55-42, West Carrollton 62-59, Stebbins 66-55, and Tippecanoe 77-46.

The Firebirds once again took control in the 1st
quarter outscoring the Skyhawks by 14 points, 24-10. The Firebirds absolutely crushed the Skyhawks in the 2nd quarter outscoring them by 31 points, 34-3. This made the halftime score Kettering 58 to Fairborn 32. Kettering let up in the second half. They outscored the Skyhawks by 5 points, 12-7 in the 3rd quarter. Then in the 4th quarter, they added another 5 points to their lead outscoring Fairborn 11-6. Kettering notched their 8th win of the year with a final score of 81-26.

The Firebirds spread their 81 points out among 9 players. Three players reached double digits in scoring. Doucet was the game’s leading scorer with 21 points. Doucet had a perfect night from the field hitting 9 of 9 including 1 3-pointer. He was also perfect from the free throw line dropping 2. Doucet had 8 rebounds, 6 defensive and 2 offensive, 6 assists, and 1 steal. He also had 2 personal fouls.

The Firebirds’ second highest scorer was Johnson who scored 15 points on the night. He was 7 of 11 from the field and 0 for 1 from 3-point range. He was also 1 of 2 from the free throw line. Johnson had 4 rebounds, 3 offensive and 1 defensive, 4 assists, 3 blocks, and 2 steals.

Kettering’s 3rd double digit scorer was Gentile who had 12 points. Gentile was 5 of 6 from the field and was 2 of 2 from 3-point range. He didn’t reach the free throw line during the game. He had 2 defensive rebounds, 2 assists, 1 turnover, and 1 personal foul.

The remaining scoring came from Sherwood – 8 points, Rountree – 8 points, Marrero – 6 points, Hicks – 6 points, Hower – 4 points, and Sophomore Guard #20 Asa Dunleavy – 1 point.

The Firebirds shot 68.6% (35 of 51) from the floor, 45.5% (5 of 11) from 3-point range, and 50.0% (6 of 12) from the free-throw line. They had 31 rebounds, 22 defensive and 9 offensive, 26 assists, 12 steals, 7 blocks, 9 turnovers, and 12 personal fouls.

Fairmont now sits in 3rd place in the Greater Western Ohio Conference (GWOC) standings trailing Wayne and league leader Centerville. The Firebirds have two home games coming up this week. On Tuesday, December 4, 2022, Kettering will take on the GWOC second place Wayne Warriors of Huber Heights. Then Friday, January 7, 2022, the Firebirds will tip-off against the Beavercreek Beavers. Both games are at 7:30 P.M. Tickets for both games are $7 for adults. and $5 for seniors and students (ID may be required). You can purchase tickets for the Wayne game at https://events.ticketspicket.com/agency/5292c4d7-0074-4d06-ad13-6a61389a8deb/events/ad1c6999-4f04-407d-906e-14229396282e
and tickets for the Beavercreek game at https://events.ticketspicket.com/agency/5292c4d7-0074-4d06-ad13-6a61389a8deb/events/8332bddf-81f0-4f19-b1e9-3b3ce9f0f8e3.