FPD pulls out win over Mount de Sales

FPD won a hard-fought defensive battle with Mount de Sales on Friday 45-39. The Vikings forced 14 second-half turnovers and outscored Mount de Sales 12-6 during the final four minutes of the game to win their second game of the year in GHSA Region 7A-A.

Champ Dawson led FPD with 10 points, while Garrett Thomson led Mount de Sales with 11 points.

The teams were tied at the end of one quarter, and it remained close throughout the second quarter.

FPD took its biggest lead of the game in the third quarter at 31-22 on a Maurice Gordon basket, but Mount de Sales caught the Vikings at 33 early in the fourth quarter on a basket by Addison Hutton. FPD pushed the lead back to five at 41-36 on two free throws by Armaun Smith, but Brandon Bivins hit a 3-pointer with 50 seconds left to make it a two-point game. That was a close as the Cavaliers got as the Vikings made 4-of-6 free throws to get the win.

THREE WHO MATTERED

Wesley Wilson: The 6-foot-6 freshman scored five points in the final quarter and grabbed six rebounds to give FPD a huge spark off the bench.

Beck Muse: The senior played a key role in the third quarter, scoring four straight points and grabbing two rebounds in a two-minute stretch to help give FPD its biggest lead at 31-22.

Bivins: The senior guard for Mount de Sales hit two huge 3-pointers in the second half, the first to cut FPD's lead to 33-31 and then another with 50 seconds left to cut the Vikings' lead to 41-39.

WORTH MENTIONING

Shot advantage: FPD forced 22 turnovers, and Mount de Sales was able to get off only 36 total shots while the Vikings had 49.

ALSO FRIDAY NIGHT

The FPD girls jumped out to a 33-5 halftime lead and cruised to a 50-24 win. Emma Lako scored 14 points and Kate Patterson added 13 for the Vikings.

THEY SAID IT

FPD head coach Michael Walton on getting the win: "Our weakness is scoring the basketball, but we are holding teams to about 45 points a game, so that is how we win games right now. Being able to win games like this is a testament to our kids, and we came out here and grinded and did what we had to do to win the basketball game."

Walton on if the message was to turn it up defensively in the second half: "That was the message at the beginning of the game, and we finally found the energy in the second half. We got a couple of charging calls early in the third quarter and started to play a little better after that."

Mount de Sales head coach Jim Massey on the game: "Neither of us is great offensively, but I thought both teams really got after it defensively in the second half. I thought it was a very competitive game, and it was a very fun game to be a part of."

WHAT'S NEXT?

Mount de Sales hosts Wilkinson County on Tuesday, while FPD hosts Brookstone on Saturday.

This story was originally published January 8, 2016 at 10:40 PM with the headline "FPD pulls out win over Mount de Sales ."