Airport High School sent Fairfield Central into the loser’s bracket Wednesday night in the opening round of the Griffins Breast Cancer Awareness Tournament at Fairfield Central High School. The Eagles, powered by senior guard Manny Polston, toppled the Griffins 52-38. Polston was a monster for Airport, putting up 29 points to lead all scorers.
The Griffins were held scoreless into the 12:57 mark in the first half, but tied the game at 8-all on a 3-pointer by Keith Workman with 9:34 to go in the period. Airport led 20-13 late in the half, but another Workman 3-pointer at the buzzer cut the lead to 20-16.
A full-court press by the Griffins in the second half temporarily stymied the Eagles’ offense and cut their lead to 26-23 with 11:51 left in the game. Daniel Maple came off the bench for the Griffins in the second half to help cut the Airport lead down to 30-29 with 10:23 to play, but Maple also just as quickly found himself in foul trouble and saw limited action for the remainder of the game. The Griffins then went on a scoring drought that lasted more than four minutes, while Polston took command of the floor for the Eagles, stretching their lead to 40-29 at the 6:43 mark.
The Griffins play Swansea today at 1:30 p.m. at Fairfield Central High School.
