On March 7th, 2026, the Lakota West Firebirds beat the Fairmont Firebirds to punch their ticket to the Sweet 16.
Battle of the Firebirds
Hosted at UD Arena, we were witnesses to a defensive masterclass in the first half. Fairmont struggled to beat the athleticism of Lakota West, and mustered a single score through the first quarter and 11 points in the half. While they did hold the lead, West put up just 21 points in the first half, which was uncharacteristic of a usually electric offense. Even Josh Tyson struggled to get going early. But in the second half, everything flipped.
In half number 2, West started working the ball inside with more movement, and they found much better success. West had a great third quarter with 19 points, behind some big buckets from Griffin Long, Josh Tyson, and Bryce Curry. Jayden McGraw continued to succeed for Fairmont, but West keyed in on him in the second half. When McGraw was shut down, the rest of the supporting cast struggled to get going, highlighted by a 2/15 three-point shooting performance.
Despite the slow start, West still ended with a 21-point win. Griffin Long, coming off his best career game and first-ever start vs Middletown, had 11 in the second half and finished with an even better game. He finished with 15 points and 6 rebounds, as well as two crucial and-ones. Josh Tyson got going as well, finishing his night with an incredible 17/2/6 with 6 stocks (steals and blocks).
Lakota West is continuing to look like the best team in the state and one of the top teams across the nation. They will head to Columbus for the regional semi-finals vs #13 Olentangy Berlin this Thursday at 6:45 P.M.
