New Franklin cruised past a rebuilding Fayette team on the Bulldogs’ home court last Tuesday evening, 69-47.

Fayette senior guard Kaleb Friebe got things started for Fayette, scoring four quick points. From there, their shooting went cold as the Bulldogs sizzled, scoring 23 of the next 28 points to take a commanding 23-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.  

The second quarter was more of the same as the Bulldogs built their lead to 51-18 at the half.

“We were very aggressive tonight. Our defense and rebounding allowed us to get out in transition, and we built a good halftime lead,” said New Franklin coach Jim Schlotzhauer.

Fayette regrouped for the second half, outscoring the Bulldogs 11-10 in the third quarter and 18-9 in the fourth quarter. But the heavy damage from the first half was to extensive to overcome, allowing the Bulldogs to claim the 69-47 win.

“We have a lot of new guys playing major minutes for us, and we really showed some fight in the second half,” said Fayette coach Brandon Friebe. “There’s certainly a lot for us to work on, but there’s a lot to be excited about as we continue to develop.”

Junior guard Caden Schlotzhauer led the Bulldogs in scoring with 23 points, 20 of which came in the first half. Junior post Landon Shaw added 19 points, with 15 in the first two quarters.

“We’ve focused on tightening things up defensively and making the extra pass for a more open shot on offense, and we did a good job of both tonight,” Coach Schlotzhauer said.

Sophomore Colten Cross led the Falcons in scoring with 12 points, while freshman Blake Braden added 11. 

New Franklin improves to 4-2, while Fayette falls to 0-3 on the season. The Bulldogs were scheduled to face Slater on the road after the Advertiser went to press on Tuesday. 

For Fayette, the season didn’t get any easier before the Christmas break. The Falcons traveled to former Lewis & Clark Conference rival Westran in Huntsville on Tuesday after the newspaper went to press. Fayette lost a lopsided decision to the Hornets on December 3 in the opening round of the Glasgow Tournament. The Falcons will get a bit of a break over Christmas before making their home debut on January 3 against Class 3 Macon.