A disastrous third quarter dashed Fayette’s chance for a home victory on Thursday night as the Falcons’ comeback fell short in a 60-57 to Brunswick. The loss marks Fayette’s fifth straight, dropping the overall record to 4-11.

Tied 30-30 at halftime, Fayette quickly jumped ahead with a bucket by senior Chase Allen-Jackman to start the scoring in the third quarter. Both teams traded baskets over the next four minutes, with Brunswick pulling ahead with a 3-pointer and twice converting on bonus free throws.

Fayette kept it a one-point game with a bucket by senior Malakai Graves at 2:51, which cut the lead to 39-38.

That’s when Brunswick took off, scoring the final 17 points of the third quarter over a span of just over two minutes. Two of the Wildcats’ five field goals came from the 3-point arc, and they converted five of six free-throw chances during those two minutes.

“It was a bad quarter,” said Fayette coach Jon Bishop after the game. “We got to get better. And we can’t let those things happen. I should have called a timeout. I shouldn’t have put our guys in a position like that. I’ll get better at that.”

But despite the setback, the Falcons weren’t done fighting. Down 56-38 to start the fourth quarter, Fayette surged back with an 11-0 run over the first four minutes of the final period, sparked by a shot under the basket and a 3-pointer by Graves.

Fayette would go on to outscore the Wildcats 19-4 in the final eight minutes and limited Brunswick’s scoring to only four free throws on 12 chances. Three of those free throws came in the final 44 seconds after the Falcons had cut the lead to four points on a 3-pointer by Jackman. They were just enough to hold off the Falcons.

Jackman hit a final 3-pointer at the buzzer, but the Falcons could come no closer than three points.

“They’ve got a ton of heart, and they fight hard. So that’s a bonus,” Bishop said when asked about the near comeback in the fourth quarter. “We’re going to figure some things out. It’s really hard when everything is defined by wins and losses and a tough night like this. We have to learn from it.”

Fayette senior Malakai Graves finished with a game-high 20 points and 13 rebounds for his second career double-double. He also dealt two assists and made two steals. Jackman followed with 18 points and nine boards, with four assists and three steals. Freshman Payton Oeth posted eight points and six rebounds as a starter.

Sophomore Colby Jenkins led five Wildcats in double figures with 12 points after shooting 8-for-9 from the free-throw line. Sophomore Chris Artis and Ben Rice posted 11 points apiece, followed by sophomore Troy Zeilstra and junior Julius Johnson, each with 10.

Fayette hopes to rebound Friday night against South Callaway (7-6) at home.

“We’re going to have to kind of battle some things,” Bishop added. “We’re going to play a better team, in my opinion, which is tough.”

On Tuesday, Fayette enters the Harrisburg tournament as the eighth seed. The Falcons will face top-seeded Fulton in the high school gym. The Class 4 Hornets sport a 12-4 record and have won their last four games. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.