The Fayette boys proved themselves better than their eighth seed on Saturday with a 44-36 win over sixth-seeded Community for seventh place in the New Franklin Basketball Tournament.

Junior Kaleb Friebe scored a career-high 21 points in the team’s second win of the season. 

Fayette turned in strong opening quarters against first-seeded New Franklin in the tournament opener last Tuesday and against Pilot Grove on Thursday but couldn’t keep up as the games wore on.

Fayette coach Jon Bishop said his team played up in Saturday afternoon’s seventh-place win. 

“I thought we could have limited our mistakes a little bit today. But they are a very athletic team,” he said. “I’m really glad for our guys to gut it out. It’s a Saturday. It’s the seventh-place game, and sometimes you don’t know whether everybody’s up for that. But I thought we still had a lot to play for, a lot to show. Any time you can get on the floor in a competitive environment like that and get better, you can learn something.”

Both teams got off to slow starts. Community struck first with a bucket by senior Mason Carroll, but Fayette answered with five straight points en route to a 9-4 lead after one quarter.

Things livened up in the second quarter. Carroll again struck first with a three-point play that included a bonus free throw to make it a two-point game. But Fayette again answered with five points, which included a 3-pointer from Friebe and a bucket by tall sophomore forward Payton Oeth.

The Trojans would eventually tie the game on a free throw by Carroll. But the even score would only last 30 seconds. Friebe sank a pair of free throws with 3:49 on the clock to give Fayette a lead that would last until late in the third quarter.

“We were up at the end of the first period, and we were playing pretty solid,” Bishop said. “There were still some shots we were not finishing, and that can be frustrating. Our second quarter was about the same, but Community was able to get some more production out of one of their better players.”

The Falcons’ 20-14 halftime lead was quickly dissolved by a 10-2 run from Community over the first half of the third quarter. Six of those points came from Carroll, who scored 16 of his 25 total points in the second half.

Fayette would finally take the lead for good with a 3-point shot by Friebe with 93 seconds left in the third period. Fayette held a 29-28 lead heading into the final stanza and would slowly pull away, finally taking a five-point lead midway through the period. A timely jumper by senior Tristan Swanson with 1:30 left gave Fayette a crucial six-point lead as the final buzzer neared.

But even with a lead, it’s easy to let that slip away. “I thought we gutted it out from there,” Bishop said.

Fortunately for the Falcons, the Trojans committed an unforced turnover with 35.9 seconds on the clock, costing them a chance to make a late comeback. Fayette finished things off with a pair of free throws from Friebe to finish on top 44-36.

Saturday’s win was a career game for Friebe, who led Fayette with 21 points.

“He’s our glue,” Bishop said about his junior point guard. “Kaleb brings the energy every night. He’s a hard player. He’s a smart player. He just gets after it really well. Anytime he shows up, he plays hard for you. We’re going to need that for the rest of the year. I love the way he plays. He’s got a great heart.

Inside, Fayette’s big men combined for 19 points. Sophomores Payton Oeth picked up 12 points, and Carter Vroman posted seven.

“I thought we did some good things on our end in the paint,” Bishop said. “Payton had a pretty good game. Carter did, too. I’m just proud of their effort.”

On Monday, the Falcons were scheduled to face Schuyler County (9-2) with a long road trip to northern Missouri in their return to Lewis & Clark Conference play. Due to winter weather concerns, that game will be played on Thursday.

On Tuesday, Fayette was to host Class 4 Centralia for a 7:30 p.m. game after the Advertiser went to press.

“We have kind of a gauntlet next week,” Bishop said about the team’s upcoming schedule.

Friday is Courtwarming in Fayette. The Falcons host conference opponent Knox County (0-9) for a chance to win their third game of the season on a big night. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.