Fairfield junior high school Eagles basketball teams won a division and placed second in a division Saturday at a tournament held in Grapeland.

Playing in separate divisions were the eighth grade A and B teams and the seventh grade A team.

En route to a championship title, the Eagles eighth grade A squad saw eight of its 10 players score in an opening round victory over Cayuga.

The Eagles jumped out to a 13-2 first period lead and added nine points in the second period for a 22- 7 advantage at intermission.

Picking up the pace, the FJHS quintet tallied 18 points in the third period and 13 in the fourth, giving up a total of eight, to win 53-15.

“This was a solid game by the entire team. We got a good lead in the first quarter and built on it throughout the game,” coach Lynn Caffey says.

Reaching double digits were Bryson Gates, 15 points, and Chris Lide, 12 points.

Also scoring were: Jacob Gallegos, 6; Coy Pierce, 6; Cade Warren, 5; Danny Cockerell, 4; Larry Rose, 3; and Luke Rachel, 2.

Top rebounders were Lide and Cockerell.

Fairfield had to work in the second round game against Crockett, overcoming a 16-20 half-time deficit.

The Eagles buckled down to score 18 points the third period and take a 34- 30 lead, then added another 18 in the final stanza to win 52-34 and advance to the title tilt.

“We got off to a shaky start, but our bench players came in and helped us hold our own and stay close in the first half,” Caffey says.

“We got things together in the second half and played a good, strong half to pull away for the win,” he adds.

In double digits with 14 points was Lide.

Also scoring were: Rose, 7; Gates, 6; Rachel, 6; Warren, 5; Cockerell, 5; Pierce, 4; Gallegos, 3; and Wyatt Curry, 2.

Leading rebounders were Lide, Curry and Gates.

For the tourney championship, the Eagles faced the Grapeland Sandies who handed them a championship game loss in the Fairfield Tournament last month.

“This was a rematch of the final game of our own tournament in December which Grapeland won,” Caffey notes.

Fairfield started slowly, trailing 9-16 the first, and fell five points further in the second period to trail 22-34 at the half.

The Eagles won the third period 14-8 to narrow the margin and took the fourth period 15-9 to tie the game 51-all at the end of regulation play.

In overtime, the Fairfield quintet outscored Grapeland 5-2 to win 56-53 and claim the title.

“I can’t say enough about the way our bench has come up and played all year, but especially in this tournament,” Caffey says.

“Chris Lide, Cade Warren, Wyatt Curry, Coy Pierce and Byron Mireles have done an excellent job contributing. Larry Rose and Bryson Gates had a very strong fourth quarter in the final to lead us back to put us into overtime and eventually win the game and tournament,” the coach adds.

In double digits with 13 points was Rose.

Also scoring were: Warren, 9; Gates, 9; Cockerell, 8; Curry, 8; Lide, 6; and Rachel, 3.

Leading rebounders were Gates, Lide and Cockerell.

The eighth grade A team is posting a 9-1 record this season.

In another bracket, the FJHS eighth grade B squad fell behind Cayuga 18-24 the first half, tied the score 24-all in the third period and hit for eight points in the final stanza to win 32- 27.

Hitting for an impressive 26 points was Alex Ward.

Also scoring were: Trinity Keeney, 3; and Cade Carroll, 3.

The second game pitted the Eagles B team against Crockett, and the FJHS quintet played to a 4-4 tie the first period before taking control and going ahead 20-7 at the half.

Fairfield cagers tallied four points in the third period and 10 in the fourth, giving up 14 and 11 to win 34-32.

Reaching double digits again was Ward, 16 points.

Also scoring were: Donald O’Brien, 6; Carroll, 6; Michael Smagghe, 2; Jonathan Cain, 2; Keeney, 2.

Facing Palestine in the championship game, the Eagles led 10-6 the first period but fell behind 14-22 by intermission.

The FJHS team trailed 26-32 through the third period and fell by a 38-46 margin to take second in the bracket.

“Our guys played real well throughout the tournament. Every team member made positive contributions,” coach Michael Posey says.

“We played hard in the championship, but came up a little short. I am proud of each and everyone of them,” Posey adds.

In double digits again, 19 points, was Ward.

Also scoring were: O’Brien, 4; Michael Taylor, 3; Trey Adams, 3; Bud Jones, 3; Smagghe, 2; Carroll, 2; and Cain, 2.

The Fairfield seventh grade team lost to Oakwood in the opening round 28-42, then fell to the Palestine eighth grade A team 25-34.

Scoring in the second game were: Demarcus Taylor, 8; Cam Adams, 7; Chance Carroll, 4; Ryan Kuhlman, 2; Christian Lee, 2; and Dedrick Garner, 2.

The FJHS squads host Brownsboro this Thursday.