Basketball Recap: River Mcclain's Big Game Can't Quite Lead East Fairmont over North Marion

East Fairmont suffered their closest loss since December 19, 2024 on Monday. They fell just short of the North Marion Huskies by a score of 52-49. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against the Huskies this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 52-47 back in December of 2024.

East Fairmont's defeat came despite a true team effort with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was River Mcclain, who went 6 for 15 to rack up 19 points. Another player making a difference was Austin Taylor, who went 5 of 7 on his way to 14 points.

North Marion's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Quinton Harbert led the charge by going 5 for 9 en route to 16 points. The dominant performance gave Harbert a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Connor Balwanz, who went 5 of 9 to rack up 13 points and seven assists.

East Fairmont's loss was their fourth straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 6-8. As for North Marion, the win (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 7-8.

Looking ahead, East Fairmont will challenge Buckhannon-Upshur at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. As for North Marion, they will face off against Hampshire at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. North Marion is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 52 points per game this season.