Cayden Wegener shoots a three during Tuesday’s loss to Fairfield. (Photos by Nick Goralczyk)

GOSHEN — For three quarters it was exactly what Warrior fans wanted to see, but for one quarter it was closer to what many expected to see.

The boys basketball season tipped Tuesday night with Wawasee visiting Fairfield. The Falcons returned seven letter-winners from last season while Wawasee was breaking-in virtually its entire roster. The youth finally showed in the fourth quarter as Fairfield would pull away for a 61-48 victory.

“I think Fairfield’s experience and playing at home was big,” began Wawasee head coach Steve Wiktorowski. “We had a couple of break downs on defense, we left guys open in the quarters and Fairfield hit a few threes and really fed off the crowd. We got a little tentative and just didn’t answer it.”

That really was the difference for the Warriors. Expectations were low for a team that has a lot of new faces but Wawasee came out firing. The Warriors showed they were not afraid to take shots down inside or from beyond the arc. Wawasee trailed 15-12 after one and 25-22 at the half.

Fairfield’s Brock Goeglein had seven points in the first quarter with a pair of threes, but was silent in the second. It turned out that he was just foreshadowing a big fourth quarter performance.

Goeglein, a senior, helped his team pull away in the final frame with a 12-point effort thanks to another pair of threes. Goeglein’s 21 points were a game-high.

To the Warriors credit, Fairfield had plenty of opportunities to pull away in the third quarter and once in the second, but Wawasee was more resilient than expected in its first game. The Falcons were not able to get a steady lead until late in the fourth.

“I thought for three quarters we did a lot of positive things and stuck with them,” Wiktorowski said. “There were a couple of times I thought Fairfield could’ve ran away on us and we hung in there. Overall, going on the road the first game, I was pretty happy.”

One thing that Wawasee’s seniors talked about in the preseason was the ability and fight of the underclassmen. That showed in a big way with the willingness and mental toughness from players like Cayden Wegener and Jairus Boyer.

As for the seniors, the effort was definitely there. Stephone Miller, Jayce Boatwright and Chase Rookstool all played big minutes and helped to set a tone for the team. Parker Hatfield came off the bench and had a big night with 10 points. Wegener led Wawasee with 15 points. Boyer had eight, Boatwright had six.

Wawasee had the lead at several points in the game but once Fairfield’s Luke Stephens hit a buzzer beating three at the end of the third to give the Falcons a 38-36 lead, the momentum took a permanent shift. The next step for the Warriors will be learning to protect a lead.

Wawasee (0-1) will host Angola Saturday night.

Wawasee won the JV contest 47-45 with Dalton Pearish leading all scorers with 14 points.

On Monday night the freshman team lost 37-32 to Columbia City. Marshall Miller and Aaron Evans each had seven points for the Warriors.