Earlier this season, the LaGrange Grangers lost by three points to Fayette County when an apparent game-tying 3-pointer by Justyn Olson at the end of regulation was disallowed.

Friday night in the rematch, the Grangers took no chances.

Thanks to a suffocating defensive effort and a big night from Olson, LaGrange stuffed Fayette County 51-35 in a Region 5-AAAA game.

The Grangers (16-4 overall) moved to 6-4 in region play with four games remaining, while Fayette County (11-8) fell to 7-3 in the region.

The Grangers still have an outside shot at finishing first in the region, and Friday’s win keeps them firmly in the running for one of the region’s top two spots.

“It was a fantastic win,” LaGrange head coach Mike Pauley said. “It was one of the best games we’ve played all year. It was from start to finish.”

Olson led the Grangers with 25 points thanks in large part to six 3-pointers, including four in the first half.

Joe Sanders, a senior post player, chipped in with 14 points.

The Grangers were up 15-9 after the first quarter, and they led 28-17 at the half and 42-32 through three periods.

In the final quarter, LaGrange almost shut Fayette County out.

The Tigers’ only points of the fourth period came on a 3-pointer by Donovan Dulver with 1:21 left in the game.

The Grangers outscored the Tigers 9-3 over the final eight minutes.

While the defensive effort was superb, Pauley felt the offensive execution was sharp as well.

“We only had about three or four really bad possessions,” Pauley said. “The rest of them were good possessions, even if we didn’t score.”

LaGrange will continue its region schedule today at Sandy Creek.