MANSFIELD, Ohio — Madison coach Tim Mergel glanced to the end of his bench midway through the third quarter of Saturday’s 70-38 loss to crosstown rival Mansfield Senior and could only wonder what might have been.
Super sophomore Tyrell Ajian sat in street clothes, a somber look on his face and his broken left foot in a protective boot.
With Ajian in the lineup, Madison was 8-3 and a dark horse contender for an Ohio Cardinal Conference championship. Without him, the Rams are still trying to redefine themselves.
Back-to-back games against conference front-runner Ashland and the surging Tygers didn’t make the process any easier.
“It was a tough weekend,” Mergel said after the loss, Madison’s fourth in row.
The Rams (8-7, 3-5) led 10-8 after the opening quarter but were outscored 45-15 in the second and third quarters. Senior High (9-5, 6-2) scored the first 15 points of the third quarter.
“We took control after the first three or four possessions of the third quarter,” said Senior High guard Mario Young, who scored eight points in the period. “We had to toughen up in the second half.”
The Rams led 10-8 after the first quarter, but things began to unravel in the second. Senior High outscored Madison 18-8 in the second for a 26-18 halftime advantage.
“I thought defensively in the first half we were really good. We played with a lot of energy,” Mergel said. “Our lack of offense is really hurting us right now.”
The Rams connected on just 13 of 43 field goal attempts. Madison was 6 for 24 from the floor in the second half.
“This Madison team is totally different without Tyrell,” Senior High coach J.T. Reese said. “Our pressure caused them some problems.”
The Tygers scored 17 points off 16 Madison turnovers.
“If you take away some transition buckets I think it’s a different game,” Mergel said. “You always prepare for that Senior High run, but I don’t think that was a typical Senior High run.
“When you think of a Senior High run, you’re thinking of a ton of steals and a ton of layups. I think it was our offensive inabilities that led to those runs.”
Naradain James topped the Tygers with 17 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots. Young added 16 points and six rebounds, while Antonio Weatherspoon had nine points.
Billy Buckley scored a team-high 17 for Madison. Austin Finley added seven.
Payback: Madison won the first meeting 52-43 at Mansfield Senior’s Pete Henry Gym on Dec. 12. It was the Tygers’ opener, but the Rams’ fourth regular season game.
“We felt like we owed them,” Young said. “It was our first game and we didn’t play well. We didn’t have our entire team then, but we have all of our options unlocked now.”
Neither David Hall nor Marshall Levins played in the opener. Both are starters now. They combined for eight points and six rebounds.
Pick Your Poison: Mansfield Senior scored 70 points against Clear Fork’s 2-3 zone Friday night. The Tygers matched that output against Madison’s man-to-man defense.
“We are showing signs of a good team,” Reese said. “Clear Fork played primarily a 2-3 zone and we scored 70 points. Madison played 95 percent man and we scored 70 points.
“What that means to us is we are executing what we game plan for.”
Still Searching: The Rams are averaging just 40.8 points a game in the four games since Ajian was sidelined. With Ajian in the lineup, Madison was averaging 51.8 points a night.
“Guys are starting to understand, but it’s going to come back to practice,” Mergel said. “We have to get back to some fundamentals and work every day to get better for that tournament run.”
