MANSFIELD — St. Peter’s three seniors went out in style Friday at the Franciscan Activity Center.
Richard Shaw scored a team-high 17 points, Adam Blunk had 13 and Michael Berick added six points and 10 rebounds as the Spartans cruised to an 85-48 win over Temple Christian on Senior Night.
“They played well,” St. Peter’s coach Joe Jakubick said. “They competed and did what they are supposed to do.”
The Spartans (12-7) parlayed a 10-0 run into a 16-9 first-quarter lead and never looked back. Shaw scored five points in the period as the Crusaders (9-10) had trouble breaking the St. Peter’s press.
“They did a nice job of pressuring us and forcing us into turnovers,” Temple Christian coach Brad Humble said. “Plus, we couldn’t buy a 3 to save our life. We usually shoot fairly well from the 3-point line.
“A lot of that is due to pressure and taking bad shots. Still, you’d like to see some of those go down.”
The Crusaders turned the ball over 21 times and struggled from the field. Temple Christian connected on five treys, but didn’t get many clean looks at the basket.
“I’ve seen some film on them and they can shoot 3s,” Jakubick said. “We wanted to make them work hard and hopefully take a little bit out of their legs to make it a little more difficult for them to hit 3s. They can be deadly.”
St. Peter’s led 36-22 at halftime and blew it open in the third, opening the period with an 18-6 run. The Spartans built a 62-40 lead heading to the fourth.
Ryan Payne had 16 points for St. Peter’s. Mason Campbell added nine points and 10 boards.
Nick Standridge led Temple Christian with a game-high 20 points. Freshman Daniel Spencer added 12 points and eight rebounds.
Home Stretch: The Spartans close the season with a rugged three-game stretch. St. Peter’s is at Clear Fork on Tuesday and host crosstown rival Mansfield Christian on Friday. St. Peter’s finishes the regular season with a trip to Ontario on Feb. 21.
“We’ve got some big games coming up,” Jakubick said. “It’s about getting ready and just making sure we play with an intensity and a focus. We’ve got to come ready to play every second we are out ther on the court.”
Tournament Draw: The boys tournament draw is Sunday and the Division IV Willard district field which St. Peter’s is a part of is a loaded one. State-ranked Plymouth is the likely No. 1 seed, but the field includes Sandusky St. Mary (the Spartans lost to St. Mary in quadruple overtime earlier in the season), South Central, Buckeye Central and Mansfield Christian.
“There are a lot of quality teams in our district,” Jakubick said. “That being said, we have a chance to compete against whoever we may play in our district.”
Junior Varsity: James Rall scored 16 points as St. Peter’s beat Temple 50-41 in junior varsity action. Elijah Cobb had 11 and Bailey Dauterman added 10 for the Spartans. Jordan Martin led the Crusaders with 16. Dustin Hewitt added 10.
