MANSFIELD, Ohio — Cody Stine and his fellow seniors have waited a while for this.
Stine led a balanced Shelby attack with nine points and the Whippets withstood Norwalk’s furious comeback bid for a 49-41 win Friday in the Division II sectional championship game at Madison Middle School.
Shelby (15-8) beat the Truckers (12-12) for the third time this season and won a sectional title for the first time since 2011. The Whippets will play Ontario in the Mansfield district semifinals at 6:15 p.m. Wednesday.
“I don’t think we’ve won a playoff game since I’ve been in high school,” Stine said. “It’s a pretty good thing and to beat the defending state champ made it a little more special.”
Second-Half Surge: Norwalk, which won the Division II state title last March, refused to go quietly. The Whippets led 36-19 midway through the third quarter before the Truckers ripped off an 11-0 run to close the quarter and trailed 36-30 going to the fourth.
“We were up 17 and then I don’t know what happened. We started to get a little careless,” Shelby coach Troy Schwemley said. “We had some open shots, but maybe those shots we didn’t need to take. The only thing we were doing was helping them get back in the game.”
“That comeback says a lot about Norwalk. Those kids were part of something special last year. They’re not going to go down without a fight.”
A Breck Turner layup cut Shelby’s advantage to 39-36 with 2:50 remaining, but the Truckers could get no closer. Brennan Armstrong’s layup with 1:27 remaining gave the Whippets a 41-36 lead. Shelby made 6 of 8 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
“We had a chance. That’s all we ask the kids is give us a chance,” Norwalk coach Steve Gray said. “We just dug ourselves too big of a hole, but I’m proud of the effort. They never quit.”
Turner scored a game-high 18 points to lead Norwalk. George Friend, who scored a career-high 35 points in Norwalk’s semifinal win over Clear Fork, added 10.
Balance: Brandon Schneider and Davey Hipp each had eight points for Shelby. Corey Cox had seven points, including five in the fourth quarter.
“We made some mistakes that we still need to learn from,” Schwemley said. “We could have folded, but our guys showed a lot of resiliency.”
Richland County Showdown: The Whippets will get a third crack at Ontario in next week’s district semifinals at Mansfield Senior’s Pete Henry Gym. The Warriors swept the regular season series, but had their hands full in the second meeting. Ontario won at Shelby 64-59 on Feb. 13.
“Ontario is a great team, but we’re ready for another shot at them,” Stine said. “It should be a great game.”
“I don’t think we’ve won a playoff game since I’ve been in high school,” Cody Stine said. “It’s a pretty good thing and to beat the defending state champ made it a little more special.”
