MANSFIELD, Ohio — J.T. Reese sat in his office after Mansfield Senior’s overtime loss to Lexington in mid-January, the Tygers’ second OT setback in as many nights, and tried to put a positive spin on the lost weekend.
“I think we have the recipe now,” Reese said at the time. “Now we just need to get good at it.”
Senior High looked pretty good Friday.
The Tygers scored 27 points off 18 Ashland turnovers and rumbled to a 75-64 win in Ohio Cardinal Conference action at Pete Henry Gym.
Mansfield Senior (11-6, 9-3) has won six of seven since the overtime losses to Madison and Lex. The Tygers are a game behind the Minutemen in the OCC standings with two conference games to play.
“We are flying around and trapping and putting a lot of pressure on the ball all over the floor,” said David Hall, who scored 21 points on 7 of 12 shooting and accounted for six of Senior High’s 14 steals. “The style we are playing now suits us perfectly.”
Offensive Efficiency: Both teams shot the ball well from the field. The Tygers were 28 of 47 from the floor and 7 of 12 from beyond the 3-point arc. Ashland (99, 7-5) was 22 for 37 from the field and connected on 9 of 15 triples.
“They shot the ball extremely well and that took us out of our game plan,” Ashland coach Jason Hess said. “They created open shots and we didn’t do a very good job of defending. They got a lot of rhythm shots.
“With the way they are playing defensively, when they make shots they are able to set their press.”
The Tygers led 58-48 after three quarters and put the game out of reach with an 8-0 run to start the fourth for a 66-48 advantage, it’s biggest of the night. The Arrows, who had their three-game winning streak snapped, outscored Senior High 16-9 the rest of the way but the damage already had been done.
“We would scratch and claw to get within striking distance,” Hess said. “Then they would answer with a mini-run and push it back to double digits.”
Spreading the Wealth: Mansfield Senior had 17 assists on its 28 made field goals. Mario Young led the way with six assists to go with a game-high 27 points.
“Our emphasis was to get the ball ahead and beat their zone down the floor,” Reese said. “We were able to push and get some easy baskets because we were unselfish with the basketball.”
Hall agreed.
“We are at our best when we are moving the ball,” Hall said. “It is a complete team effort. We’re finding the open man and getting clean looks at the basket.”
Raheem Clark backed Young and Hall with 10 points on 4 of 5 shooting. B.J. Patrick added nine points and three assists.
John Wolfe led the Arrows with 21 points. Zach Stoops added 15, while Griffin Gerwig and Logan Brewer each had 12. Brewer had a game-high seven rebounds, while Gerwig and Grant Denbow each had five assists.
Quick Turnaround: The Tygers travel to Dayton on Saturday for a triple-header at Dunbar starting with the freshman game at 3 p.m. Ashland is at Mount Vernon on Saturday.
Dunbar slipped to 12-7 after Friday’s loss to rival Thurgood Marshall. Senior High stunned the Wolverines at Pete Henry Gym last year.
“Us and Dunbar are similar. We both fly around a lot,” Hall said. “It should be another great game.”
