MADISON TOWNSHIP — Ontario’s Chance Mott missed an ill-advised 3-pointer late in the game Saturday night.
But it was about the only mistake the freshman made in the fourth quarter.
The 6-foot-4, 180-pound Mott scored eight of his 10 points in the final eight minutes as the Warriors broke open a two-point game and beat Madison 49-42.
“Chance is really growing,” veteran Ontario coach Joe Balogh said. “He had a really good week of practice and has made a lot of progress.”
Mott scored with 6:15 left to give Ontario a 36-30 lead, then had a putback on an offensive rebound and also connected on four consecutive foul shots. The last two upped the Ontario lead to 44-36 with less than two minutes remaining.
“Chance has done a great job of rebounding in traffic. That’s not something you can teach, it’s just kind of innate,” Balogh said.
What was the coach’s message after Mott’s missed triple try with under a minute left and an eight-point lead?
“I just reminded him of the score and time left,” Balogh said with a smile. “Yeah, you are open, but we are playing the clock at that point. You offer that and hope that doesn’t happen again down in the road in a similar situation.”
The non-league win was Ontario’s fourth in a row and improved the Warriors to 6-4 overall and still 2-2 in the Northern Ohio League. Madison saw its two-game win streak snapped as the Rams slipped to 7-4 overall and still 3-2 in the Ohio Cardinal Conference.
NO EXCUSES: Madison coach Tim Mergel said his team’s emotional Friday night win against cross-town rival Mansfield Senior was no excuse for the loss.
“The schedule comes out about a year in advance. You know what you are going to get and you have to be prepared,” he said. “Ontario outworked us in some key areas tonight. They are very well-coached and sound defensively.
“Their kids did a good job of shutting down the passing lanes.”
Ontario jumped to a 10-2 lead early before Madison closed to 19-13 after one quarter and 25-19 at halftime. The Rams outscored the Warriors 11-7 in the third to cut the deficit to 32-30 going into the fourth.
“For as poorly as we played tonight, we were never out of it,” Mergel said. “It was just one or two possessions. Our effort was there tonight defensively. We just had some offensive possessions that we needed to finish.”
Ontario’s four-game losing streak earlier this season is becoming a distant memory.
“I think we are progressing and getting better, which is what you want to be doing this time of year,” Balogh said. “Now we are into the grind with a lot of league games and preparing for the tournament draw (next month).
“Madison is in our sectional so a win like tonight is very important in that regard. You want to put yourself in a position to get a good seed and position yourself for the tournament.”
SCORING LEADERS: Jackson Todd led Ontario with 16 points, supported by 11 from Trey Jordan and the 10 from Mott.
Shamir Brown led Madison with 12 while Tyrell Ajian added 11.
Both teams play league games next Friday. Ontario is at Norwalk while Madison hosts Mount Vernon.
