LUCAS — The opponent on the floor Friday night was Mansfield Christian. But no one can fault Lucas for thinking ahead to a Mid-Buckeye Conference rematch with Mansfield St. Peter’s.
After his Cubs disposed of the Flames 49-41 in the Cub Cave, Lucas coach Taylor Iceman admitted a Feb. 3 home game with the league-leading Spartans has been lurking in team’s psyche.
Lucas is now 7-4 overall and 5-1 in the MBC, its only league loss a 76-51 decision on Dec. 22 at the Franciscan Activity Center.
The Spartans, 11-2 overall and ranked No. 7 in the recent statewide Division IV AP poll, remained perfect in the league on Friday night with a 71-51 win at Danville.
“It’s definitely been our goal (to avenge that loss),” Iceman said. “We are 5-1 halfway through the league. We were just talking about how great it would be to have St. Pete’s coming in here to play us with a share of the league title on the line.”
Mansfield Christian fell to 3-7 overall and 2-4 in the MBC.
EXPERIENCE MATTERS: Lucas has 11 seniors on its roster while MCS has none. In fact, five different freshmen played for the Flames on Friday night.
Lucas used that experience edge to jump to an 11-2 lead after one quarter, a margin the Flames were never able to overcome.
MCS did cut the deficit to three points on two occasions in the third quarter, but Lucas responded with a 7-2 run to end the period and an 8-2 spurt to start the fourth to build a 45-31 advantage.
Senior guard Josh Murphy was key for Lucas with 22 points and 12 rebounds, the only Cub in double figures. Dylan Dennison added nine.
“Josh is a tough matchup for teams,” Iceman said. “He did a good job tonight of staying around the basket.”
Mansfield Christian coach John Kurtz admits growing pains are necessary this season — but not an excuse.
“We just didn’t look like we came out with any confidence tonight,” Kurtz said of his team’s 1-for-9 FG effort in the first quarter. “You look at the next three quarters and we played them evenly. But you have to play four quarters and that’s a lesson for our young kids.
“I was very pleased with how hard we played tonight. The kids battled to the end (ending the game with a 10-4 spurt to close the final gap).”
Junior Jared McPeek led the Flames with 17 points, the only MCS player in double figures. Freshman Kyle Kurtz added seven.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: Lucas connected on 51 percent from the field (19 of 37), but only 47 percent from the line (8 of 17). Mansfield Christian shot 42 percent from the floor (19 of 45) and connected on its only foul shot.
The bigger Cubs had a 24-21 rebounding edge and both teams committed nine turnovers.
UP NEXT: Lucas hosts Firelands Conference member Crestview in a non-league game on Tuesday. Mansfield Christian hosts Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference member Fredericktown tonight in The Furnace in another non-league game.
