BUCYRUS, Ohio — Jordan Thompson scored the most important point of Mansfield Senior’s season.
Summoned from the bench to shoot a pair of free throws for the injured Talayzha Catchings with no time on the clock, Thompson made the second of the two freebies to lift the Tygers to a 49-48 win over Sandusky in the nightcap of a Division II sectional semifinal doubleheader at Bucyrus High School on Wednesday.
“Yeah, I was nervous,” Thompson said. “I had to step up.”
Thompson’s heroics capped a wild fourth quarter for the Tygers (11-12). Senior High led 43-28 after a pair of Catchings free throws with 7:36 remaining before the Blue Streaks came to life. Sandusky scored 10 unanswered points to cut Mansfield Senior’s advantage to 43-40 with 4:16 remaining. The Tygers answered with a 5-2 run and led 48-42 with 1:28 to go, but Sandusky scored six straight and pulled even on Aniyah Cunningham’s offensive rebound and putback with 16 seconds to play.
After the teams traded turnovers, Senior High got the ball back with 4.2 seconds remaining. Catchings took the inbounds pass and raced up the floor before being fouled from behind as the final horn sounded. The 5-foot-3 sophomore landed awkwardly and had to be helped from the floor.
Senior High coach Todd Krill was allowed to insert a sub to shoot for Catchings and tapped Thompson. The 5-foot-3 sharpshooter hadn’t played the entire fourth quarter.
“The clock is sitting on zero and we’ve got two free throws,” Krill said, “and she’s been sitting there a while.”
Under Pressure: Senior High’s fourth-quarter collapse could be traced to its inability to deal with Sandusky’s full court press. The Tygers failed to advance the ball past midcourt during Sandusky’s 10-0 run.
“We just didn’t run our press-breaker correctly,” Krill said. “When we ran our stuff the way we were supposed to, we were up 15. When we didn’t, they tied the game.”
Unstoppable: Catchings scored a game-high 23 points four 3-pointers, all in the first half. She ws a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the fourth.
“Talayzha has stepped up a lot for us,” Krill said. “She started out hitting 3s and she hurt them with her penetration.”
Catchings’ emergence has been especially vital as the Tygers are still without All-Ohio candidate and Ohio University signee Erica Johnson. The senior was shut down late in the regular season after aggravating her surgically-repaired knee.
“We’re trying to replace 20-some points and double-digit rebounds,” Krill said. “We’re still figuring it out.”
Next: The Tygers will play Ontario at 8 p.m. Saturday at Bucyrus for a sectional championship.
