LEXINGTON — Mansfield Christian, a generally slow-starting team this season, actually jumped out to a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter Wednesday against Wynford.
An upset seemed in the offing in the Division IV boys sectional basketball tournament at Lexington High School.
Unfortunately for the 9th-seeded Flames (8-15), that’s where the momentum ended as the 7th-seeded Royals ran off the next 11 points en route to a 47-33 victory and a spot in Wednesday night’s sectional semifinal at Lexington High School.
Wynford (13-10) will play No. 4-seed South Central at 8 p.m. after the Trojans knocked off Crestline 71-51 in Wednesday’s first game at Lexington. The 6:15 p.m. game will match top-seeded Mansfield St. Peter’s against No. 13-seed Monroeville.
The combination of a stingy Wynford defense and a cold MCS offense was too much for the Flames to overcome. Mansfield Christian shot just 21 percent from the field (11 of 53), including 2 of 20 behind the 3-point line.
“I think our kids did a pretty good job early of attacking the rim,” Mansfield Christian coach John Krutz said. “But when you shoot 2 of 20 from behind the 3-point line, you are doomed in a tournament game.”
“We seemingly got some good looks. We just couldn’t get it to drop.”
SENIOR STAR: Senior Jack Reed provided almost single-handedly all the offense Wynford needed.
The 6-1 guard finished with 30 points, 10 rebounds, five steals and two assists for the Royals, who outscored the Flames 29-16 in the second half to extend a one-point halftime lead.
Reed. averaging 16 points per game during the season, attacked the basket regularly, earning frequent trips to the foul line, scoring 14 of his points from the stripe.
“We knew (Reed) was a very smart player and that Wynford runs a lot of their stuff through him,” Kurtz said. “He did a really good job tonight. We just could not get a handle on him all night.”
Wynford coach Jason Engel said his team normally shoots more from the outside, but that Reed found openings in the Flames defense.
“Jack attacked and finished at the rim,” Engel said. “They were worried about us shooting threes.
“We just had turnovers early (when MCS took the quick lead). We didn’t come out ready to play it seemed. Once we settled down, we starting making stops and that was the key,” Engel said.
STAYING CLOSE: Despite the cold shooting, Mansfield Christian stayed close and cut the Wynford lead to 33-27 with still 4:33 left in the game. But Wynford connected on 10 of 12 from the line in the final 2:50 to seal the win.
It was a disappointing end for MCS, likely the youngest team in the area. The Flames have no seniors on the team and listed six freshmen on their tournament roster. Every member of the team should return next season.
Junior guard Jared McPeek led Mansfield Christian with 10 points.
“We really improved since the Mansfield St. Peter/Ontario weekend and have played pretty well the last couple of weeks,” Kurtz said.
“This team comes to practice every day and the young players work hard on fundamentals, which I like to see. But you don’t get the experience until you get the experience,” he said.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: Wynford shot just 34 percent from the field (11 of 32), including three of 10 behind the 3-point line. But the Royals connected on 22 of 33 from the foul line, compared to nine of 13 for MCS.
Wynford had a huge 45-29 rebounding edge, led by 15 from senior Zach Hoffman. Sophomore Jared Mount and sophomore Ethan Berry each had five for the Flames. Wynford committed 22 turnovers compared to 12 for MCS.
In the first game Wednesday, South Central was led by 24 points and 12 rebounds from junior Ben Lamoreaux. Senior Jason Hale added 12 and senior Michael Ponchel had 10.
Sophomore Ty Clark led Crestline with 19 points. Senior Tyler Sipes added 10.
