CLEVELAND – The Mansfield Senior boys basketball team got a chance to play on the biggest basketball stage in the world on Thursday afternoon – in an NBA arena.
The Tygers (8-4, 6-1) took on Whitehall-Yearling, a Columbus school from the Mid-State Ohio League. Despite losing 71-46, the chance to play on the same floor as NBA legend LeBron James was a memorable one.
Tygers head coach Marquis Sykes felt that the team gained valuable experience, but wasn’t thrilled about their performance.
“We came here and got out-toughed,” he said. “I think the guys were still feeling themselves a bit from the last game. We got beat up.”
But Sykes acknowledged the value of playing a game in a professional arena.
“I’m glad we got to play in this atmosphere,” he said. “It’s similar to what we would see in a tournament game. Even though we didn’t figure it out tonight, I like the experience we gained.”
Senior guard B.J. Patrick said despite the loss, “it felt great” to play in an NBA arena, on the same court as the 2016 championship Cavaliers.
“All I could do was picture myself playing there for real some day,” the youngster said.
Patrick, fresh off of becoming just the eighth player in program history to eclipse the 1,000-point mark, finished with 16.
Although Whitehall-Yearling pulled away in the second half, the Tygers went back-and-forth with their opponent and were down just 4 at intermission. They were cheered on by a strong contingent of Senior High hoops fans who made the trip to The Land with the team.
The fans got to enjoy the game from lower-level mid-court seats. Seats that go for over $1,000 on cavs.com when Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder come to Cleveland on Saturday.
The Tygers have more work ahead if they want another chance to play tournament ball in a big arena atmosphere. Unfortunately for them, the talented senior Jornell Manns ended Thursday night’s game on the bench with an ice pack on his right knee.
Mansfield Senior will travel to West Holmes next in an Ohio Cardinal Conference matchup.
