MANSFIELD — The Tygers returned to their winning ways Friday night.
Kyevi Roane scored 23 points and swiped 11 rebounds as Mansfield Senior snapped a two-game losing streak with a 68-42 Ohio Cardinal Conference win over crosstown rival Madison inside Pete Henry Gym.
On a night when former football coach Chioke Bradley was honored at halftime, Roane ignited a second-half surge. Senior High (9-3, 6-1) outscored the Rams (4-11, 1-7) 37-18 after intermission to win going away.
“Kyevi is really good. We knew he would get his points,” first-year Madison coach Davey Hipp said. “He’s just so good at playing at his own speed. He doesn’t speed up or slow down for anyone.”
Madison trailed 31-24 to start the third period and 36-26 early in the quarter before piecing together an 8-0 run. The Rams cut Senior High’s advantage to 36-34 on an Owen Wigton layup with 4:01 showing.
The Tygers responded with a 12-2 burst to close out the quarter. D’Vontae Johnson and Andrew Brooks hit back-to-back 3-pointers during the spurt.
“We started the third quarter off pretty poorly, but by midway through the third quarter we picked up our energy on both ends of the floor,” Senior High coach Marquis Sykes said. “We were able to cause some turnovers and make some shots.
“Our energy level was really low … This is a rivalry game and we needed to treat it as such. We were able to turn up the energy and play the way we are supposed to play.”
The Tygers took a 48-36 lead to the fourth period and continued to pull away. Roane’s 3-pointer with 4:14 on the clock gave Senior High a 62-38 advantage.
Rashad Reed Jr. backed Roane with 12 points. Jahmere Pearson added 11, while D’Vontae Johnson and Andrew Brooks Jr. each had seven. Freshman standout Kaylen Brooks was limited to four points after scoring a career-high 26 in the first meeting.
“They were facing guarding Kaylen … so we decided to come up with other ways for other guys to attack,” Sykes said. “That’s what having four shooters can do for you.”
Kaleb Gordon led Madison with 11 points. Wigton and Colton Adkins, while Cam Kuhn added six.
“These kids don’t realize how closer they are,” Hipp said. “We’re really close to getting over that hump, but I don’t think they’ve realized it yet.
“We’ve got all the tools to be really good. We’re just trying to give them a way to realize that.”