LEXINGTON — Mansfield Christian coach John Kurtz made it clear to his team who needed to step up Tuesday night with the season on the line.
“When I called a timeout with three or four minutes to go, I challenged our seniors to make a play … our captains. I just felt that’s when we started playing,” Kurtz said.
That’s when senior guards Jared McPeek and Kyle Kurtz made it happen as the Flames knocked off Plymouth 44-40 in a boys’ Division IV sectional semifinal at Lexington High School.
After junior Jared Mount tied the game at 39 on a triple with 3:53 to play, McPeek scored on back-to-back drives and added a free throw before Kurtz sealed the win with two shots from the line with eight seconds remaining.
The win advances Mansfield Christian to a sectional title game on Friday at 8 p.m., back at Lexington, against Mid-Buckeye Conference rival Lucas. It would be the first sectional title for MCS in seven years.
FOURTH-QUARTER RALLY: The Flames (14-9) outscored the Big Red 12-5 in the final quarter on Tuesday, mirroring a third period that saw Plymouth (12-11) outscore Mansfield Christian 12-4.
The Flames made just 2 of 11 field goals in the third period and committed four turnovers.
“We had a really bad third quarter and we told our team somebody’s gotta make a play. Jared made a couple of plays and then Kyle hit some free throws. They both stepped up when we needed them to,” Kurtz said.
McPeek led the Flames with 16 points while Kurtz finished with 11.
The duo’s speedy inside/outside game was crucial in the first half when the Flames built a 28-23 lead. Kurtz connected on three of four triples in the first half, while McPeek had five points.
“That’s the way we want to play,” coach Kurtz said. “We are not post-oriented. We just kinda like to bring the ball up quick and get open shots. That’s how we have played all year.
“It’s just sometimes we tend to fall asleep a little bit and that’s when we have those big lulls in games. When we move the ball, we’re pretty good,” Kurtz said.
NARROW MARGINS: It’s the second time MCS defeated Plymouth this season, beating the Big Red by two points in overtime earlier in the year. The two teams were separated by six points over 68 minutes of basketball.
“We didn’t do a good job in the first half of defending the 3-point line,” Plymouth coach Derrick Shelenberger said. “We know they are stacked with shooters and those kids rarely miss.
“When you play out too hard on them, McPeek will go right around you. We knew he was left-handed and we wanted to force him right. We only made him go right once … and he made that one, too,” Shelenberger said.
“That’s a great team over there. Coach Kurtz always has them ready to play. The shots just weren’t falling for us tonight.”
Junior guard Kade Collins led the Big Red with 13 points. Junior guard Jacob Adams added 12.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: MCS shot 37 percent from the field (17-of-46). Plymouth connected on 41 percent of its shots (17-of-41).
The Big Red had a 30-29 rebounding edge, led by Collins with nine. McPeek had eight for the Flames. Plymouth had 14 turnovers, compared to 12 for Mansfield Christian.
The sectional title game Friday will be the third of the season between the Flames and the Cubs. Lucas has won both thus far, 49-44 and 51-42.
“We have to defend better,” Kurtz said. “For us, the ball has got to come up and down the court. A lot of times (at Lucas) we were stagnant. We were like that some tonight, where we just don’t keep the ball moving.
“It’s a big game.”
