MANSFIELD — It was a simple held ball late in the game, with a possession arrow that favored Sandusky.
It may have been the difference in a Division II district championship game berth for Mansfield Senior in a 56-49 loss to Sandusky on Tuesday night at Madison Middle School.
The Tygers (16-8) sliced the Blue Streaks (17-8) lead from nine to three at 50-47 with 2:35 to play. Mansfield Senior’s pressuring defense nearly forced another Sandusky turnover, resulting in a held ball.
Rather than having the ball and a chance to perhaps tie, the arrow favored Sandusky. The Blue Streaks got a basket from sophomore guard Tahj Staveskie to expand the lead back to five with 2:08 remaining.
From there, Sandusky nailed four straight foul shots down the stretch to claim the win and earn a fourth straight district title game appearance, facing Lexington for the third straight year.
The Minutemen knocked off top-seeded Vermilion 46-43, in the second game on Tuesday night at Madison. The district title game tips at 2 p.m. Saturday at Madison.
“I will have nightmares about that one,” first-year Mansfield Senior coach Marquis Sykes said. “I will think about that possession and those (ensuing) plays for the next couple of days. We had some opportunities down the stretch.”
YOUNG GUNS: As they have most of the season, Sandusky leaned heavily on their sophomore guards — Staveskie and Dylon Jones. Both scored 17 points and accounted for 12 of the Blue Streaks’ 17 points in the fourth quarter.
Sandusky coach Colin Irish is excited about his young team — and its future.
“(Staveskie and Jones) don’t play like sophomores,” he said. “Fortunately for me, they are and they will be around for awhile. Our kids have gotten better. Everyone has gotten better. We handled the (Mansfield Senior) pressure really well.
“Our young kids don’t even realize what they have done. They just want to keep playing. I am happy for our kids and the entire community.”
Sykes praised the play of the dynamic duo.
“They can play. We will be seeing them for awhile. Our sophomores needed to see that. That will be extra fuel for those guys to put in the work in the weight room and while we’re traveling this summer. Those guys made some big shots tonight that kind of kept us at bay,” Sykes said.
FIGHTING TYGERS: Mansfield Senior had a 23-22 lead at halftime, but Sandusky had an 11-1 run to start the second half. The Tygers played catch-up the rest of the way, trailing by 10 points on three different occasions, including at the 4:29 mark of the fourth quarter.
“I am proud of our guys and the way they fought,” Sykes said. “They didn’t stop fighting. That has kind of been our motto all season.
“We have got our program turned around back the way it should be. I think we are headed in the right direction. We have a really solid junior class that will be seniors next season. We have a couple of guys who will get back in the fold who fell off this year. We have a strong sophomore and freshman class and a couple of eighth-graders that people will hear about.
“Tyger basketball is back. We’ll start making noise again.”
A promising future didn’t make the loss of an eight-member senior class any easier to take.
“(The coaches) were all getting emotional after the game,” Sykes said. “A couple of our coaches have coached these seniors since they learned how to play basketball back in the third grade.
“It’s been amazing watching them grow from little rug rats to where they are now, basically adults. We have a lot of great memories from those guys. They’re certainly family. They made my first year as head coach memorable.”
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: Sandusky senior Keith Williams backed the two sophomore guards with 15 points. The trio were the only Blue Streaks to score more than two points.
Junior guard Da’Quan Hilory led Mansfield Senior with 20 points, including 13 in the second half. Senior guard B.J. Patrick added 12. Senior Breyon Mills added seven and senior Robert Stewart had six.
