MANSFIELD — St. Peter’s High School doesn’t have a football team. But the Spartans’ basketball squad has the makings of what would be a great defensive core.
That muscle and speed was all on display Friday night as the Spartans cruised past Mansfield Christian 76-42 in a Mid-Buckeye Conference rout.
Imagine 6-foot-3 juniors Mason Campbell and Jared Jakubick coming off the edge at defensive ends. Put speedy 5-9 senior Tyson Kent at one cornerback and equally fast 6-0 junior Elijah Cobb at the other.
Go ahead and try to throw on that group. Goodness knows area basketball teams aren’t having much fun against the Spartans (8-1, 4-0).
“Mason and Jared have both put on a lot of weight since last season,” St. Peter’s coach Joe Jakubick said. “It’s made a huge difference in the feel of our basketball team.
“You look at the tapes from last year and those two look like little boys compared to now. They are our leading rebounders,” Jakubick said. “Tyson is stronger and Elijah has gotten bigger.”
All four players finished in double figures in the win over the young Flames (3-5, 2-2), whose roster has just one senior. Campbell and Cobb both finished with 15 points. Jakubick added 14 and Kent had 13.
TOO MANY WEAPONS: MCS coach John Kurtz said the Spartans are hard to stop, though his team gave up just 10 points in the first quarter.
“That is a very good basketball team,” he said. “They make it very hard to defend because they just have so many players who can hurt you. They make you pay for every mistake.”
The Flames tried to slow the game down from the start and were somewhat successful, though St. Peter’s led 10-2 after one quarter. But the Spartans outscored MCS 22-7 in the second to take a 32-9 edge into the break. The second half was more of the same.
“We wanted to keep Jared from open looks and we wanted to keep Tyson out of the paint,” Kurtz said. “We were successful somewhat, but they just make it tough on you. That team doesn’t go into Mansfield Senior and win without being a good team.”
Jakubick called a timeout early in the first period when it was clear the Flames planned to take their time on offense.
“I told the guys that (Mansfield Christian) was going to be very patient. I wanted us to be aggressive, but smart. I told them it’s a 32-minute game. It’s a long game. I thought they responded well for the most part.”
MUTUAL RESPECT: Though his team left with an easy 34-point victory, Jakubick said it was another valuable night.
“We don’t play to the scoreboard. We play to get better,” he said. “That was a young team we played tonight. We have a ton of respect for them and for Coach Kurtz. He does a great job. Those kids always play hard and they always compete. We know when we play them it’s going to be a battle. Fortunately, we hit enough shots and made enough plays to win.”
Kurtz saw growth despite the lopsided score.
“I thought our kids played hard. We gained a lot of experience and found some positives tonight,” he said.
Junior Kyle Kurtz was the only player in double figures for MCS, finishing with 11. Junior Jared McPeek had nine.
The Flames’ faithful was rewarded with a thrilling win in the JV game. Sophomore Elisha Jessee drained a triple with 3.9 seconds left to give MCS a 31-30 win in the preliminary game.
UP NEXT: St. Peter’s beefed up new schedule continues Tuesday when the Division IV Spartans travel to play Division II Ashland from the Ohio Cardinal Conference. The tall Arrows knocked off Mansfield Senior, 60-54, on Friday night.
Mansfield Christian hosts the Jones Leadeship Academy from Lucas County on Tuesday evening.
