ASHLAND — Someone forgot to tell Mansfield St. Peter’s to be intimidated playing at Ashland on Tuesday night.
The unflappable Division IV Spartans rained in eight triples in the first half and went on to beat the Division II Arrows 84-67 in a battle of once-beaten teams.
“We didn’t match up well defensively against them,” Ashland coach Jason Hess said. “They were able to shoot in rhythm and have the shooters who can knock down shots. It seemed like we were playing catch up all night.”
Junior Mason Campbell led the Spartans with a career-high 33 points. Senior Tyson Kent added 24 and junior Jared Jakubick had 16.
The non-league win was the eighth in a row for St. Peter’s, now 9-1 overall and still 4-0 in the Mid-Buckeye Conference. Ashland slipped to 5-2 overall and is still 3-1 in the Ohio Cardinal Conference.
TOO MANY WEAPONS: It was another night where the Spartans simply had too many weapons for their foe to defend.
It also helped that Kent, Campbell, Jakubick and junior Elijah Cobb can all handle the ball as well. The Spartans had just seven turnovers, despite Ashland pressure in the second half.
The win didn’t come as a surprise to St. Peter’s coach Joe Jakubick, whose team returns the bulk of a squad that advanced to the regional finals a year ago.
‘We have guys who have ball skills and we have guys who can get shots,” he said. “I thought we played a good game going against their athleticism and height.”
Jakubick said there was no gameplan to fire from long range, despite the 3-pointers that led to a 40-33 halftime edge.
“We play to take whatever shots you’re going to give us,” he said. ‘We have capable shooters.”
Campbell said wins against bigger schools like Ashland, and earlier wins against Mansfield Senior, Oregon Cardinal Stritch and Louisville St. Thomas Aquinas, will help when the postseason begins.
“In the tournament, you have to play better teams,” he said. “So (games like these) are very important.”
The Spartans went on a 10-2 run in the first half of the third quarter to open a 50-35 edge. The Arrows never got within single digits again. St. Peter’s connected on 13 of 15 foul shots in the fourth quarter as the Arrows were forced to foul.
Hess said the fact the Spartans have so many perimeter shooters makes it even more difficult.
“They spread the floor out and make you defend the entire court. It makes it hard,” he said. “But it shouldn’t matter who we play. Whenever you put the uniform on, you should be ready to compete.”
INSIDE/OUTSIDE: Senior forward Griffin Gerwig and senior guard John Wolfe each had 22 points for the Arrows.
“Griffin has been our workhorse all season. We try to get him as many touches as possible. But it’s hard to keep up when you are trading twos for threes,” Hess said.
Ashland shot a higher percentage from the field, connecting on 47 percent (23 of 48) compared to 45 percent for the Spartans (21-46). But St. Peter;s hit on 10 of 14 triples compared to just 3 of 12 for the Arrows.
Ashland had a slight rebounding edge (35-32) but committed three more turnovers (10 to seven).
UP NEXT: St. Peter’s travels to Canton Central Catholic on Saturday. Ashland plays an OCC game on Friday at West Holmes.
