LEXINGTON — Their new warm-up shirts say “Unfinished Business.” For Mansfield St. Peter’s, it’s a reminder the Spartans finished one game shy of the state tournament last year.
But even after opening this year’s tournament with a 76-48 win against Danbury on Tuesday night at Lexington High School, St. Peter’s coach Joe Jakubick has a clear message for his team:
Unfinished business means concentrating on who comes next for the Spartans (21-2), rated No. 2 in Ohio in the final Divsion IV poll.
“That shirt is something these guys wanted because they came so close last year (losing in the regional finals). But I also told them they have a big bullseye on their back,” Jakubick said.
“The only concern we have after winning tonight is Monroeville coming up Friday night. If they have any other thoughts, they will be reminded of that during practice tomorrow,” Jakubick said.
EARLY BATTLE: Danbury (7-16) battled St. Peter’s for the first 12 minutes, trailing just 19-14 after one quarter. It took a late run by the Spartans in the second quarter to expand the lead to 41-25 at the half.
The difference in the period, as it was in the game, was in steals and points off turnovers. The Spartans had 17 steals among Danbury’s 25 turnovers. St. Peter’s turned those ball-handling mistakes into 38 points, half its total for the game.
Lakers coach Nate Keller, whose team was eliminated in the sectional last year by St. Peter’s, came away impressed again.
“Their guards are fast and athletic. We haven’t seen speed like that all year. They are also the best passing team … they move the ball really well,” Keller said. “Turnovers have been a problem for us all year … the same as last year.”
Danbury had success early pounding the ball inside to 6-foot-4 junior post Brad Pruitt, who had 10 points in the first quarter on five-of-five shooting.
“We had fresh legs and their ball pressure hadn’t gotten to us yet,” Keller said. “I thought we had a little advantage inside, especially without (injured St. Peter’s standout Mason) Campbell inside.”
Campbell, who notched his 1,000th career point earlier this season, didn’t dress for the game, though he sat on the team bench. Jakubick said the 6-3 junior’s status is day-to-day.
Jakubick also attributed his team’s slower start to inactivity.
‘We hadn’t played a game in 11 days. I thought as the game went on, we played better and better. I was pleased to see that,” he said. “I was very concerned about this team tonight. They have played some good teams very tough this season. If you let them settle in and do their thing, they are a far more dangerous team (than their record indicates.”
NEW ROLES: Without Campbell, other Spartans had to assume new roles, including 6-3 freshman Jonah Ramey getting a start. Ramey finished with six points, seven rebounds and a blocked shot.
“I was very impressed with Jonah tonight,” Jakubick said. “He is a very talented basketball player.”
Senior Jake Gurski, a 6-4 post, also played well with 15 points on seven of nine shooting, with a game-high nine rebounds and a blocked shot.
“Jake did a great job tonight. Sometimes he gets a little (overlooked) because we have so many weapons on this team. But he is a tremendous basketball player,” Jakubick said.
Three other Spartans finished in double figures, including senior Tyson Kent (18 points, five assists), junior Jared Jakubick (18 points, six rebounds, six steals) and junior Elijah Cobb (11 points).
Pruitt finished with 10 points to lead the Lakers.
St. Peter’s shot 53 percent from the field (31 of 58) and added 9 of 13 at the foul line. Danbury hit 21 of 46 shots (46 percent) and was 2 of 7 at the line.The Spartans had a 29-28 rebounding edge and committed 11 turnovers.
UP NEXT: St. Peter’s, the district’s top seed, takes on Monroeville, the district’s lowest seed, at 6:15 p.m. on Friday in a sectional title game at Lexington.
The second game that night will match the winner of Wednesday night’s games between South Central/Crestline and Wynford/Mansfield Christian.
