MANSFIELD — Kaylen Brooks and his Mansfield Senior teammates had enough.

Brooks scored 13 points and the Tygers snapped a rare three-game losing streak with a resounding 70-42 win over Lexington at Pete Henry Gym on Tuesday.

Senior High (9-5, 6-3 Ohio Cardinal Conference) avoided its first four-game skid since dropping 10 straight during the 2021-22 season.

Meanwhile, Lexington (4-10, 2-6) lost its ninth straight game. It’s Lex’s longest losing streak since the 2003-04 season.

“The three-game losing streak was definitely very tough on the team,” Brooks said. “We’re not used to losing, especially three games in a row. 

“We just had to stay together and use that as motivation. We can’t let that happen again.”

Taking Control

Daniel Hudson gave the Minutemen a quick 2-0 lead, but the Tygers responded with a 16-2 run to take control. Brooks bookended the run, scoring on a layup to tie the game at 2-2 and knocking down a 3-pointer with 2:38 remaining in the opening period to give Senior High a 16-4 advantage.

Mansfield Senior took a 19-7 advantage to the second quarter and led 35-14 at the half.

“We want to play the right way we and we felt like we haven’t been,” Senior High coach Marquis Sykes said. “We’ve had spots where we played well for a quarter or two quarters, but we haven’t been consistent for an entire game.

“That’s what we’ve talked about the last week or two, playing the right way.”

Cruise Control

Mansfield Senior opened the third quarter on a 14-7 run and was never seriously threatened in the second half. The Tygers took a 55-25 lead to the fourth quarter.

“They were a veteran crew coming into the season and now they’re even more experienced,” Lex coach Scott Hamilton said of the Tygers. “We’re very young and very inexperienced and we haven’t had a lot of good experiences as far as wins go.

“I’ve got a lot of guys who are good players and they’re trying to do a lot by themselves. We’re trying to make them understand they don’t have to do it by themselves.”

D’Vontae Johnson led Senior High with 14 points. Brooks had 13 and D.J. Corbin added 12.

Jayden Perkins led Lex with 12 points. Jace Dawson added nine.

Searching For Answers

Lexington’s last win came against Mansfield Senior on Dec. 16. The nine-game losing streak is the longest in Hamilton’s 14-year tenure. 

“It’s tough when you keep losing,” Hamilton said. “We’re Lexington so we know we’ve got a target on our backs.

“The kids are still buying in, but we’re just not putting it together out on the floor.”