The Mansfield Senior Tygers saw three players score 15 or more points in a big OCC win over New Philadelphia on Friday night.
MANSFIELD — With the score tied at 39 apiece with 6:38 left in the game and the Mansfield Senior Tygers struggling mightily on offense in the second half, during a timeout, Tygers head coach Marquis Sykes looked his players in the eyes and had a simple message.
Calm down.
The Tygers did that and more as they went on a 12-1 run to break open a very tight Ohio Cardinal Conference contest with New Philadelphia and used that run to pull off a 62-52 victory to remain in first place in the league race.
"The message was really to just calm down," Sykes said. "I thought we were taking quick perimeter shots offensively when we really didn't need to. We just needed to slow ourselves down, execute our offense and attack the basket and then get stops on defense. I didn't say anything slick. It was all about sticking to the fundamentals and the things we have been working on for weeks in practice."
They did just that. After taking a 30-20 lead into the halftime locker room, the Tygers managed just nine points in the third quarter because of poor shot selection and lack of offensive rebounding and saw the Quakers battle back to tie the game early in the fourth.
Mansfield Senior sophomore Kaylen Brooks drilled a clutch 3-pointer to make it 46-40 which took all of the air out of New Philadelphia and pace the Tygers to 23 fourth-quarter points. The simple message worked to perfection.
"Stay together, stay as one," Brooks said. "We have to lean on each other at the end of close games. If we can stay together, we can pull out big wins like that. We weren't moving the ball very well in the third quarter and it kind of stuck in one spot so I was happy to see us execute in the fourth."
Brooks finished with a game-high 17 points and a pair of 3-pointers. After leading the team in made 3s last season, Brooks hasn't attempted many this season, instead opting to get to the basket. But to knock down a massive 3-pointer felt awful good.
"It was very nice to make a clutch play down the stretch," Brooks said. "I know my team needed a big play and I was proud to step up and make one. I wanted to be a leader and knock down a crucial shot."
Sykes is thrilled to see Brooks add another layer to his game.
"He has really focused on attacking the basket this season," Sykes said. "He got a lot stronger during the offseason and spent a lot of time in the weight room because he wants to continue to add to his game. Teams have been taking away his 3-point shooting, so he has been attacking and he has done a very good job of balancing things out with both parts of his game."
Davion Mack added 16 points while Rashad Reed Jr. had 15 to give the Tygers three players with 15 points or more for the game. The Tygers are now 4-0 and travel to Lexington on Dec. 16 for another massive OCC contest. The Tygers lost to Lex twice last season on their way to a second-place finish in the OCC.
"We came into this season very hungry with a lot to prove," Brooks said. "We took some losses last year and our goal was to come out and get revenge."
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Tygers calm down, use big fourth quarter to beat New Philadelphia
Category: General Sports
