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Mathews, Badger fall
By Jon moffett
Warren
Mathews High coach Jason Lee had a very simple message for his basketball team following a loss in the Division IV sectional finals: help me help you.
The Mustangs fell victim to Mogadore High, losing 70-55 at Warren Harding High. Lee said the Wildcats were successful because they did the little things better. And all those little things can add up to a big thing.
“I love when coaches tell me they have this great play, and they’ll put it in for me, but it all bottoms out as you have to do the little things,” he said. “You have to hit foul shots, you’ve got to box out and you’ve got to rebound. You practice it, so you just have to perform it.”
The Wildcats (13-9) did those little things right, Lee said. Like the free throw part, for example.
Mogadore went 25-of-30 from the line. Mathews was just 13-of-22. Lee said his team could learn about the importance of free throws and how the charity tosses can put the game out of reach.
“If you look at their foul shooting, they were ridiculous,” Lee said of the opponent. “They were 11-of-11 at the beginning of the game 14-of-15 at one point. We missed a lot of front ends that hurt us. But again, they did the little things right.
“Are they a better team than us? Today they were,” he said. “I’m going to say they’re a better team because they do the little things.”
The Wildcats also had Ryan Tarter and Alex Roebken, who combined for 35 points. Tarter led the way with 18 and Roebken added 17.
Mogadore coach Russ Swartz said Lee had a point about doing the little things. Swartz and the Wildcats have a date with Windham in the district semifinals, and the coach knows it’s important to improve on them.
“We’ve got keep playing better at time goes on because each round gets tougher and tougher and each opponent gets better and better,” he said. “We’re trying to maintain some consistency and play good basketball.”
The Mustangs were paced by Cole O’Dell and Tyler Hunt, who also had 35 points. O’Dell led the way with 18 points and Hunt had 17.
Windham -Badger
Similar to the night’s first contest, Windham High also did the little things right in the series’ nightcap and will face Mogadore on Tuesday.
The Bombers (11-10) might as well have set up camp at the free-throw line, making 19 of their 27 attempts. Head coach Marty Hill said his team’s six-day layoff was a concern, but they proved to be focused ready.
“Six days of just practice is a lot of practice this late in the season,” he said. “But I thought the kids responded pretty well.”
The response was a 30-point first quarter and a knockout blow to Badger High.
The Braves (10-12) had to play catch-up the rest of the way. Senior John Moy did his best to put the team on his back, scoring a game-high 25 points before fouling out with 2:41 left in the game.
Head coach Chris Mott said he was proud of his team and said the final game shouldn’t define the team.
“They played their hardest and left their hearts on the floor, that’s for sure” he said. “That’s all we can ask of our young men.”