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Springfield finishes regular season unbeaten
By Steve Wilaj
SALEM
During pregame introductions on Friday — right before Springfield set out to complete its undefeated regular season in Salem — Tigers forward Mark Schuler could tell it was going to be a special night from what he couldn’t hear.
“When you’re at a gym in high school and you can barely hear yourself screaming as loud as you can, it’s just a great feeling,” Schuler said. “Our fans gave us so much more energy.”
With a perfect regular season on the line, a determined Springfield rode that energy to an early lead and never looked back as it defeated the Quakers, 57-42, to head into the postseason with a 22-0 record.
“It’s crazy — probably the best feeling I’ve ever had in basketball so far,” Tigers guard Graham Mincher said. “Being 22-0, there are not many teams that can ever say that.”
Mincher led Springfield with 25 points, while Schuler added 17 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Jordon Peterson also scored 10.
“It feels great,” Schuler said. “At the beginning of the season, you kind of think you can win your first five or 10. Then once you get to around 15 you think ‘Oh, we might actually be able to do this.’ For it to come true, it’s just so exciting.”
Schuler made sure the Tigers would capture their perfect regular season early on against Salem, scoring Springfield’s first 13 points as it jumped out to a 16-7 lead after the first quarter.
Mincher then carried the load in the second quarter, scoring 13 points of his own as the Tigers took a 32-15 lead into the break.
“Once we got out to a nice lead and got comfortable, we were able to play at our pace,” Springfield coach Eric Fender said. “Being on the bad end of an opportunity to go 20-0 [in high school] — and then to have the opportunity to have it again coaching — it feels fantastic.
“These kids have worked so hard. They earned everything that they’ve done and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
The Springfield faithful were certainly proud of their team, giving the Tigers a rousing standing ovation after each quarter. They also gave another loud applause when the Springfield starters exited late in the fourth with senior captain point guard Hunter Snyder jumping into Schuler’s arms.
“We have great fans,” Mincher said. “The school really supports us — has all year. It feels great that they’re with us and know what we’re capable of doing.”
Schuler added, “It was basically like a tournament game tonight with the atmosphere. Everything was just building up about 22-0. So for us coming out, everything in the first half was just firing on all cylinders.”
Jon Gerace paced Salem (9-13) with 12 points, while Nick Rusyn scored eight.
The win for Springfield capped a final stretch of three tournament preparation games in which the Tigers also defeated McDonald and Girard. Now, Springfield takes that perfect record into postseason play.
“We’re gonna get everybody’s best shot in the tournament,” Fender said. “Like I told these guys, hopefully in two weeks we’ll be back [in Salem] playing for a district championship.”