Unbeaten Springfield rallies past Columbiana

January 28, 2015 at 12:08a.m.

NEW MIDDLETOWN

The Columbiana Clippers were right where they wanted to be at halftime of Tuesday’s game at Springfield.

Leading 32-29, they had the momentum, the energy and had the Tigers playing on their heels.

But the second half — especially the start — was one that the Clippers would just as soon forget.

Graham Mincher scored a game-high 20 points while Brandon Chamberlain added 16 points, including four buckets from beyond the arc as the Tigers (14-0, 9-0) defeated the Clippers, 72-53 to remain atop the Inter Tri-County League’s Tier One standings.

“Turnovers hurt us in the first half and we needed to play with more energy in the second half,” Mincher said. “This was a big win because it keeps us on top of the league standings. We want to go undefeated so we cannot have any slip-ups the rest of the way. There’s no margin for error.”

The opening half featured six ties and eight lead changes. Columbiana’s Burdette Baker and Drew Makosky scored 14 of the final 22 points of the second quarter to give the Clippers the three-point lead.

“We knew that Columbiana would come at us with plenty of energy tonight so we just had to keep playing. We didn’t take care of the ball in the first half and the opening stretch of the third quarter was very big,” Tigers coach Eric Fender said. “Coaches love when players find the open man with a pass. We want to know if we are we getting a good or great shot and a great shot means that we are making the extra pass.”

A triple and another hoop from Chamberlain led a 9-0 run by Springfield as it took a 38-32 lead at the 5:45 mark of the third period.

The Tigers’ defense held the Clippers to just six points in the frame as they extended their lead to 51-38 with one period remaining.

“We played as individuals in the first half, but our success is based on teamwork and that is the type of all-around effort that we gave in the second half,” Chamberlain said. “We work on our passing all the time in practice and in the second half passed better and executed, something we could not do in the first half.”

Nine points by Mincher in the final period helped the Tigers build their largest lead of the game at 60-39, but an 11-3 run by the Clippers cut the Springfield lead to 63-50 with 3:17 left.

The Tigers then closed with a 9-3 run for their eighth consecutive home victory.

“My main concern in the second half was to take care of the ball because they were coming after us. Our guys just got rattled,” Columbiana coach Ron Moschella said. “They wanted up-tempo and that was fine with me, but we were trying to create passes that just weren’t there. We knew that we would have to play a perfect game and we played a perfect half. Turnovers just killed us in the second half.”

The Tigers forced 17 turnovers, including nine in the third period while 10 of Columbiana’s turnovers came in the second half.

Mark Schuler scored 15 points for the Tigers (14-0), who are off to their best start under Fender, having eclipsed their 12-1 start in 2011-12 when they advanced to the regional semifinals.

Baker finished with a team-high 15 points for the Clippers (9-6, 3-5).