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Springfield uses balanced attack to pull away from Southern
By DAN HINER
NEW MIDDLETOWN
What started off as a back and forth Division III sectional final between Southern Local and Springfield quickly turned into a one-sided 62-39 victory for the unbeaten Tigers.
After being tied at 10 with three minutes left in the first quarter, Southern was able to take a 14-13 lead before the end of the quarter.
But the second quarter was a different story as the Tigers outscored the Indians 15-9, taking a 28-23 lead into halftime. Springfield carried that momentum into the second half and eventually pulled away.
“We were playing a little bit of man, we were playing some 2-3 and some triangle two,” Southern head coach George Whittaker said. “What happened with the triangle two a couple times, we were on 34 [Brandon Chamberlain] and 21 [Graham Mincher] —they’re best shooters. In the games I saw them play 23 [Hunter Snyder] and 22 [Nate Simboli] didn’t make many shots. They got some looks and they made some shots. We’ve got to pick and choose what you’re going to try to do and who you’re going to try to make them shoot. I told our guys if 23 and 22 aren’t really shooting, well, then we’ll be in good shape, but if they make some shots then it will be a lot more difficult.”
Springfield (23-0) controlled the second half, taking advantage of turnovers and miscues by Southern (12-12). The Tigers controlled the game from the start of the second half, outscoring the Indians 34-16. Mincher scored six points for the Tigers in the fourth quarter.
“I think we competed,” Springfield head coach Eric Fender said. “We faced a little bit of adversity in the first half. Southern made some jump shots and got some open looks. We didn’t do things defensively as well as we would have liked, but we turned it around in the second half. We got defensive stops, we limited their offensive rebounding and we stepped up to knock down some 3’s and hit free throws and that’s key.”
The Indians had trouble shutting down the Tigers. Springfield had three players in double digits. Fender said the Tigers’ depth will be key for his team to have success in the tournament.
“Everybody’s got to step up at some point in time,” Fender said. “Mark [Schuler] had 13, Mincher had 14, and Hunter had 11.When you go down the line, you got people contributing all over the place. That’s what we talked about night in and night out. I think that’s one of the keys that we have — we got five or six guys that people have got to worry about. They can’t leave one open because if they do, they will knock down the jump shot.”
Springfield will meet Lison at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in a district semifinal at Salem High School. Lisbon beat Campbell, 104-71, in another sectional final Friday night.