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Clark, Ohlin lift unbeaten Tigers over Trojans
By Greg Gulas
NEW MIDDLETOWN
Drew Clark scored a game-high 27 points, Evan Ohlin added 25 and the Springfield Tigers defeated the Sebring Trojans 71-61 in a Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference game Tuesday night.
It was the second time in as many games that Clark scored 27. He did the same last Friday in the Tigers’ league win over McDonald.
With four 3-pointers, he now has 10 over the past two outings.
“They were a gritty team, but we were able to win the inside battle and that was big tonight,” Clark said. “It’s fun to be 5-0 right now and undefeated in three league games because it has been a while since that has happened.”
Clark hit three triples in the opening period and scored 12 points, offsetting eight points by Sebring’s Jake Hunter and six by Joey Clark as the Tigers opened a 22-16 lead heading to the second period.
“This was our first big challenge on the road and after the won over McDonald on Friday, we knew that this would be a tough game and be a tough out,” Joey Clark said. “We knew the winner would need to win the loose ball and rebound battle.”
Four points by Matt Byrd and triples by Gabe Lanzer and Joey Clark pulled the Trojans to within 31-29 at the half.
Ohlin scored nine points and Clark eight for the Tigers (5-0, 3-0 MVAC) in the third quarter, offsetting eight points by the Trojan’s Joey Clark as Springfield led 51-49 heading to the final eight minutes.
The quarter featured Sebring’s first lead of the game, 32-31, on Clark’s triple just 28 second into the second half. The teams combined for 10 lead changes and five ties.
“At halftime, coach [Steve] French told us that we needed to defend better,” Ohlin said. “We were rushing our shots in the first half and didn’t move the ball enough. In the second half we set up our plays and ran the floor much better.”
A Joey Clark hoop pulled the Trojans (5-2, 2-1 MVAC) within 59-58 with 4:04 remaining, but the Tigers went on an 8-0 run to open a 67-59 advantage. They outscored the Trojans 12-3 the rest of the way.
“Sebring is always prepared, they are well-coached and they do not beat themselves,” French said. “It took us a while to wake up as we wanted to be more aggressive and push the pace. I don’t know how successful we were, but we got a lot of offensive put backs and wore them down inside on the glass. Winning the battle of the boards was big.”
Clark led three Trojans in double figures with 24-points, including four from beyond the arc.
Gabe Lanzer added 11 points and Jake Hunter 10 for Sebring.
“What a ball game. I’ve been in a lot of these games and it’s just a great atmosphere when you play here,” Trojans head coach Brian Clark said. “If we were grittier around the rim in the first half we probably would have been playing with a lead before the half ended.
“You’d be hard pressed to find two programs from the area with the basketball tradition like our two programs. Our kids gave it their all and I was proud of our overall effort. When you want to be an elite team then you have to knock off an elite team.”