Saturday, March 16, 2019
Tigers push Spartans to the limit
By Dan Hiner
Canton
The Springfield High School boys basketball team needed one basket to keep its season alive and had two chances to get it.
The Tigers shot two 3-point attempts in the final six seconds of a one-possession game against Richmond Heights, but neither fell and the Spartans held on for a 46-43 victory in a Division IV regional final Friday night at the Canton Fieldhouse.
Drew Clark took the first shot, but it missed to the right. Shane Eynon grabbed the rebound while falling out of bounds and passed to Beau Brungard, whose shot bounced off the rim as time expired.
“We had two good looks at it,” Springfield head coach Steve French said. “We had the shots we wanted.”
Clark led the Tigers with 18 points, nine rebounds, two steals and a block. Eynon had 12 points and five rebounds.
Gbolahan Adio led the Spartans with 12 points, five rebounds and three steals. Teammate Anthony Maxie didn’t light up the scoreboard with four points, but had seven rebounds and six blocks.
Richmond Heights (21-6) led 38-30 a minute into the fourth quarter. But the Tigers (21-6) cut the lead to 38-36 a couple minutes later.
From that point, the Spartans tried to create separation. But The Tigers kept coming back.
Springfield eventually made it a one-point game after Clark hit a 3-point from the top of the arc.
Adio increased the lead to 46-43 with a pair of free throws after the Tigers were forced to foul.
“We had two shots at the end to tie it up,” Clark said. “We had some stops, cut it to a couple points. But our effort throughout the game was good and that was really the game we played.”
On paper, the matchup might have looked like a mismatch.
The Spartans had been to the regional finals in the past. The Tigers hadn’t been this far in years.
Richmond Heights lost to McDonald 54-52 on a buzzer-beating layup in 2011 and lost in 2012 on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to Berlin Hiland.
“Tonight we performed, played our best game of the year, but Richmond Heights is a good team,” Clark said.
The Spartans had the athletic advantage, but the Tigers had an answer.
Springfield forced Richmond Heights into a half-court game, making the Spartans defend and generate offense out of sets. The Spartans ousted Bristol 66-34 in their semifinal Tuesday by outrunning the Panthers.
“We wanted some longer possessions, spread ‘em out a little bit, make those guys work on the weak side, and it worked,” French said. “Shane got some good lanes. We got it to the rim. Their length was there, but we got a lot too at the free-throw lines.
“The score was where we wanted it, just on the wrong side.”
The loss marked the end of French’s second season with the Tigers. Last season, Springfield went 14-10 and lost to Western Reserve in a sectional final.
French said the 2018-19 season was a “big step forward.
“Internally, we had a lot of expectations, too,” he said. “I think there are some external expectations — which is always different.
“Springfield is a tremendous community,” French said. “You see the support here tonight. They support me and all our coaching staff very well. These guys have some great fans and support.”
Springfield will return most of the team next season, with Eynon the only exception.
The Tigers were looking to advance to their first state semifinal since 1969. Getting so close during his senior season stings for Springfield’s lone senior, but he enjoyed the Tigers’ memorable ride.
“Halfway through the season, yeah we went 11-0, but we weren’t playing our best basketball,” Eynon said. “If you would have told me we would have come all the way here, I would have told you you were crazy.
“We just kept getting better and better every week and we got to this point.”