WILLARD — Mansfield Christian started off like the Flames nickname indicates, pressing Colonel Crawford and forcing several turnovers to take a 9-2 lead two and a half minutes into the Division IV district semifinal contest here Tuesday night.
But it was the ability of top seed Colonel Crawford (18-6) to adjust to that and the result was a tough 63-59 win at Robert Haas Gymnasium.
“The trapping and their athleticism, running up and down. Our ability to adjust and beat their pressure was the difference,” Eagles head coach David Sheldon said. “We talked before the game that, with what they do, you’ve got to be very disciplined, and you’ve got to keep your composure.”
Crawford did that, tying the game at 16 after one quarter that saw Mansfield Christian turn several steals into points. The Flames registered 12 steals, with eight coming in the first half.
“In the second quarter we take the lead and then we had to withstand those runs,” Sheldon said. “In the fourth, we did a great job of ultimately taking care of the ball and extending that lead to get it.”
Mansfield Christian converted two more steals into baskets, went on a 9-2 run and led at halftime, 36-29.
The Eagles were led, as they have been most of the season, by its all-Northern 10 Athletic Conference first team duo of Trevor Vogt and Payne DeGray.
Vogt had 23 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal. DeGray was a force inside, scoring 17 points and grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds along with four blocked shots.
Amarr Davis scored 9 of his 26 points in the opening quarter. He added 3 rebounds and a pair of steals. But Davis went scoreless in the third period when the Eagles outscored the Flames, 23-9.
“We were gap helping him. He scored in the first because of turnovers. You can’t have live ball turnovers. I’d rather we throw it in the sixth row of the bleachers or take a 10-second call. In the first half he scored on live ball turnovers and in the second half we didn’t have those,” Sheldon said.
Fifth-seeded Mansfield Christian (20-5) ends its season, while the Eagles return Friday night to play Seneca East at 6 p.m. This is the team’s third straight district title game and its fourth in five years.
This will be the third meeting of the season between the two N10 rivals. The Tigers won both games and the two teams, along with Carey and Mohawk, shared the league crown.
“I was proud of the way we kept our composure. We knew that they play fast and you’re never out of it. As Coach K would say, ‘Next play.’ That third quarter was huge. Payne got some easy ones inside and it was a total team effort,” Sheldon said.
DeGray had 9 and 4 boards in that third period.
“Trevor was outstanding. There’s a reason he’s co-player of the year in the league. He’s the quarterback of this team. He took a beating all night because of that pressure. Ninety-four feet for 32 minutes. I told him he’s more sore now than you were on Friday nights on the football field here with no pads on,” he said.
“It was physical. That’s a very, very good team. They won 20 games.”
Connor McMichael added 10 points, mostly on 8-to-10-foot shots in the lane, 5 boards and an assist.
“Connor was outstanding because this is his type of game. The running back was unbelievable because he can handle it. He’s got good strength; he got in the lane, and he finished all night. Lucas Foy was huge for us in the fourth quarter. He got a late start because of a football injury,” Sheldon said.
Head coach Cary Craner said his team fought hard and had a memorable season.
“Defensively, we broke down a couple of times and they got easy lay-ups. I’m so proud of the boys and how they fought back. We inbounded the ball with eight seconds to go knowing that even if we make a bucket, they don’t have to bring it inbounds and yet, our boys played hard until the final buzzer. It’s been a year with the seniors.
“Amarr, he’s just a pleasure to coach for four years. To see him break the all-time scoring record and do everything he has done, the kid is phenomenal,” he said. “Our freshmen didn’t have the game they normally do, and we relied too much on Amarr to handle the scoring.”
Gabe Westfield added 8 points and three other Flames scored 7 points each — D’Andre Martin, Davis Wushinske and Davion Mack.
“We gave up too many easy layups on defense and we broke down. I thought we played great defense on DeGray the entire night, but we can’t continue to do what we do if we do not rotate on traps. That is what got us in the third,” Carner said.
The two teams battled in the fourth quarter with DeGray and Vogt combining for 9 of the Eagles 11 points. Freshman John DeGray chipped in a basket, and he added 4 points and 6 rebounds, 5 off the defensive glass.
Davis banked in a three with 14 seconds left to cut the Eagles lead to 61-59 before Vogt sank two free throws to secure the victory.
“Eight guys stepped up tonight. That’s the thing about that brotherhood in that locker room. Our biggest fans were Ryan (McMichael), Logan (Goddard) and KB (Kaden Bruner) on the bench because of the type of style it is.”
Sheldon credited his team’s schedule with preparation for tournament play.
“You look at strength of schedule on Martin RPI; ours is the toughest in this district. We’ve played great teams all year. Our league was phenomenally balanced, and then playing four league champions out of conference. That prepares you for districts.”
This marks the 13th time that Colonel Crawford has played in the district tournament.
“The people that don’t get enough credit in our program are the six other guys at the end of my bench — our scout team. We came into Sunday practice, and they prepared us. If you look at our program, everybody talks about 13 straight times to the district tournament. Two years ago, Trevor Vogt and Ryan McMichael were Harvest Prep when we were making a regional final run,” Sheldon added.
Box score
Colonel Crawford 63, Mansfield Christian 59
Mansfield Christian 16 20 9 14 — 59
Colonel Crawford 16 13 23 11 — 63
Mansfield Christian (20-5): Shots 22-65; 3-pt. shots 8-25 (Amarr Davis 4, Gabe Westfield 2, Davis Wushinske, Brock Rentzel); Free throws 7-14; Rebounds 16 (Amarr Davis 5); Turnovers 8. Scoring: D’Andre Martin 2 3 7, Davis Wushinske 2 2 7, Connor Loose 0 1 1, Brock Rentzel 1 0 3, Amarr Davis 11 0 26, Gabe Westfield 3 0 8, Davion Mack 3 1 7.
Colonel Crawford: (18-6): Shots 25-36; 3-pt. shots 5-7 (Logan Goddard 2, Trevor Vogt 2, Lucas Foy); Free throws 8-17; Rebounds 29 (Payne DeGray 13); Turnovers 16. Scoring: Logan Goddard 2 0 6, Trevor Vogt 8 5 23, John DeGray 2 0 4, Lucas Foy 1 0 3, Connor McMichael 5 0 10, Payne DeGray 7 3 17.