Article written by Mansfield Middle School student, Raine Hecox
The Mansfield Sr. High Tigers successfully ran the Wolves away from grandma’s house during the Tigers basketball homecoming. On Thursday, January 23, the Mansfield Tigers faced the Lincoln Wolves at home. “ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING” was the motto of the night. With one of their starters out, the Tigers were determined to stay unfazed. Court was officially in session when the Mansfield Tigers walked into the house.
“Anytime you play a game without one of your top scorers it can be tough,” stated Coach Keith Dake. “But not for our guys last night. We had guys step up into roles they previously were uncomfortable with and literally ran with it. One of the turning points in the game was Jojo Bailey coming off the bench and rattling off 11 points in the first half of the play. One thing our guys have lacked at times this season is confidence, but last night that was not the case. Lincoln led the entire game until the mid 4th quarter. Down three we forced a turnover, pushed the ball up the floor, and got a kick out to Sr Jaicy Griffin who knocked a three to tie the game.”
“Followed by a Layton Howard rebound on the next defensive possession, he took coast to coast for a foul and a one finish. After sinking the free throw, he completed the six-point swing and put the Tigers up three. Once we got the lead, we never allowed Lincoln back in the game and capitalized on our 4th quarter free throws hitting 11 to close out the game.”
Getting the dub, 68-60, gave the Tigers a record of 7-9 total season play and 3-5 in conference. Rising to the top for the Tigers with the highest amount of points was Layton Howard with 23. Livin large and in charge was Codi Chick with 16 points on the board for the Tigers. Fresh off his feet from the bench was JoJo Bailey who hit the ground running and never looked back landing a total of 14 points for the Tigers. Defending and dominating was Tyler Holmes’s name of the game with a speedy seven total points. And Jaicy Griffin and Bri Sanderson strived for greatness racking up a combined eight points.
Coach Keith Dake had this to say about the Tigers’ upcoming match against the Waldron Bulldogs on Tuesday, January 28. “I firmly believe this team has the ability to win every time they step on the floor. The issue has been getting them to have that same confidence. I think we all know the upcoming game against Waldron is destined to be a battle. Obviously, when you talk about Waldron basketball you can’t game plan without talking about Payton Brown. But the real issue is, do you focus on stopping him or do you make him beat you by himself. Waldron is a talented group top to bottom and have very talented pieces all around Payton, and that is what makes them so difficult to prep for. Both teams have been hot as of late, and this is sure to be a high scoring, fast-paced matchup.”
