The Mansfield Sr Tigers have seen the ups and downs this season. They have had close wins paired with close losses. They’ve seen blowout wins coupled with blowout losses. They’ve lost players and regained others. If one thing is for sure though, it’s that nothing is for sure. The Tigers went into County Line on Friday, January 22nd to rebound against the Indians but wound up being rebounded instead in a 68-47 loss.
With a premiere program each year, County Line for sure isn’t a team to shake a stick at. Mansfield jumped out early but the Indians quickly got back on track to get to a narrow 12-11 lead over the Tigers in the first quarter. Mansfield had trouble with every aspect of offense against the smothering Indian’s defense. The Tigers were only able to score 10 points in the second quarter as they went into the half down 32-21.
The Tigers were left spinning their wheels in the second half as mental mistakes began to flood the team. Offensive poor passes, missed shots, and foul trouble landed the Tigers directly into the Indian’s hands. Defensively, County Line out hustled Mansfield and exploded the scoreboard in the second half which led to the inevitable close out to the game as the Tigers fell 68-47 to the Indians.
Codi Chick, the team leader in points per game, was shut down against the Indians but still scored 12 points. Clint Stovall was able to get 7 points in the game. The Backboard Beast team of Bri Sanderson and Zayne Dugan put up 4 points each in the game while Drew Elmore put his Backboard Beast application in by hanging up 5 hard-fought points. JoJo Bailey was County Line’s favorite target as they held Bailey to an uncharacteristic 2 points in the game. The Tigers bench played a pivotal role in scoring as Greyson Baggett cashed in 5 points and the returning Braxton Byers was on fire from the perimeter swishing 8 points in the game.
With back to back losses for Mansfield, the Tigers must find their groove again. The great talent, depth, and coaching are all still there. They just have to put some WD40 back in the team to clear out the rust of previous losses. They’ll have to work out all of their kinks fast though as they look to avenge their loss to the Lavaca Golden Arrows earlier in the season. This time though, the Tigers will play the Golden Arrows in The Jungle as they host Lavaca on Tuesday, January 26th.
