The Mansfield JR Tigers loaded up and headed south on Tuesday, December 16th for a game against the unknown. Their trip would land them at a school most of them didn’t know existed against a team that they knew nothing about. Once the game was over though, the Tigers knew exactly where the Cossitot River school district was and who the Eagles were as Mansfield fell from the skies in a 36-15 loss.
Right from the tip off, Cossatot cranked up some David Bowie and left the Tigers offense under pressure. The Eagles full court pressure quickly created heavy frustration for Mansfield’s players which added up to mental mistakes and equaled early foul trouble for the Tigers. Cossatot had their own foul issues as both teams combined for seven fouls in the first two minutes of the game. As both teams settled in, it became evident that defense was going to be key in this game as the first quarter ended with a mere 7-4 Cossatot lead.
The Eagles weren’t an offensive juggernaut though, so the Tigers figured, hey, what is good for the goose is good for the gander. Coach Brown began to rotate in his own pressure cookers onto the court. Ethan Martin, Cooper Edwards, Jeremy Strozier, and Aaron Person brought some physicality onto the hardwood as they fought for rebounds and loose balls at every turn. This defensive push kick started the Mansfield offense giving openings for Cannon Fisher, Winston Allison, and Cameron Pettis rack up some points. Even with the surge and an Ethan Martin layup at the buzzer, Mansfield went into halftime still down by three points in a 16-13.
Unfortunately for Mansfield, the first half was as good as it would get. The Tigers gassed out and had nothing left in the tank to finish the game. Mansfield. Cossatot’s defense telegraphed Mansfield’s passes and the turnover bug bit the Tigers by the tail. This gave the Eagles breakaway scores and momentum through the entire second half. The Tigers would only put up two points in the second half while the Eagles rolled up 20 points as the Tigers fell to Cossatot 36-15.
By the second half numbers it would seem that Mansfield just gave up, but that was not the case. Mansfield’s players hustled and fought every second until the bitter end. Every player that stepped foot on the court went all out. Cannon Fisher led the team in scoring with 7 points while Ethan Martin, Cameron Pettis, and Westin Allison each put up 2 points. Rounding out the scoring for Mansfield was Trevin Copeland who hit a nothing but net 3 pointer in the first half. The Tigers will get a weeks worth of rest over Christmas break and then jump back into action on January 6th when the hit the road again to take on the County Line Indians.
