Last night, the 7th-9th Grade Mansfield Tigers hit the town for a guys night out as they landed in Lavaca for a three-game showdown against the Golden Arrows. The 7th Graders got things underway first but after a hard-fought battle, Lavaca took the win 33-28. Next up was a fast-paced face-off with the Jr High JV squads which resulted in another close final score of 28-24 Lavaca. Finally, to sum up the evening, the Jr High boys took to the court. And what would transpire, caused every fan to endure four quarters of heart palpitations.
The first quarter for the Tigers opened up with pitbull, Travis Tobey, sinking a three-pointer and from there it was game on. If either team had planned to run away with the game, that mindset was changed rather quickly within the first minute of the match. From start to finish, the name of the game was most definitely defense. By the end of the first quarter, the score was 9-8 Mansfield. But as the rest of the game would prove, each team would take turns leading the end of the quarter scoreboard.
To end the first half of the battle, along with Tobey’s 3, Tyler Turnipseed and Dakota Langford earned 2 points each and Peyton Martin netted 6. Mansfield and Lavaca hit halftime with the Golden Arrows up 20-13. Although it was 30 degrees outside, you wouldn’t have known it inside the gym as the Jr Tigers and Golden Arrows turned the heat on the court up to 500 degrees in the second half. For every successfully dropped Lavaca basket, Mansfield would answer right back with a hoop of their own.
The third and fourth quarters were the perfect epitome of what a basketball match should look like with neither team backing down and each player playing to their full potential and then some. The Jr Tigers took back the reigns and the third quarter ended with a score of 26-25 Mansfield. As the court prepared to see the final quarter of this hardwood hand-to-hand combat, the intensity in the air was so thick that not even a chainsaw could cut through it.
For the next few minutes, it was a fight to the finish. But as the end drew near, it was the Golden Arrows who pulled ahead to take the win 42-35. Turnipseed picked up 10 more points in the second half and did so well that coaches were calling him out to their players. Langford made 6 more points and again had the strongest soft shots under the board. With Christmas coming up, Tobey (3) and Martin played the role of the “3 Kings”. And Zach Hayslip (3) was on fire rebound and steal wise especially in the fourth. The Jr Tigers will be back in action at the beginning of the new year when they travel to take on Monroe on January 4.
