The Mansfield Tigers have officially become the perfect “down, but never out” team. The Tigers have played every game this season holding a shot to either make a huge upset win or play it to the wire in a loss. As they entered the 2A-4 District Tournament, Mansfield knew they would have to play some stiff competition. The Tigers lost 66-59 in their Round2 game against JC Westside which knocked them out of the District Championship game. That was the “down”. They still had a shot at going into the Regional Tournament as a 3Seed though if they could beat the Hector Wildcats in the 2A-4 District Tournament 3rd place game. And cue the “but never out”.
The Tigers started out strong with Peyton Martin jumpstarting the game with back-to-back breakaway layups to give Mansfield a 4-0 lead early in the matchup. Then both teams played keep away as the Tigers and Wildcats defenses stepped up to create chaos and turnovers which put a scoring lull on the game. Hector broke the defensive battle with a three-point shot but Daniel Burton drained a three-pointer of his own to help the Tigers maintain their lead. The Wildcats rebounding was dominant as offensive rebounds and put-backs helped Hector tie the game at 7-7. The tie must’ve lit a fire under Mansfield though as Zach Hayslip rolled under the basket for a reverse layup and was followed up by another Daniel Burton three-pointer. The burst of offense help Mansfield end the first quarter with a slim 14-11 lead over the Wildcats.
A 14-11 game at the end of the opening quarter isn’t a huge feat. That would soon be remedied by both teams in the second quarter as the offensive fireworks began to fly. Daniel Burton and Clint Stovall teamed up to get the Tigers up 19-11 off of board buckets and Peyton Martin sank a three-pointer from downtown to get The Jungle roaring. Hector would bounce back though with threes and layups to close the score to a narrow 24-23 lead for Mansfield. The Tigers were able to score a three-pointer, but so did Hector who then was fouled on their next possession and got a free throw to take the lead for the first time in the game. Daniel Burton slipped in a layup and was fouled with 0:21 left on the clock. After the free throw was made, the Tigers went into halftime only up 30-28.
Hector came into the third quarter and went to straight up ballin’ on the Tigers. The Wildcats knocked down two jump shots and a putback to quickly get a 34-30 jump on Mansfield. The Tigers first points of the second half came at the 4:12 mark when Peyton Martin made a layup and was fouled in the process giving Martin a plus-one on the free throw. The points did little to slow down Hector’s momentum though. The Wildcats were running wild over Mansfield by gashing the Tigers defense for buckets in the paint and holding the Tigers to a mere three points up until the last two minutes. Clint Stovall and Cole Kindle were able to combine for three points on free throws and Winston Allison sank a late three-pointer, but Hector still held on to a 42-39 lead at the buzzer.
As the fourth quarter started, both teams knew they would have to pull out all the stops and fire at will if they expected to win. Clint Stovall was fouled early and closed the score to a one-point game by making both free throws which in turn forced Hector to call a time-out with 6:46 left in the game. Both teams came out of the time-out staring at a one-point game and at seven fouls apiece. Hector didn’t back off of their game plan though and quickly rolled the score back up in their favor. Mansfield on the other hand was shooting themselves in the foot with turnovers and couldn’t buy a point with a silver dollar. The Tigers were finally down and ou…..not out! Peyton Martin stole the ball and was fouled on his way up for a score. Martin missed his free throw, but Samuel Burton made the quick rebound and put the ball through the net. Peyton Martin was still energized and sank a long jump shot to set the score at a Hector 47-46 lead with just 2:29 left. It seemed as if the only way this game would end is if the roof caught fire. Enter Drew Elmore. Elmore was the fire starter for the Tigers as he hit four free throws and put his own missed free throw back in which helped the Tigers to a 56-49 victory over the Hector Wildcats.
The Tigers have fought and battled their way to a second-place finish in the conference, third place in the District Tournament, and earned their way into the 2A West Regional Tournament as a 3Seed. Through all that the team has been through up to this point, they have always wound up proving that they cannot be taken lightly by anyone. The ultimate goal in their campaign is to make it to the Arkansas State Tournament. To get there though, they will have to defeat a salty Ozark Mountain Bears team in Regionals on Wednesday, February 23rd at 5:30 pm in Hector. The scenario is simple, win and they’re in.
