The Fairborn Paper

“We’re making steps,” Springfield head coach Isiah Carson said after the game. “We’re nowhere near where we want to be. But the guys are working hard as a team, and the poise is getting better.”

The game was the third in less than a week for Shawnee (2-1, 1-0 CBC Kenton Trail), who’s season opener was just last Tuesday, Dec. 13. The Braves got a late start to the season due to their football team’s playoff run.

“I thought fatigue set in a little bit there in the second half,” McGuire said. “Some of our shots fell short too. But these guys are going to compete. That’s one thing we have from these guys coming from successful fall sports that other teams don’t. We’ve got guys who’ve won and know how to compete.”

Springfield (3-1, 1-1 GWOC Central) jumped out to a 8-0 lead before Shawnee scored. The Braves never pulled closer than six points in the first half as a result. Shawnee pulled within three points early in the third quarter, but Springfield extended their lead at the end of the third quarter.

Shawnee was called for two fouls at the end of the third quarter while both teams were fighting for a rebound under Springfield’s basket. Springfield was leading 35-28, and it added three foul shots to increase its lead to ten points at 38-28.
“That was major,” Carson said. “Anytime you can get easy buckets, which are hard to come by, is huge. We had some guys come off the bench and hit (foul) shots there, so it’s good for the team.”

McGuire said that was a critical point for Shawnee too.

“Those definitely hurt,” McGuire said. “It could have went either way, and unfortunately it went against us. The technical I wasn’t real sure about. But going from seven points down to ten points down there at the start of the fourth quarter was a big difference.”

The Braves pulled within five points at one point in the fourth quarter, but Springfield ate time off the clock on possessions and forced Shawnee to foul. Springfield had one possession in which it held the ball for over one minute.

Ryan Minney led Springfield with 20 points, while Brantley Davis added 16 points, including Springfield’s two three-pointers. Jaelin Williams led Shawnee with 13 points, while Andrew Young had eight points and Derek Tincher added seven points. The Braves shot only 35 percent from the field.

Carson said both Minney and Davis have matured in the last week for Springfield.

“Those two in about the last week have taken about three steps forward,” Carson said. “Those guys are maturing and playing team basketball. They’re just selling out for each other — it’s all about team right now, which is great.”

McGuire said he was proud of the way Shawnee played.

“We did a good job there of staying in the game and playing through adversity,” McGuire said. “We got tired there, and we’re not going to beat too many teams by shooting only 35 percent. But I’m proud of the way the guys played. We’ve got a good group. If we had to slip up, it’s better to do it in a nonconference game than in a conference game.”

Both teams played in critical conference games that were completed after deadline. Shawnee travelled to Stebbins on Monday, while Springfield hosted Wayne on Tuesday.

Both teams get back in action next Tuesday. The Wildcats travel to Urbana, while Shawnee travels to Jonathan Alder.

“We’ve got to clean up some things offensively,” Carson said. “There’s always room from improvement.”