By Matt Turer — mturer@ky3.com
@MattTurer
Sparta, Mo. — Hartville absorbed an early spurt from rival Mansfield and slowly chipped away at a nine-point first-quarter deficit Friday night for its fifth consecutive district title.
The Eagles trailed 20-13 after a quarter and were down six at the half but held the Lions to just 10 second-half points in Friday’s 53-42 win.
“Sure doesn’t get old. It’s been quite a run,” Hartville head coach Brett Reed said of his group’s fifth straight district championship. “We’ve had a great group of kids come through here at Hartville. They’ve started this tradition. Every [title] is special and this one is extremely special.”
CLICK HERE FOR MANSFIELD VS. HARTVILLE PHOTOS
Hartville (25-4) scored 13 points in each of the first three quarters and 14 in the defining fourth, outscoring Mansfield 14-3 and holding the Lions (22-7) scoreless for the opening five minutes of that quarter.
“Every time we play Mansfield we know it’s going to be a dogfight,” Reed said. “They’re very well coached. Kids play with a lot of heart and a lot of passion. Just real proud of our kids’ effort. Had to grind one out and they did.”
Mansfield shocked Hartville early on. The Lions fell by 30 to the Eagles on Jan. 10 but held three different nine-point leads in the first quarter and went into halftime up 32-26.
“Traditionally [Hartville] jumps on people early with their full-court pressure so we talked about getting on them early because once you get down to them it’s tough to come back,” Mansfield head coach Terry Writer said.
Mansfield spread around its scoring in the first half with six Lions connecting from the floor. Dylan Caruso and Mason Roy both finished with eight first-half points. Caruso finished with a game-high 15 but struggled to get going offensively due to consistent foul trouble. Caruso fouled out late in the fourth quarter.
“It’s a district championship, it’s hard to win one no matter who you’re playing, and Mansfield showed that,” Hartville senior Dune Piper said.
Mansfield connected on just four field goals in the second half and one in the fourth quarter. Caruso accounted for three of those.
“I thought our kids did a really good job but in the fourth quarter just couldn’t score,” Writer said. “Hartville got just a little bit of a lead there and brought the ball out and exposed us not being able to match up with their guards.”
Jace Keith and Deric Jones both finished with 14 for Hartville along with center Cody Kelley. Keith and Jones highlight a class of six seniors.
“If it all ended today they’ve built a legacy and will be remembered as one of the best classes to ever come through our school district,” Reed said.
FINAL: Hartville 53, Mansfield 42
Mansfield 20 12 7 3- 42
Hartville 13 13 13 14- 53
Mansfield- Dylan Caruso 15, Mason Roy 11, Spencer Greene 6, Jonah Williamson 6, Payton Watterson 2, Michael Tate 2
Hartville- Jace Keith 14, Deric Jones 14, Cody Kelley 14, Dune Piper 8, Wyat Ward 3
