Flyers falter late in loss to Tigers
Published 1:42 am Tuesday, February 5, 2019
Jim Walker
jim.walker@irontontribune.com
The St. Joseph Flyers are young and learning. The big thing they have to learn is how to win in the fourth quarter.
For the second straight game, the Flyers were in a position to possibly win against a favored opponent only to hit a brick wall in the fourth quarter.
Tied after three quarter, the Flyers fell 70-63 to the New Boston Tigers on Saturday.
Despite the loss, Flyers’ coach Chris Barnes was pleased with the defensive effort that held the Tigers’ leading scorer Tyler Caldwell to just four free throws.
“We did a great job on Caldwell. J.C. Damron and Jared Johnson held him to zero field goals and only four points,” said Barnes.
“(Kyle) Sexton got about half of his points from the foul line. New Boston played well and they have a good team. It was a good game out of both teams.”
Sexton had a game-high 22 points for New Boston (13-5). Grady Jackson cored 16, Marcus Saunders 14 and Jerome McKinley added 11.
St. Joseph (12-5) had four players in double figures led by Jimmy Mahlmeister with 16. Isaac Whaley hit four 3-pointers and scored 14 points, Damron had 12 points and Matt Sheridan scored 10.
“Jimmy played his best game of the season. Isaac came up big and J.C. played well. We needed that because Zach’s shot was off tonight. But he didn’t let it affect his floor game. He got the ball to others who were open. It’s unrealistic to expect him to get 30 points every night,” said Barnes.
“Matt Sheridan played another good game off the bench. I’m proud of their effort and the toughness they showed tonight. I am definitely seeing improvement.”
Whaley hit three 3-pointers, Damron had four points while Roach and Sheridan added a trifecta each to help the Flyers take a 19-18 first quarter lead.
Saunders scored seven points for the Tigers.
New Boston came back to nudge its way into the halftime lead at 33-32 as Sexton scored nine points including 3-of-4 at the line. Mahlmeister had seven points while Sheridan hit another trey and scored five points.
Roach drained a triple and hit a foul shot, Mahlmeister scored four points and Damron delivered his own 3-pointer as the Flyers tied the game at 47.
McKinley had five points as did Seton as was who went 3-for-3 at the line.
Mahlmeister hit a 3-pointer and scored five points, Damron had four points and Whaley hit another triple for the Flyers in the fourth quarter.
But Jackson knocked down a 3-pointer and scored seven points, Sexton scored six points and was 2-for-3 at the line, Saunders had a 3-pointer and scored five points while Malachi Potts added a clutch 3-pointer as New Boston outscored St. Joseph 23-16.
The Flyers host Wellston on Tuesday and visit River Valley on Wednesday.
New Boston 18 15 14 23 = 70
St. Joseph 19 13 15 16 = 63
NEW BOSTON (13-5): Malachi Potts 0 1 0-0 3, Grady Jackson 6 1 1-3 16, Kyle Sexton 6 0 10-12 22, Marcus Saunders 4 2 0-1 14, Tyler Caldwell 0 0 4-4 4, Jerome McKinley 5 0 1-2 11, Kyle Mays 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 21 4 16-22 70. Fouls: 11. Fouled out: None.
ST. JOSEPH (12-5): Jackson Rowe 0 0 0-0 0, Isaac Whaley 1 4 0-0 14, Zach Roach 1 2 1-2 9, Jimmy Mahlmeister 6 1 1-1 16, Max Weber 1 0 0-0 2, Jared Johnson 0 0 0-0 0, J.C. Damron 3 1 3-4 12, Matt Sheridan 2 2 0-0 10. Totals: 13 10 5-7 63. Fouls: 15. Fouled out: None.