ONTARIO — On a night when All-Ohioan Alex Bruskotter spent almost as much time on the bench as he did on the floor, Shelby’s role players rode to the rescue.
Junior forward Karsen Homan came off the bench to score 13 points as the top-seeded Whippets rallied for a 60-55 win over No. 5 Mansfield Senior in a Division II district semifinal game Thursday at the O-Rena in Ontario High School.
The Wright State-bound Bruskotter was saddled with foul trouble all evening. He picked up his second less than four minutes into the first quarter and played less than eight minutes in the opening half.
Meanwhile, Homan logged almost 10 minutes of floor time and scored eight first-half points.
“Homan has been awesome for us,” Shelby coach Greg Gallaway said. “He’s just a guy that any coach wants on their team. He loves his role. He embraces his role.
“If he scores 10 points or if he scored two points or zero points, he gives us that consistent energy and effort every single time. He’s so contagious with his energy.”
The 6-foot-4 Homan took to his role immediately.
“I knew I was not going to be the most skilled guy on the floor, but I know I can control my effort and enthusiasm,” Homan said. “I love playing with the guys I play with.
“Whatever way I can make them play better is how I want to compete.”
Mansfield Senior (18-7) led 16-13 after the first quarter and 29-21 at the half. Shelby (22-2) cut Senior High’s lead to 42-38 after three, setting up a wild fourth quarter.
The Whippets opened the final period with a 12-3 burst to grab a 50-45 advantage on a pair of Brayden DeVito free throws with 4:27 remaining. The Tygers tied it at 50-50 thanks to a Ja’Ontay O’Bryant 3-pointer and a Duke Reese layup with 2:47 left.
Layups by Homan, Issaiah Ramsey and Casey Lantz gave the Whippets a 56-50 bulge, but O’Bryant hit a pair of free throws with 56 seconds to go, and split a pair with 27 seconds remaining to cut Shelby’s advantage to 56-53.
Homan hit two freebies to push the margin to 57-53 with 16 seconds left, but Senior High’s Rashad Reed Jr. hit a long two with three seconds showing to cut it to 57-55. Ramsey iced it with a pair of free throws with 1.4 seconds on the clock.
“Every single day in practice we work on pressure free throws,” Ramsey said. “It really shows that practice pays off.”
Ramsey led the Whippets with 15 points. Homan had 13, while Casey Lantz added 12 punctuated by a couple of thunderous dunks, and Bruskotter had 11.
Highlight Reel
Kyevi Roane scored a game-high 18 points for the Tygers and grabbed 12 rebounds. Emerging sophomore D.J. Corbin had 13 points and five rebounds, but missed significant time in the second half with leg cramps.
“When you exert that kind of energy, that kid is flying around playing his tail off,” Senior High coach Marquis Sykes said. “It makes us a lot different, already being a little short-handed. It makes things difficult, but everybody stepped up tonight.”
The Tygers out-rebounded the Whippets 43-23 and grabbed 22 offensive boards. Senior High scored 15 second-chance points.
“That is a staple in our program. That was the difference in the first half,” Sykes said. “The first half of our season we weren’t great on the offensive boards. That was something we put a focus on the second half of the season.”
Shelby beat Mansfield Senior 73-55 at Pete Henry Gym in late January.
“Our energy, our effort and our passion,” Sykes said of the difference in the second meeting. “Starting in the second half of our game against Lima Senior, we started to play Tyger basketball again.
“We gave it everything we had. We just came up a little bit short.”
Shelby will play Lexington for a district championship on Saturday night, back at Ontario High School.