Freshman-senior combo helps Arrows advance
Shrout, Singleton potent 1-2 punch for Preble Shawnee.
When it’s time for a fast-food run, the Preble Shawnee seniors remember the freshman with the basketball court in the white metal barn.
“Somebody will come and pick me up,” said Mason Shrout, the freshman who doesn’t have a driver’s license. “It’s been like a family all year long.”
The freshman has fit in well with the veterans, and it started this summer when the Arrows often drove to Shrout’s place. They came alone to work in the barn on becoming a team because coaches could only put them through individual drills at the school.
“I’ve loved every minute of it,” Shrout said.
And his teammates have loved having him on the team. Shrout averaged 22.7 points a game this season and was named player of the year in the Southwestern Buckeye League’s Buckeye Division.
“For not having the varsity experience you wouldn’t know that he hasn’t,” said senior leader and 1,000-point scorer Bryce Singleton. “He’s SWBL player of the year — great player.”
The addition of Shrout as a 6-foot-3 point guard and the leadership of Singleton have been key ingredients in the Arrows’ rise to the top of the SWBL Buckeye and to a No. 2 seed in the Division III tournament.
“I’ve been doing it for four years, and it’s incredible, just to get that honor and to get that respect from other teams in the area,” Singleton said.
The Arrows played like a No. 2 seed Thursday night at Northmont High School in a 65-35 victory over No. 18 Covington after leading 40-8 at halftime. Shrout scored 15 points, Singleton scored 13 and junior forward Xavier Adams added 12.
“We told our guys all week it was important to get off
to a good start, keep the pressure on them and get the game moving,” Shawnee coach Dale Spitler said. “They really responded well.”
Spitler said his two best players and top scorers (Singleton
averages 18.1 points) have responded well to their roles. “Bryce has really mentored the young guys and helped Mason come along,” Spitler said. “He’s pushed them in practice. He doesn’t care about the stats, he just wants to win, so he doesn’t mind sharing the spotlight.”
Spitler said he told Shrout he had the skill and size for varsity, but he had to work at the mental part. Spitler told him opponents will work hard to stop a freshman from scoring on them and that he couldn’t get frustrated by box-and-one defenses or off nights.
“It was tough at first coming in and understanding my role as a freshman,” Shrout said. “I came from eighth grade where I was the leader and running things. Staying under Bryce and letting him run things was a learning experience at first, but I love it. There’s nothing I would trade for this.”
Shawnee (20-3) will play No. 9 Versailles in a district semifinal at 7:30 Saturday at Northmont.
Versailles 55, Dayton Christian 46: The Tigers (10-14) won their second tournament game, jumping to a nine-point halftime lead with a late run and then a 14-point lead early in the second half.
Eighth-seeded Dayton
Christian (14-8) played zone as it typically does, but the Tigers beat it for some easy baskets inside late in the half. “We were kind of covering spots, not people,” said Warriors coach JT Holliday. “And that’s on me for not getting out of the zone sooner.”
The Tigers are also used to the physical play every night in the Midwest Athletic Conference and a difficult nonconference schedule. Once the Warriors started to match the physical play, they rallied to within three twice in the fourth quarter. But the Tigers stood their ground and made 10 of 14 free throws in the fourth.
“When it comes down to tournament time, playing that physicality, being coached against really hard, I think that prepares you for a long tournament run,” said Versailles coach Travis Swank.
Eli McEldowney scored 11 points and Jaydon Litten and Connor Stonebraker had 10 for the Tigers. Devin Dreier led the Warriors with 17 and Isaiah Edwards added 11.
Tom EAST LANSING, MICH. —
Izzo walked into the locker room with fists in the air and an ear-to-ear grin on his face, welcoming water getting doused on him by Michigan State’s players celebrating what clearly was not just another win.
Aaron Henry had 18 points to help the Spartans improve their chances of making the NCAA Tournament with a 71-67 win over No. 4 Ohio State on Thursday night, two days after Izzo’s team beat No. 5 Illinois by nine points.
The Hall of Fame coach led Michigan State to the national championship in 2000, early in a string of 22 straight NCAA Tournaments that includes eight trips to the Final Four.
This year, though, it looked as if the Spartans (13-9, 7-9 Big Ten) would not make their usual appearance in the NCAA Tournament until their recent surge with three straight wins.
And that’s why Izzo had no problem with the postgame celebration.
“There would’ve been days I would’ve chewed them out for that,” he said.
Michigan State beat topfive teams in consecutive conference games for the
first time in program history.
The Spartans rallied from a nine-point, second-half deficit against Ohio State with Gabe Brown finishing with 11 points and Josh Langford making key plays at both ends of the court.
The Buckeyes (18-6, 12-6) closed the game without coach Chris Holtmann, who was ejected for arguing with
officials when he was called for a second technical foul with 1.4 seconds left.
“I’m not going to talk specifically about the officiating,” Holtmann said.
Ohio State’s E.J. Liddell had 18 points on 4 of 13 shooting and Duane Washington scored 17 on 7 of 16 shooting.
“We had trouble finishing around the baskets,” Holtmann
said.
C.J. Walker scored 12 points and Justice Sueing added 10 for the Buckeyes.
The Buckeyes went ahead 49-40 midway through the second half, but Henry and Langford would not let them pull away as Michigan State outscored them 15-6 to pull into a 55-all tie with 6:42 left.
Malik Hall made free throws to put the Spartans ahead 64-63 with 2:23 to go. Henry followed with a jumper to give them a threepoint lead with 1:08 remaining.
Both teams took turns making free throws until Michigan State’s Joey Hauser missed the first of two free throws.
That gave the Buckeyes the ball with 12.8 seconds left and a chance to tie or win the game in regulation. Washington came up short, defended by Langford, on a layup with about five seconds left to trigger Holtmann’s second technical.
“Give Michigan State credit,” Holtmann said. “They were more physical.”
Michigan State was coming off an 81-72 win over No. 5 Illinois at home on Tuesday and started strong against the Buckeyes, leading 11-6 a few minutes into the game. Henry went to the bench with 6:45 left in the first half after getting called for a second foul and scoring nine points, leading to the Buckeyes leading 38-33 at halftime.
Big picture
Ohio State: Despite losing at Michigan State after a 92-87 setback to Michigan, earning top seeding in the NCAA Tournament is still within reach for the Buckeyes.
“They’re still a 1 seed in my mind,” Izzo said. “In our conference, there are so many good teams and you never get a night off.”
Michigan State: As much as the once-reeling team has bounced back, it likely has to close the season strong and avoid a flop in the Big Ten Tournament to earn a postseason bid.
“We have to continue to be hungry,” Henry said.
Injury report
Ohio State:
Senior forward Kyle Young, who averages 8.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and has started 22 games, was out for the game because of a concussion after bumping heads with a Michigan player in Sunday’s loss.
“He’s kind of like our glue guy,” Walker said.
Junior guard Musa Jallow missed a second straight game with an ankle injury.
Michigan State: Point guard Foster Loyer was on the bench, but not in uniform, resting his injured left shoulder for a third game in a row.
Poll implications
The Buckeyes have a chance to hold their lofty position in the Top 25 with another opportunity to earn a quality win at home game against No. 9 Iowa on Sunday.