Division I regional track finals
Fenwick graduation 2012
Ponitz graduation 2012
Home > Blogs > Springfield, Ohio High School Sports > Archives > 2009 > February > 27 > Entry
On this date in area sports history …
Fourteen years ago on this date, Feb. 27, 1995, the South boys basketball team defeated Tecumseh in the first round of the sectional tournament, ending the career of the Arrows’ star, Jon Stafford.
Stafford, the second-leading scorer in Tecumseh history behind Andy Arnott, would go on to score 1,053 points in his Wittenberg career. He is currently an assistant coach at Tecumseh.
Complete story on the jump.
SOUTH RETURNS FAVOR, KNOCKS OFF TECUMSEH
By Matt Thompson, News-Sun Sports Writer
FAIRBORN - Tecumseh’s Jon Stafford played a big part in eliminating South from the postseason last year.
This season, the Wildcats returned the favor, ending Stafford’s prep career in the process. South sent the senior out by taking a 77-63 decision Monday night in the opening round of the Division I sectionals in front of about 1,500 at Wright State’s Ervin J. Nutter Center.
Stafford, hampered by a back injury he suffered in the early minutes of the fourth quarter, left the game for good with less than a minute to go and the outcome no longer in doubt.
On his way to the bench, Stafford was intercepted by South’s John Carson, who stopped him and gave him a consoling hug.
“Me and Jon are real good friends,” said Carson, who picked himself up a triple-double with 17 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists. “I respect him. He comes out and plays hard every night, like I do.”
For a while, though, it looked like Stafford might have been the one doing the consoling. The senior poured in 22 of his 32 points during the first half alone, connecting on 10 of 13 shots, and leading the Arrows to a 32-29 lead at the break.
After that, though, a slow second-half start, and then the back injury, limited Stafford’s effectiveness. Teammate Brent Razor tried to pick up the slack, it wasn’t enough as South began to take control of all facets of the game.
“We controlled the tempo the first half really well,” said Macklin, whose team finishes the season at 12-9. “But the second half, we let them get out on the open floor. We just weren’t able to slow them down.”
A big part of that was Carson and junior Ajamu Gaines - who led all scorers with 33 points. Gaines dropped the game into fifth gear the last two periods, picking up 22 of his points in the second half.
Both Gaines and Carson made references to last year, when Tecumseh upset the Wildcats, 73-71, in the sectional opener round. Stafford, incidentally, scored 16 points for Tecumseh in that game.
“This week we just talked about last year, and we decided it wasn’t going to happen again,” Gaines said. “When we started off, not everybody was into it. The second half was much better.”
The lead changed hands five times in the third quarter, and though South went on a mini-run with 4:55 left, Tecumshe had enough left to crawl within three, 52-49, as the fourth period commenced.
Then, with 6:22 to play and his team down, 58-51, Stafford went hard at the basket, looking for a layup. He was bumped and fell hard on his back at the edge of the floor. No foul was called, and he was left to writhe on the floor as South grabbed the ball and went upcourt to score.
“I couldn’t hardly walk,” said Stafford, who had to be helped to the bench. “It was the worst feeling I’ve ever had. But I wanted to play. I started to see the game slipping away while I was out. I wanted to see if I could help.”
Within two minutes, Stafford was back out there, and with his help, the Arrows made one last run at the Wildcats, putting the score within five, 66-61, with just over two minutes to play.
But Gaines, who scored seven of his team’s last 11 points, was effective from the floor and the free-throw line (5 of 6 down the stretch) to put the game away.
Shannon Ferguson added 10 points for the Cats, who advance to play Beavercreek at 8 p.m. Wednesday.
Razor, with 15 points, was the only other Arrow in double figures.
TECUMSEH (63) - Perry 1 0-1 2, Weber 3 2-2 8, Stafford 13 4-4 32, Razor 5 3-4 15, Leathley 1 0-0 2, Glass 0 0-0 0, Bunch 0 2-2 2, Craycraft 1 0-0 2, Moore 0 0-1 0. Totals: 24 11-14 63.
SOUTH (77) - Gaines 12 7-8 33, Stowers 2 0-0 4, Carson 6 4-5 17, Southers 2 0-0 4, Ferguson 5 0-1 10, Humphrey 0 0-0 0, Furman 4 0-0 8, Lloyd 0 1-2 1. Totals: 31 12-16 77.
Tecumseh 17 32 49 63 Home 12 29 52 77 Three-point goals: Tecumseh 4 (Stafford 2, Razor 2), South 3 (Gaines 2, Carson)
Records: Tecumseh 12-9, South 10-11
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Boys Basketball, On this date, South High School, Tecumseh, Wittenberg
Comments