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Mathews upsets Lions

Morning Journal / Ron Firth Mathews’ Vinny Sharp goes to the basket against Heartland’s Steven Baker and Joey Donofrio on Friday.

COLUMBIANA — The Mathews Mustangs had plenty of reasons to be motivated in their sectional bracket final on Friday night. Their low seeding and a loss to Heartland Christian just two weeks ago helped power them to a hard-fought 67-63 overtime win.

The Mustangs improved to 14-6 on the season and advanced to a Division IV district semifinal on Tuesday night when they travel to Wellsville to take on the Tigers. The Lions closed their season with a 17-5 record.

“I’m super proud of our kids,” Mustangs coach Mike Weymer said. “I can’t point to one thing or one play. They felt a little bit disrespected in the tournament draw being a 12 seed. I think they kind of have that chip on their shoulder. I think that is a big part of what is fueling us.”

“We have been pretty talented since I was a freshman, myself and Dom (Greenwood) have started since we were freshmen, so to move on in the playoffs is just great,” junior guard Vinny Sharp said.

The victory for the Mustangs avenged a two-point loss to the Lions on the Mustangs’ home court just two weeks ago. The tournament game included the same edge-of-your seat action with plenty of drama and excitement.

“Coach has been talking about it ever since they beat us the first time. We have to get revenge on those guys, and we have a good shot at the district as long as we keep playing together (as a team), and keep playing good defense,” Kyle Powell the Mustangs’ lone senior, said.

“It was a roller-coaster, both teams out there battling and working their tails off. And at the end of the day, we made more mistakes than they did. That was the difference in the game,” Lions coach Josh Scott said.

“We were in a similar game on Tuesday against Southern where we were down by nine going into the fourth quarter, and we came back to win at the end,” Weymer said. “That was the kind of game that would be a springboard for us. This group is a never say die (attitude).”

The Mustangs held a 41-29 lead with just under four minutes remaining in the third quarter. But the Lions roared back with a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to 43-39 with only 30 seconds remaining in the third period.

“You go through a lot, but you have to fight back,” Sharp said of the emotions of the game. “Whatever they do to you, you have to do it right back at them.”

The Lions continued to control the momentum into the fourth quarter as they regained the lead, 46-45, at the 6:04 mark on a powerful layup by Joey Donofrio. The Lions increased their advantage to 54-47 with 4:38 remaining in the game. That is when the Mustangs made their comeback.

Mathews closed regulation with a 12-5 run to knot the game at 59 and send the game into overtime. Vinny Sharp connect on a bucket with 1:10 left to give the Mustangs a 59-56 lead before the Lions’ Jonathan Bertovich drilled a 3-pointer with 50 seconds remaining to tie the game at 59.

“They are a good team,” Powell said. “Everyone was looking out for number 11 (Bertovich), he doesn’t miss. They are very well-coached. I’m just happy we could get the win.”

In the extra session, Powell gave the Mustangs a 63-61 lead on a basket with a little over a minute remaining. Sharp sealed the game by connecting on 4-of-6 free throws in the final 50 seconds of the extra period.

“It was big for me to hit those free throws, because in the last game (against Heartland) I had a bad turnover, probably the reason why we lost. It felt really good to win this one,” Sharp said.

The Mustangs grabbed an early lead in the game and held a 9-7 advantage at the end of the first quarter. They went into halftime with a 24-22 lead courtesy of a bucket by Sharp with only 8 seconds before the buzzer.

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