PLYMOUTH — The Mansfield Christian Flames had every excuse to go to Plymouth, lay an egg and get ready for a big week ahead.
The Flames have been battling sickness for two weeks, had one of their best shooters injured with a tender ankle and had just two practices all week after weather issues. But instead of packing it in against a 12-win Plymouth team, the Flames pulled off an improbable comeback to knock off the Big Red 56-55 in an instant classic.
“These kids want to play hard for each other,” Mansfield Christian coach Cary Craner said. “They really do. They play for each other, and it is something we have preached all year. Sick, injured, it didn’t matter. Blayne Morrow came in off the bench and knocked down two huge 3s. It is just exciting to watch them play and fight hard.”
Morrow missed several games with a severe ankle sprain and wasn’t going to play Saturday night, but came off the bench in the second quarter to nail a 3-pointer before draining another late in the fourth quarter to cut Plymouth’s lead down to 54-52 with 1:22 left in the game.
The Flames trailed 54-49 with 1:53 left in the game before closing things out on a 7-1 run to pull off the stunning victory. Bryson Winemille was sensational with 19 points while Josiah Schleusener added 17 and Landin Cyphers had 11.
“We knew they were going to play tough, but we challenged ourselves to play tougher,” Winemiller said. “I saw that first shot go down and it boosted my confidence. I felt like I could make anything.”
Winemiller nailed three 3-pointers on the evening and scored 12 points in the second half for his new career high.
“We know he can shoot the ball and this could be a huge confidence game for him,” Craner said. “He realized that he can do this. I am excited for the kid to step up and do what he did.”
With under a minute left and trailing 55-52, the Flames pulled out all the stops with a full-court press and forced three turnovers on three straight Plymouth possessions to ignite a run that eventually led them to the win. Cyphers scored the game’s final four points off of turnovers to beat the Big Red.
“We have stressed so much about protecting the basketball and we just didn’t do that tonight,” Plymouth coach Tim Brafford said. “We are trying to make showtime passes instead of just playing basketball and valuing our possessions. We don’t use the clock to our benefit, but we just give leads away.”
Jarrett Burrer led Plymouth with 17 points, including his 1,000th-career point early in the second quarter. Sean Winfield added 15 points and Izaya Reynolds added nine.
Plymouth falls to 12-4 and has lost two straight games. The Big Red have no time to feel sorry for themselves as they head to Western Reserve for a must-win Firelands Conference game on Feb. 2 before heading to New London on Feb. 5 and hosting Crestview on Feb. 7.
“We will practice (Sunday) and we will regroup,” Brafford said. “We are going to run a regular practice before going to Western Reserve on Monday. We have to figure out how to play better quickly.”
The Flames improve to 9-6 and won both of their games on the weekend.
“It was stressful, but I saw us stay composed and collected,” Winemiller said. “We did what we had to do to get back in it. We are all dealing with sickness and we have some injuries, but we showed a lot of toughness and to win this is great.”
Craner believes the double-weekend win could give the Flames plenty of momentum heading into Feb. 6’s home game against Central Christian where they can clinch at least a share of the Mid-Buckeye Conference championship with a win.
“It definitely does,” Craner said. “To get two wins on the weekend is huge for us moving forward. We have Central Christian coming to our gym on Friday with a lot of pressure, but we had a great game taking care of the ball and we will need another one Friday.”
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Winemiller, Flames stun Big Red in instant comeback classic
Reporting by Jake Furr, Mansfield News Journal / Mansfield News Journal
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