The Massillon Tigers are headed to the regional finals for the first time since 2003. Josh Hose’s resilient squad moved to 24-1 on the season following Wednesday night’s 84-73 victory over the Avon Eagles. In what has been a common story for the Tigers this year, they surged ahead in the 4th quarter using their seemingly ever-present energy to wear down the Eagles and make critical plays down the stretch. The game was close almost the whole way through– Massillon led by just 1 point after the first, second, and third quarters. They trailed by a pair of possessions at times, but were ever quick to bounce back. Key stops and an ability to both score in the paint and from 3-point range aided Massillon in their late surge as they pulled away to move on to Saturday night’s regional final.
The Tigers will head back to Wooster College on Saturday to face 3-seed Euclid (18-8), who downed 2-seed Toledo St. John’s (19-7) in an 84-61 rout.
Game Recap
Avon jumped out in front early, taking a 4-0 lead as the Tigers were unable to get the roll on several layups. Braylon Gamble scored the first 3 points for the Tigers, hitting a free throw and taking it to the hole for 2. Avon continued to respond as their offensive scheme allowed them to repeatedly break to the basket and score. Xavier Williams went on a tear, stealing and slamming the ball, drilling a 3, and hitting a tough shot to keep the Tigers within 1. Williams gave Massillon their first lead with a scoop off a downcourt pass. The Tigers fell behind again, but a Braylon Gamble and-1 with .1 seconds left in the quarter gave Massillon a 17-16 lead after 1 quarter.
Both Massillon and Avon went on small runs early in the 2nd quarter. An Isaiah Lamp 3 and a Terrion Wells block, followed by a Xavier Williams 3, pulled Massillon back within 1 possession at 23-26. The Tigers and Eagles continued to exchange blows as Massillon’s defense attempted to compensate for Avon’s successful offensive gameplan. Braylon Gamble forced a jump ball and Wells scored to get the Tigers back within 3– Wells cut behind the defense and laid it home on the following possession to make the score 29-30. Lamp tied the game with a 3 with 2:00 remaining in the half. Avon quickly responded with 2, but Braylon Gamble nailed a 3 with seconds left in the quarter to give Massillon a 37-36 lead at halftime.
Avon retook the lead early in the 3rd with 2, but Gio Jackson Jr. scored off the glass to give Massillon the advantage once again. The Tigers started to turn up the defense in the 3rd, with both Braylon Gamble and Gio Jackson Jr. blocking shots and Jadyce Thigpen forcing a turnover. Just as it seemed that the Tigers had found their defensive footing, the calls started going against them. Several seemingly obvious foul calls were missed and a couple key calls were made that were certainly questionable. These all came in short order, much to the ire of the Massillon crowd and coaching staff. The fouls enabled the Eagles to retake the lead again at 51-49. Thigpen tipped it in to respond, and Avon went down the floor and took it to the rack. Isaiah Lamp knocked down a huge 3 to tie the game up, and Thigpen finished the quarter with a steal-and-score and a 3-pointer to keep the Massillon lead at 1 (58-57) at the end of 3 quarters.
Massillon has been clutch all season in the 4th quarter– their last-minute play took no different path versus Avon. Jadyce Thigpen started off the Massillon scoring in the quarter by knocking down a 3. Gio Jackson Jr. turned on the heat with a putback, a layup, and a block. Avon turnovers forced by the Tigers’ aggressive defense gave them their largest lead of the game as Xavier Williams splashed another 3 to make the score 68-62 with 3:55 remaining. The Eagles scored quickly, but after a missed shot and a pair of missed putbacks by the Tigers, Braylon Gamble made a huge fourth-effort shot to answer. Williams put the dagger in Avon with a steal-and-slam to put the Tigers up by 8 with under 2:30 remaining in the game. The Eagles hit a 3 but were forced to put pressure on the backcourt, allowing the Tigers to pass through their defense for easy buckets. The game eventually turned into a free-throw flurry as Avon was forced to foul. The Tigers knocked down their free throws and pulled even further away to defeat Avon by a score of 84-73.
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Highlights
Jadyce Thigpen hits a 3
Gio Jackson Jr. scores and is fouled
