MOUNT VERNON — Kyevi Roane was in the zone.
Mansfield Senior’s sophomore sensation, Roane scored a career-high 37 points and the Tygers pulled away late for a 73-57 Ohio Cardinal Conference win over Mount Vernon at The Hive.
The 6-foot-1 Roane didn’t attempt a 3-pointer all evening, but was a sizzling 17-for-21 from the floor. He also grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds as Senior High (2-1, 2-0) handed the Yellow Jackets (4-1, 2-1) their first loss of the season.
“Our plan was to speed them up,” said Roane, who scored six straight points during a decisive 12-0 run midway through the fourth quarter. “We were playing fast and rebounding well.”
The Jackets, who trailed by as many as 10 points in the third, cut Mansfield Senior’s lead to 57-52 on a pair of Caden Rowland free throws with 5:04 remaining in the fourth quarter.
A layup by Mansfield Senior’s Duke Reese with 4:50 to play sparked what proved to be the game-deciding stretch. Three consecutive layups by Roane gave the Tygers a 65-52 lead with 2:24 to play.
“The thing about Kyevi is he is a very capable shooter,” Senior High coach Marquis Sykes said. “He’s capable of stepping out and knocking down some 3s, but tonight was one of those nights where we thought he could do some different things in the block area.
“I can’t say we were expecting 37, but we felt he could have a good night and he exceeded expectations.”
Mount Vernon’s Hudson Rohler nearly matched Roane short-for-shot. The senior scored 28 points on 9-of-15 shooting. Rohler’s back-to-back 3-pointers cut what was a 10-point Mansfield Senior lead to 49-45 with 1:35 to play in the third.
“He’s playing well and gives great effort,” Mount Vernon coach Nick Coon said. “All of our kids gave great effort, we just weren’t good enough tonight. That happens some times.”
Mansfield Senior connected on 31-of-57 field goal attempts and out-rebounded Mount Vernon 37-24. The Tygers grabbed 15 offensive boards and scored 22 second-chance points.
“We gave up a lot of points in the paint,” Coon said. “Scoring at the rim off penetration and offensive rebounds, that’s Mansfield Tyger basketball. If we allowed them to play to their strengths, we knew we would be in for a long night. It was an uphill battle for a lot of the night.”
The Yellow Jackets were just 6-for-28 from beyond the 3-point arc.
“I thought we got some really good looks,” Coon said. “They play good pressure defense and sometimes that speeds you up. It’s human nature to rush your shot a little bit.”
Rowland backed Rohler with 13 points and grabbed a team-best six rebounds.
For Mansfield Senior, LaLa Owens had 12 points and nine rebounds. Nathaniel Haney added 10 points.
