MECHANICSBURG – Triad defeated Mechanicsburg, 59-40, Friday night in boys OHC basketball action.
For one half of basketball, the host Indians kept it close with the aid of three-pointers and trailed 24-18 at halftime.
But in the third quarter, Triad took over with transition buckets off of missed layups and turnovers.
“We picked up our energy level a little bit in the third quarter,” THS Matt McCurdy said. “We were a little more active and had active hands. We boxed out better. And when we get stops, we can get out and push it a little bit.”
And get stops they did. The Cardinals took advantage of every M’burg miscue, outscoring the Indians 19-9 in the quarter to take a 43-27 lead into the fourth quarter.
“We’ve got to do a better job of taking care of the ball. And we’ve got to make shots,” MHS Coach Matt Siegel said. “I think we can beat anybody. We just have to play with confidence and execute.”
It was a coast to the finish line for Triad (13-5) as the teams traded buckets a few times and the Cardinals’ guards took care of the ball.
“When you’ve got guards like LeVan, Watson and Boyd leading the charge…,” McCurdy said, trailing off with a smile.
There was no animosity from Siegel and his rival squad.
“(Triad is) good. Their guard play is very good and they did a good job of converting their opportunities,” Siegel said. “They’ve got a solid team. They’re going to be very good.”
Ryan Boyd scored a game-high 29 points to secure the Triad win. Hadley LeVan and Thomas O’Neal each added 8 points for the visitors. Colton McMannis scored 15 points for Mechanicsburg (4-11), while David Harvey chipped in 10.
The Cardinals also won the jayvee game, 44-16. Brian Bundy had 10 points in that game for Triad, with Cameron Atchison adding 9. Cody Collier scored 9 points for Mechanicsburg.
Mechanicsburg plays at Madison Plains today. Triad has a showdown with rival West Liberty-Salem on Tuesday on the Tigers’ home court.
