Big fourth quarter helps Danbury roll in sectional opener

SHELBY – On Danbury's first possession, junior wing Blake Barker took the ball aggressively to the paint. He spun on the left side of the basket, bumping shoulders to get into position. He raised up for a floater over a 6-foot-7 defender, and just as the ball looked to be swirling out of the basket it fell through, giving Barker his first of 23 points and setting the tone for in a Division IV sectional opener. "I had to be more physical," Barker said. "I worked on that in practice. I knew he (the matchup) would be a little taller than me." Thanks to Barker's physicality, Maverick Murray's playmaking, and timely buckets from Grayson Clark and Bradley Murray, Danbury defeated Mansfield Christian 67-49 on Wednesday night. The Lakers led by only five points after three quarters before blitzing the Flames with 26 points in the final eight minutes. "We take a great deal of pride in the program of everybody being able to handle the basketball and try to get mismatches," Danbury coach Keith Diebler said. Barker opened the contest on a mission to create scoring opportunities. Danbury's first bucket came when the 6-5 wing bullied his way into the paint for a quick floater. He followed it up with a midrange two at the top of the key coming off a Clark dime. The shots kept falling for Clark (15 points) and Barker, as Maverick Murray got doubled inside and dished to Barker for a 3-pointer. "He's one of the quickest dudes I've ever seen on the court," Barker said. "He draws defenders and gives me wide-open looks." A couple possessions later, Clark took a steal off the full court press and went up-and-under for a circus layup to retake the lead at 16-15. "Coaches want me to be aggressive," Clark said. "taking it to the basket is my thing." Clark and Barker combined for 20 of the Lakers' 22 points in the first half. Danbury was getting good shots all around, but led only by 2, 22-20. "I was pretty calm at half," Diebler said. "I think, wasn't I?" he added, turning to Barker. "I don't know if calm is the word," Barker responded to a chuckle from his coach. Danbury's other weapon, Bradley Murray, had been held scoreless in the first half, but made his presence known with an acrobatic finish for the first points of the second half. His next shot attempt clanked right, only to be cleaned up by Barker. That sparked an 11-0 run featuring a swish 3-pointer from Maverick Murray that put Danbury up nine, its largest lead to that point. "We made a little adjustment in his shot (at half)," Diebler said. "(Maverick) came out and buried one and that was huge." Bradley Murray continued to carry the offense into the fourth quarter. Mansfield Christian played the foul game as Danbury was at the line seven times. When they weren't, Bradley Murray was pushing the ball up the floor for transition layups. He had eight of his 10 in the fourth and helped extend the lead to give the Laker starters a rest as the clock wound down. With the win, sixth-seeded Danbury advances to a sectional final against third-seeded South Central at 7:30 p.m. Friday. "It's gonna be a long night," Diebler said. "We'll start preparing for them now." After a fast-paced victory, the Lakers' goal in the coming days is to slow down and pace themselves to avoid costly turnovers. "Instead of 10-speed go 8-speed," Clark said. DANBURY (11-12) Andy Zelms 1 2-2 4, Maverick Murray 1 3-4 6, Bradley Murray 4 2-2 10, Guy Maltese 3-4 3, Blake Barker 9 4-4 23, Landon Dunlap 1 0-0 2, Grayson Clark 6 2-3 15, Danny Harris 1 0-0 2, Daniel Webster 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 24 16-19 67 MANSFIELD CHRISTIAN (12-13) Davis Wushinske 2 2-2 6, Amarr Davis 10 4-6 24, Gabe Westfield 1 0-0 2, Isaac Vance 1 0-0 3, Billy Killian 4 0-0 8, Hudson Slater 2 0-0 4. TOTALS 20 6-8 49 Danbury 9 13 19 26 -- 67Mansfield Christian 11 9 16 13 -- 49 Three-point goals -- Danbury 3 (M Murray 1, Barker 1, Clark 1); MC 3 (Davis 2, Vance 1) DIVISION III Oak Harbor 69, Wynford 52 MONROEVILLE -- TJ Hallett scored 29 points to lead Oak Harbor to a 69-52 first-round Division III sectional win over Bucyrus Wynford. Ethan Stokes added 15 points and Kyle Glaser finished with 12 for the fifth-seeded Rockets. Oak Harbor faces fourth-seeded Elmwood at 7:30 p.m. Friday in a sectional final at Monroeville. ----- BOYS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT GLANCE (Seeds in parentheses) DIVISION II MILLBURY DISTRICT Sectional semifinals at Genoa Tuesday, Feb. 22 No. 4 Rossford 70, No. 12 Toledo Woodward 45 No. 11 Perkins 44, No. 7 Toledo Rogers 43 Sectional finals at Genoa Friday, Feb. 25 No. 3 Tiffin Columbian vs. Rossford, 5:30 p.m. No. 2 Sandusky vs. Perkins, 7:30 p.m. Sectional semifinals at Toledo Bowsher No. 6 Port Clinton 39, No. 8 Maumee 37 No. 9 Fostoria 46, No. 10 Toledo Scott 44 Sectional finals at Bowsher No. 5 Clyde vs. Port Clinton, 5:30 p.m. No. 1 Toledo Central Catholic vs. Fostoria, 7:30 p.m. District semifinals at Millbury Wednesday, March 2 Teams TBD, 5:30 p.m. Teams TBD, 7:30 p.m. District final at Millbury Saturday, March 5 Teams TBD, 7 p.m. ASHLAND DISTRICT Sectional semifinals at Bucyrus Wednesday, Feb. 23No. 8 Mansfield Sr. 93, No. 9 Galion 45 Sectional finals at Bucyrus Friday, Feb. 25 No. 2 Shelby vs. Mansfield, 5:30 p.m. No. 11 Clear Fork vs. No. 3 Lexington, 7:30 p.m. Sectional semifinals at Willard Tuesday, Feb. 22 No. 1 Huron 68, No. 10 Vermilion 25 No. 4 Norwalk 42, No. 6 Bellevue 37 Sectional finals at Willard Friday, Feb. 25 No. 7 Ontario vs. Huron, 5:30 p.m. No. 5 Upper Sandusky vs.Norwalk, 7:30 p.m. District semifinals at Ashland Thursday, March 3 Teams TBD, 5:30 p.m. Teams TBD, 7:30 p.m. District final at Ashland Saturday, March 5 Teams TBD, 7 p.m. DIVISION III NORWALK DISTRICT Sectional semifinals at Monroeville Tuesday, Feb. 22 No. 12 Edison 51, No. 13 Lakota 34 Wednesday, Feb. 23 No. 4 Elmwood 79, No. 6 Crestview 61 No. 5 Oak Harbor 69, No. 9 Bucyrus Wynford 52 Sectional finals at Monroeville Friday, Feb. 25 No. 1 Colonel Crawford vs. Edison, 5:30 p.m. Elmwood vs. Oak Harbor, 7:30 p.m. Sectional semifinals at Hopewell-Loudon Tuesday, Feb. 22 No. 8 Seneca East 72, No. 8 Bucyrus 52 No. 10 Woodmore 61, No. 7 Van Buren 58 Sectional finals at Hopewell-Loudon Friday, Feb. 25 No. 1 Western Reserve vs. Seneca East, 5:30 p.m. No. 3 Willard vs. Woodmore, 7:30 p.m. District semifinals at Norwalk Thursday, March 3 Teams TBD, 5:30 p.m. Teams TBD, 7:30 p.m. District final at Norwalk Saturday, March 5 Teams TBD, 8 p.m. DIVISION IV WILLARD DISTRICT Sectional semifinals at Shelby Tuesday, Feb. 22 No. 10 Plymouth 53, No. 7 St. Mary CC 49 (OT) Wednesday, Feb. 23 No. 3 South Central 60, No. 13 Mansfield St. Peter's 26 No. 6 Danbury 67, No. 8 Mansfield Christian 49 Sectional finals at Shelby Friday, Feb. 25 No. 2 Lucas vs. Plymouth, 5:30 p.m. South Central vs. Danbury, 7:30 p.m. Sectional semifinals at Crestview Tuesday, Feb. 22 No. 5 Crestline 61, No. 9 St. Paul 54 No. 11 Buckeye Central 79, No. 12 New London 44 Sectional finals at Crestview Friday, Feb. 25 No. 4 Monroeville vs. Crestline, 5:30 p.m. No. 1 Margaretta vs. Buckeye Central, 7:30 p.m. District semifinals at Willard Tuesday, March 1 Teams TBD, 5:30 p.m. Teams TBD, 7:30 p.m. District final at Willard Friday, March 4 Teams TBD, 7 p.m.