ASHLAND — The Division II Ashland district tournament lived up to its reputation as a meat grinder during last week’s sectionals.
Four of the top five seeds advanced, but the road to Ashland was anything but smooth.
Top-seeded Sandusky (22-1) will meet No. 5 Mansfield Senior (17-7) in the lidlifter of Thursday’s district semifinal doubleheader at Ashland’s Arrow Arena at 6 p.m. No. 2 Shelby (20-3) will take on No. 3 Lexington (19-4) in the nightcap.
Sandusky, which was ranked fourth in Division II in the final Associated Press state poll, won its 18th straight game, but it didn’t come easy. The Blue Streaks beat Perkins for a third time 67-60 behind 22 points from guard De’Mar Moore Jr.
Mansfield Senior punched its ticket to the district with a 64-59 win over No. 4 seed Bellevue in the sectional championship game at Bucyrus. Nathaniel Haney led the charge with 23 points while Ja’Ontay O’Bryant and Karion Lindsay each had 10. That win came on the heels of a 72-56 victory over No. 9 Norwalk in the sectional semifinals in which five Tygers reached double figures in the scoring column.
The action was even more exciting at the Madison sectional, where the Whippets knocked off No. 7 Ontario 70-48. Junior forward Alex Bruskotter scored his 1,000th career point in the win, which was the third of the year over the short-handed Warriors.
Lex dodged a bullet in its 58-56 win over No. 6 Willard. Freshman Brayden Fogle broke a 54-54 tie with a steal and dunk, then hit a pair of critical free throws to seal it.
Both semifinal games are rematches of regular season games. Sandusky beat Senior High 79-74 at Pete Henry Gym on Feb. 4, while Lex held off Shelby 66-59 on Feb. 14.
Thursday’s semifinal winners will meet for the district title at 4 p.m. Saturday at Arrow Arena.
Division III
Second-seeded Crestview is in the district tournament for the second time in three years after knocking off No. 4 Genoa 58-53 in the Monroeville sectional final.
The Cougars (21-1) will take on No. 3 Huron at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Norwalk. Huron advanced with wins over Lake and Northwood in the sectional.
Fifth-seeded Margaretta will play No. 1 Cardinal Stritch in the late game at Norwalk. The winners of the semifinal games will return to Norwalk for a district championship game at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Division IV
The small-school district tournament tips off at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Willard’s Robert L. Haas Gymnasium when top-seeded Colonel Crawford (16-7) takes on upstart Norwalk St. Paul (11-13).
The seventh-seeded Flyers sprung a pair of upsets in last week’s sectional tournament at Shelby, beating No. 4 Mansfield Christian and No. 6 Danbury. Colonel Crawford coasted to its 12th straight sectional title with a 55-30 win over No. 10 Sandusky St. Mary.
Second-seeded Lucas will take on No. 5 Monroeville in Tuesday’s late game at Willard. The Cubs (20-4) pounded No. 14 St. Peter’s 64-28 in the sectional semifinals before throttling No. 13 New London 59-28 in the sectional final.
Tuesday’s winners return to Willard at 6 p.m. Friday for the district championship game.
