Shawn Foster of Lima Senior slam dunks against Toledo Start during Friday’s game at Lima Senior High School.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
LIMA — Lima Senior took their foot off the gas in the fourth quarter on Friday night, and it nearly cost them a conference game.
Fortunately for the Spartans, two potential game-winning shot attempts from Toledo Start’s Eric Pierce and J’Siah Jefferson came up short, allowing Lima Senior (5-3) to hang on for a 64-63 win.
Start (6-5) cut the lead to one with 2:17 left after opening the fourth on a 15-4 run.
Lima Senior’s last eight points of the night came from Jagger Hutchins, who collected 18 in the game. He was the only Spartan to score in the final six minutes.
“We played not to lose in those last three minutes instead of playing to win. We didn’t make aggressive plays on either end and we gave them some momentum,” said Lima Senior coach Quincey Simpson. “Our guys need to understand that when we play these city league teams from Toledo, it’s personal. Those guys have been hearing about what we’ve done for years so they come in here and play with a chip on their shoulder.”
In a one-point game with 18.6 seconds left, Start got the ball back after two misses from Isaiah Wilson and called a timeout to set up the final play.
“I knew they were going to call two plays because they run a lot of quick hitters. I didn’t know which sets they were going to run, but I knew we needed to keep the ball out of the hands of number one (J’Siah Jefferson),” said Simpson. “We gave up an offensive rebound even though our guys did crash the glass. Fortunately for us, that shot at the buzzer fell short.”
Jefferson hit the front rim on his putback attempt. He finished with a game-high 24 points, but Start suffered its first conference loss of the season.
The two teams now hold an equal mark of 3-1 in Toledo City League play.
Lima Senior led 23-21 after one. The Spartans followed that up with a 22-point second quarter, starting with an 8-0 run.
Dashad Greer’s putback opened the second, then Shawn Foster scored on three straight trips down the floor over a span of 37 seconds.
The freshman guard threw down a one-handed slam and hit an off-balance layup to put Lima Senior up 10. Foster finished the night with 14 points, including a pair of first-quarter three-pointers.
“That run gave us a great spark,” said Foster. “It definitely helped us push the ball in transition, leading to buckets and stops on the other end.”
The rest of the second quarter belonged to Isaiah Wilson, who scored 12 of his 21 points in the frame, giving the Spartans a 45-34 halftime lead. Lima Senior also won the third quarter 9-8.
Toledo Start’s J’Siah and J’Khai Jefferson combined for 40 points and 16 of their team’s 26 field goals.
Overall Lima Senior connected on 48 percent of shots from the field (24 of 49), compared to 43 percent from Start (26 of 60). Start was more efficient from the free throw line, making 10 of 18, while Lima Senior hit six of 15.
Lima Senior 64, Toledo Start 63
Score by quarter
Toledo Start 21 13 8 21 – 63
Lima Senior 23 22 9 10 – 64
Toledo Start
J’Siah Jefferson 24, J’Khai Jefferson 16, Preston Edwards 8, Joseph Stallworth 7, Connor Miekle 4, Jalyn Brown 2, Eric Pierce 2, Total: 26-9-63.
Lima Senior
Isaiah Wilson 21, Jagger Hutchins 18, Shawn Foster 14, Jaeveon Walton 5, Kaden Hampton 3, Dashad Greer 2, Noah Simpson 1, Total: 25-6-64.
3-pointers: Start – Stallworth 1, J’Khai Jefferson. Lima Senior – Wilson 3, Foster 2, Hutchins 2, Hampton 1.
Records: Start 6-5, 3-1; Lima Senior 5-3, 3-1
