MADISON TWP. — Mason Shrout took Saturday night and made it his night. But not without a little resistance.
The Preble Shawnee senior star was held in check by Madison’s stout defensive efforts in the first half before he exploded in the final two quarters to score a game-high 21 points and give the Arrows a 53-47 victory.
“We do what it takes. We do what it takes,” Shrout said to his teammates.
The Mohawks led for nearly 3 1/2 quarters of the non-conference game that has continued its rivalry status ever since the Arrows left the Southwestern Buckeye League for the Western Ohio Athletic Conference two years ago.
“This game goes deeper than just basketball,” Shrout said. “It’s every sport. Madison is always great competitors. I’m glad we came out on top. But this one was a dogfight.”
Shrout, a Purdue Fort Wayne commit who leads the WOAC with 24.1 points a game, scored just five before the break. Madison had an 11-9 lead after one quarter when Grady Combs hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer and a 21-19 advantage at halftime.
Madison supplied a box-1 defense all game to key on Shrout, who scored 16 in the second half. He hit three 3-point shots within a two-minute span down the stretch to rip the momentum away from the Mohawks, who fell to 3-7.
“Even though they’re not in the league, I’ve enjoyed coaching against Shrout,” Madison coach Shane Richardson said. “That’s what I told him after the game. It’s been fun. He’s a generational player. I had the privilege of doing what I could do as a coach to try and to stop him.”
“He’s a very special kid,” Preble Shawnee coach Jake Turner added before smiling. “I’m glad we have him.”
Combs said the Mohawks were a couple rebounds away from winning. The junior guard finished with a team-high 16 points.
“Coming into this one, we were super confident. We wanted to shock the world,” Combs said. “It’s kind of been our motto. We held with it. Mason is a phenomenal player who got the best of us.”
Aiden Grooms (9 points), Drew Whisman (8), Zane Sproat (6) and Jaylin Pendleton (6) contributed offensively for Madison.
“The grit, the toughness — our kids battled,” Richardson said. “Make no mistake, that’s a good team over there. They’re well-coached. Their record shows it. Their previous runs show it. I was proud of both groups after this one. They play just as hard as we do.
“It’s a shame somebody had to lose this one. I’d rather it be Preble Shawnee.”
THE TAKEAWAY
Madison didn’t play according to what its record indicates on Saturday. The Mohawks endured a five-game losing streak before picking up a dominant 53-36 win against Valley View on Friday.
“I’m a big statistical guy,” Richardson said. “Early on this season, we kind of got some injuries and our confidence got kind of low. But we’ve been able to speed our game up a little bit. We’ve been able to finish our offensive possessions a lot better recently — when early on that was an issue.”
STILL PERFECT
Preble Shawnee is still undefeated, sitting at 10-0. The Arrows were recently tested in a 62-56 win over Valley View before coming into Madison.
The Arrows have won five straight against the Mohawks.
“You’ve got to throw the records out the door,” Turner said. “Anybody can beat anybody. I was proud of them tonight. We were down the majority of the game. We kind of looked out of it on offense and defense in the first half. We came together and changed what we were doing in the second half, and we got some better shots.”
UP NEXT
Both teams hit the road on Tuesday. Preble Shawnee travels to Ross, and Madison is at Carlisle.
