MANSFIELD – Usually when you kick the hornet’s nest, things don’t end well.
Well, that is unless you’re BC High’s Travis Evee. The senior captain caught fire in the second half, scoring a game-high 34 points to give the Eagles a major 73-64 road victory over Mansfield.
“We know what we’re coming down to,” Eagles coach Bill Loughnane said after. “It’s not called the ‘Hornets Nest’ for no reason. (Mansfield) is a tough team no matter where you play them. We told the guys that it’s basically a game where we could see where we are. We’re going against one of the best teams in the state. Where are we? What are we? What are we going to be this year? And the kids responded pretty well.”
It was a statement victory for BC High. But it was by no means easy, especially early.
Down with 11 seconds remaining in the first half, the Eagles (4-1) drew up a play for Mike Vasil, who hit a buzzer-beating three to tie things up at 36-all. At that point, Evee had been held in check by the Hornets, only posting 10 points.
“It’s funny, he was sitting on the bench to start the second half,” Loughnane said. “And I looked at him and said: ‘I’ve got a feeling you’re going to get hot.’ He just had that look about him.”
Loughnane’s instincts proved correct.
The Eagles would open the third quarter on an 11-0 run, a sequence which would decide the contest. Evee would go on to score 20 points in the second half alone, while also going 13 of 15 from the free-throw line to put the game on ice.
“It was my teammates,” Evee said. “They were giving me great looks. They told me to just keep shooting the ball. Just keep shooting. And I trust them, they trust me to keep shooting it, and I trust in myself. I got some of them to fall in the second half.”
BC High also got contribution from senior Matt Thompson, who poured in 12 points himself.
Mansfield (4-1) was propelled by John McCoy, who drained 21 points on the night. Justin Vine chipped in 12 for the Hornets.
Free throw disparity would be Mansfield’s Achilles' heel. While BC High shot 83% (20 of 24) from the charity stripe, the Hornets meanwhile, despite being in the bonus for much of the second half, could only muster a 65% performance, going 15 of 23.
While the Eagles may have one of the more difficult schedules the rest of the season, Evee and his teammates believe that they have proved they belong in the upper echelon of schools.
“We’re here, and we’re going to fight the rest of the way,” Evee said. “We’re going to work our way into the playoffs, and we’re going to do damage when we get there.”
