Madison committed 16 turnovers in the game, and had two critical ones in the final quarter, according to coach Jeff Smith.
One came with 3:29 remaining as Madison had a chance to take the lead again, but the Tigers’ trapping defense forced an errant pass right into the arms of Darryl Smith, who went the other way for the easy layup.
“We were trying to disguise our defense and I really didn’t expect to get a steal on that play,” Stivers coach Eric Bradley said. “It’s funny how things work out sometimes. That could have been the biggest play of the game.”
Stivers (2-4) played steady despite not having its best player — Brooklyn Bradley — for a fourth straight game because of a concussion.
“I think the key was that we sustained our effort,” Eric Bradley said. “When you lose your go-to guy, others have to step up and make big plays. I saw that tonight.”
Freshman point guard Robert Caldwell was one of those who stepped up, finishing with a game-high 21 points. Khris Toney added 14 points and Ronald Frost chipped in 11 for Stivers.
The Mohawks had a chance to tie the game, but a desperation 3-point attempt by Josh Foster hit the rim and bounced out as the buzzer sounded.
“It’s very disappointing to not have a chance to win our own tournament,” Smith said. “But there are four good teams here and I thought coming in that any of them could win it.
“We just didn’t play well,” he continued. “We got off to a bad start, but we weathered the storm and I thought we played better in the second half. We just needed to make a couple of plays late in the game and didn’t. We need our better players to step up more.”
The loss was the first for the Mohawks at home in 18 games, dating back to January 2008, Smith said.
Madison will play Middletown Christian in the consolation game at 6 p.m. today, while Stivers will meet Reading in the title game at 7:30 p.m.
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2852 or sweaver@coxohio.com.
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