Tecumseh led 6-3 through the first two and a half minutes, but Springfield took the lead for good after Taylor stole the ball and scored on a one-handed slam with 4:34 left. He added another steal and dunk with about two minutes left to increase the lead to 17-10.
“Coach Carson is always telling us to keep up the defensive intensity, and we’ll win games,” Taylor said. “I just had to pick us up there. We were a little cold, and I think those couple of dunks helped get us going.”
Springfield led 23-13 at the end of the first and effectively put Tecumseh out of contention in the middle of the second. Michael McKay hit a 3-pointer and JaJuan Rodgers followed with two steals and layups to increase Springfield’s lead to 39-17. The ‘Cats led by at least 20 for the rest of the game.
Tecumseh committed 26 turnovers unofficially compared to seven by Springfield.
“We want to fly around on defense and defend at a high level, and I thought we did a pretty good job of that tonight,” Carson said. “It’s do-or-die time, and (Tecumseh’s) guys were ready. Nobody wants to go home, and I think our guys responded great after the first few minutes.”
Carson said reaching 100 career wins was a distant thought in his first few years at Springfield. The team won 11 games in his first two seasons, and he didn’t get his first tournament win until 2014.
“These guys are the reason why I’ve done this,” Carson said of his players. “These are great guys, and it’s great to see the people they’ve become. We just want to keep moving forward and continue to make our city proud.”
McKay led Springfield with 15 points, while Taylor added 14, all in the first half. Danny Davis scored 12 for Springfield, while Kris Harris came off the bench and added 10.
Clay Mastin led the Arrows with 13 points. He’s one of five underclassmen who played for Tecumseh (5-19).
“I think overall we did get better,” Tecumseh coach Roger Culbertson said. “We had a lot of up-and-down games. If our (returning) guys work in the offseason and put some time into it, we should be better for it.”
Springfield’s second-round game against West Carrollton on Tuesday will be at Centerville.
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