Tecumseh boys come from behind to defeat Chelsea 53-47 in TICWSS winter homecoming

Everything was going wrong in Tecumseh’s varsity boys basketball team’s winter Homecoming TICWSS (Tecumseh Indians Celebrate Winter Sports Season) game against Chelsea on Friday, the 13th of February, until the Indians took a halftime break and shook off their streak of bad luck.When returning to the court with a we-can-win-this attitude, Tecumseh overtook the visiting Bulldogs in the third quarter and protected its net in the final stanza to finish with a big 53-47 Southeastern Conference (SEC) victory.“We played with a lot of emotion in the second half,” said Tecumseh coach Scott Norkey. “I’m very proud of the guys. They could have folded very easily.”Norkey said the Indians went into the game looking to control the first three minutes of play but that didn’t go as planned. The Bulldogs apparently hadn’t forgotten they’d beat Tecumseh 49-30 in their previous game in December.“We thought the first three minutes of the game were the key,” said Norkey. “And, obviously, we didn’t play well the first three minutes. So, our goal was the same, play well the first three minutes of the second half, and we got the ball in the paint and got post touches. We were a lot more patient. We didn’t force things in that third quarter.”Chelsea jumped out to a 6-0 lead to start the game but Tecumseh closed the first quarter down by four points, at 12-8.The second quarter didn’t go any better for the Indians with the Bulldogs limiting them to eight points again while adding 13 to end the first half with a 25-16 advantage.During the halftime break, Tecumseh senior guard Evan Cadmus was crowned TICWSS king, which inspired him to come out and score the first basket of the second half. “He is our emotional leader,” Norkey said of Cadmus. “He’s probably, basketball wise, one of our smartest kids. I always say he’s going to be a coach someday.” After Chelsea hit its first bucket of the second half, Tecumseh’s Tom Mammel tossed in two more baskets and hit one-of-two free throws and Cadmus tagged another from inside the paint to pull the Indians within two points (27-25).Zach Watkins hit the first of two three point shots to follow and gave Tecumseh its first lead of the game (28-27) with 4:17 left in the third quarter.Mammel was a big factor in picking up the win, hitting yet another shot from the field to boost the Indians’ lead to 30-27.Watkins tagged his second three pointer of the quarter and Tecumseh was standing on a six point, 33-27 lead with the Bulldogs still unable to penetrate Tecumseh’s defense for a netter.Mammel rolled in his fourth two-point bucket of the quarter for a 35-27 Tecumseh lead before Chelsea finally put a ball through the net with 1:37 left in the third. Mammel scored Tecumseh’s final basket of the third quarter. The Indians slammed the net for 21 points while Chelsea was only allowed seven points to go into the final quarter leading 37-32.A layup by Noah Willett gave the Indians a 39-32 fourth quarter lead but Chelsea also hit a bucket to stay within five points of Tecumseh. A couple of free throw shots by Chelsea’s Alexander Vasquez in the fourth quarter pulled Chelsea within three points (39-36) of Tecumseh with 5:19 remaining in the game.Tecumseh’s Dylan Smith hit the net to boost Tecumseh’s lead to 41-36 but the ‘Dogs hit another shot to keep it a three point game (41-38). Right after the netter, Chelsea’s Cameron Cooper was called for a technical foul and the Indians sent Watkins to the charity stripe. He tagged four-of-four free throws to build the Indians lead to seven points at 45-38.Watkins was sent back to the free throw line a couple minutes later and hit two-of-two shots for a 47-38 Tecumseh advantage. Watkins finished the night with 17 points on three three-pointers and an eight-for-eight effort at the free throw line.“He has led us at free throws in a few games,” said Norkey. “Zach [Watkins] excels in these types of environments.”Cooper hit a three pointer to follow and pulled Chelsea back within five points (47-41) but Jimmy Terry was two-for-two at the free throw line to put the Indians back up by seven (49-41).Chelsea cut the gap to two points (49-47) with 40.4 seconds left in the game but the Bulldogs were not allowed any more points in the frame. Sam Benschooter went over the top of Chelsea’s Benjamin Kaemming for a two point layup only 10.4 seconds later to help close the door on the Bulldogs and Watkins finished all scoring from the free throw line.Mammel finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and two assists.“He’s coming into his own,” said Norkey. “He takes care of the ball. He’s a good player. He’s strong inside with great post moves.”The Indians followed with a 44-26 loss the next day at Onsted.Tecumseh was outscored 18-9 in the first half and 26-17 in the second half.Willett led Tecumseh with seven points and six rebounds.Tecumseh is now 6-8 overall and 3-5 in the SEC.