The fire alarm went off at South before the varsity tipoff between the Rebels and Mayfield on Jan. 14. The second-half performance between the two almost set it off again. With Angelo Newman having a double-digit showing in the third for the Wildcats and Max Hart and Cardier Johnson hitting clutch shots for the Rebels. Hart’s 3-pointer made it a three-point game with under a minute left. But free throws by Andre Avery and Newman put the game out of reach for a 57-51 Mayfield victory. The Wildcats improve to 2-8 on the season, and South falls to 4-9. Mayfield started down, 9-2, and had to use a quick timeout. The Wildcats found their offense and slowly started to chip away. Multiple times they got within a possession or two during the second quarter, but Mo Al-Rousan would score before and after a turnover. Or Hart would hit a corner 3-pointer and push the lead back up. Coach Will Brand knew there weren’t going to be many changes . “It was more about us worrying about missing shots and stuff like that,” Brand said. “We just had to focus on rebounding and playing defense. That’s been our focus for the last two weeks. Everything else will fall in line. Scoring comes naturally to some. So if we worry on those other things, we make winning plays doing those type of things.” The early struggles for Mayfield also came with an off night from leading scorer Izzy Austin, who had just six points. But Newman was ready for the challenge. He had nine points in the first half to lead the start of the rally for Mayfield. But his third quarter pushed Mayfield to the lead. He had 14 points in the third with a pair of 3-pointers as well. The only thing he missed was a free throw in the frame. “I was just trying to get the ball to my teammates, and they (South) were trapping off of the weak side,” Newman said. “That left me open for shots. So I just needed to attack and finish from there.” Mayfield led, 45-38, going to the fourth but had to grind out the end of the game as South clawed its way back in. Down nine, Johnson hit a 3-pointer for the Rebels with just under two minutes left. Hart followed that up with a 3 that made it 54-51. The Wildcats had issues late with turnovers and defensive rotation creating open shots. “We needed to stay calm and stay poised,” Newman said. “Obviously, it’s a battle. Sometimes you just need to take a step back, take a breather and win the game.” But the Wildcats continued to battle and step up for its second win on the season. Players like Many Rogers and Avery stepped up after scoreless first half with big fourth quarters. Rogers hit a 3 that pushed the lead up and Avery’s two free throws after a foul put the game out of reach. “These last few weeks, we’re just tying to preach team,” Brand said. “We had a couple of great individual performances, but now we just need to put some things together and we’re still a team. There’s still a lot of work to do, and we’re focused on that.” Newman was the lone player for Mayfield in double figures with 27 points and was a rebound short of a double-double. South coach Doug Barber knew the fast start wasn’t going to be the nail in the coffin. It was going to be a battle all the way through. He is proud of the Rebels recovering from Mayfield’s run to open the third and continuing to battle back. “I thought we got good looks in the second half that just didn’t go down from beyond the arc,” Barber said. “We also didn’t shoot very well from the line. In a close game like that, that was the difference. I was proud of the effort. I thought we protected the basketball and didn’t turn it over. They just made a few more plays in the second half.” South was led by Al-Rousan and Hart, with 15 points each. Johnson finished with nine. Both sides remain in WRC play Jan. 17. Mayfield hosts Chardon, while South travels to Kenston. THE SCORE (JAN. 14) Mayfield 57, South 51