BUCYRUS — Still nursing the wounds of a 70-point loss to Colonel Crawford Friday night, Bucyrus had to face visiting Riverdale less than 24 hours later.
The young Redmen responded well — for a half.
Bucyrus went out to a 17-14 first-quarter lead and trailed by just three at halftime. But the Falcons exploded for 31 points in the third quarter and won going away, 84-44, Saturday afternoon at Alex Kish Memorial Gymnasium.
“The wheels not only came off, they were awfully flat, and I think we were very flat coming out in the second half,” Bucyrus coach Barry Egan said. “Against a team like that, it’s not a good thing.”
Halftime adjustments by Riverdale (6-3) proved effective in spades in the second half allowing the Falcons to take a 32-29 lead at intermission to a commanding 63-36 bulge after three quarters.
Notably, Lucas Kozinski, the backbone of the Redmen offense, scored 15 of his team-high 19 points in the first half.
“They did a nice job of pushing, pushing, pushing,” Riverdale coach Craig Taylor said. “We made a few adjustments at halftime and the kids responded, got some steals, got some layups.
“When (Kozinski) was driving, we just kept backing up, backing up, backing up,” Taylor continued. “Eventually, the rim is going to be there. At some point, you’ve got to put your feet in the ground and stop. He did a nice job, he’s a nice player.”
The Redmen seemed energized and jumped out to a 7-2 lead to start the game. The Falcons responded with six points from Logan Frey to take a 10-9 lead. But Kozinski and Grady Jackson each scored to give Bucyrus (0-8) the 17-14 advantage after one.
Bucyrus stretched the lead to 24-18 on a basket by Mike Wise at 5:45 of the second, but the Redmen were held to three points over the final 3:40 of the half permitting the Falcons to ease past them to a 32-29 lead at intermission.
But the third quarter was the game-changer. Riverdale scored the last 19 points of the frame to go from a 44-36 lead to 63-36. Bucyrus had zero rebounds in the period and Kozinski was held scoreless.
“We were flat feet and we always say, ‘Flat feet will get you beat,’” Egan said. “We got beat on a number of back cuts. They did a little run-and-jump. Instead of our guys curling up behind the jump, they ran down the floor with their backs to the basketball and that’s not a good thing.”
“A quick shot is as good as a turnover if they miss it,” Taylor said. “If we keep doing it, wear them down, eventually their shots are going to be short because their legs won’t be there. We like to use our rotation to wear people out. It fortunately worked in the second half.”
Seven Falcons scored in the final quarter as they kept their foot on the gas to register 21 more points and went home with the 40-point win.
Brock Davis matched Kozinski for game-high honors with 19 points for Riverdale. Coby Miller had 15 and Andrew Kuenzli added 12. Davis also grabbed 10 rebounds.
Nick Middleton seconded Kozinski’s 19 with eight points for Bucyrus. Jackson finished with seven points and six rebounds.
“We would like to think we’re an equal-opportunity team,” Egan said. “We’ve never gotten on anyone about shooting the ball. We’ve got guys who catch the ball and don’t even look at the basket. We’ve got to have other guys shoot the ball, have guys to be able to take the ball to the basket. We’ve got to be able to use our athletic ability better than we do.”
“Sometimes, we fall in love with the 3,” Taylor said. “But the last couple of games, they haven’t been falling. We work every day on catching and attacking. That’s part of our quickness. We’re setting a lot better screens now. That’s good to see.”
“It’s a perfect example of a group that needs to be a little bit more seasoned and need to keep playing together,” Egan said. “We want to know where their heart is. They’ve had a great attitude all year and their effort has been pretty good too. We need to use that effort to a purpose.”
Riverdale also won the junior varsity game, 53-29. Mitchell O’Flaherty led the Falcons with 13 points and Nolan Courtney had 10. Kolton Middleton topped Bucyrus with 12 points and Brady Rankins finished with eight.
Box score
Riverdale 14 18 31 21 — 84
Bucyrus 17 12 7 8 — 44
Riverdale (6-3): Shots 37-63; 3-pt shots 3-9 (Andrew Kuenzli 2, Coby Miller); Free throws 7-12; Rebounds 41 (Brock Davis 10); Turnovers 14. Scoring: Jackson Clark 3 0 6, Max Morris 1 0 2, Drew Frey 2 0 4, Coby Miller 7 0 15, Andrew Kuenzli 4 2 12, Thomas Miller 1 0 2, Wyatt Price 1 0 2, Logan Frey 4 1 9, Trysten Mix 3 1 7, Isaac Holland 3 0 6, Brock Davis 8 3 19.
Bucyrus (0-8): Shots 19-50; 3-pt. shots 2-15; Free throws 4-7; Rebounds 22 (Grady Jackson 6); Turnovers 23. Scoring: Lucas Kozinski 8 3 19, Zach Delaney 1 0 2, Mike Wise 3 0 6, Grady Jackson 3 1 7, Nick Middleton 3 0 8, Gabe Higginbotham 1 0 2.
JV: Riverdale 53-29.