MORRAL — Bucyrus had been making incremental progress, especially on offense, over the past few weeks.
Friday night, the Redmen took a step backward.
Ridgedale raced out to a 10-0 lead and built a 19-point first-quarter lead in cruising to a 65-41 Northern 10 Athletic Conference victory over Bucyrus.
“It seems like every time we take steps forward, we’re taking steps back,” Bucyrus coach Barry Egan said. “Obviously (Ridgedale) shot the ball well and we certainly didn’t put much of a defense up against it.”
The Rockets torched the nets early on, hitting 11 of 15 shots in the first quarter in building a 25-6 bulge. Ridgedale (4-8, 2-6 N10) finished the game hitting 28 of 48 attempts.
Alec Gordon contributed six points in the first quarter and shared scoring honors with teammate Clayton Lust with 15 points in his first full varsity game since returning from injury.
“We certainly missed (Alec) and it was a blessing to have him on the court tonight,” Ridgedale coach Mike Mathey said. “You saw what he was able to do. He’s another big body, he can finish around the rim. He plays hard and he can guard another team’s big guy.”
On the other side, Bucyrus (1-13, 1-8) struggled out of the gate, hitting just five of 20 shots in the first half and the Redmen found themselves trailing, 37-15, at intermission.
“We have very little room for error and if we don’t come ready to play, then this is the exact result we get,” Egan said. “And it’s just a shame because I think our kids are better than this. But until we learn to knock that wall down and come to play every night, this is the exact same result we’re going to get.”
Defensively, the Rockets held the Redmen’s leading scorer, Lucas Kozinski, to seven points.
“He’s been averaging 16 points a game for the seven of eight games he’s been playing,” Mathey said. “He was a focal point for sure. Alec Gordon did a good job when he was on him, Michael Burns played him tough. We stuck to the game plan, we played hard and we made them take difficult shots.”
The second half saw modest improvement to Bucyrus’ shooting percentage, but the damage had been done. By midway through the fourth quarter, the benches had been cleared for both teams.
Nick Middleton led the Redmen with 11 points, while Mike Wise added 10 points and five rebounds.
Adam Beard scored 14 points in support of Lust’s and Gordon’s 15 each for the Rockets. Sam Leach added 11 points and Burns grabbed 11 rebounds.
“Michael’s got them doing good things. He’s a very good coach,” Egan said of his Ridgedale counterpart. “His kids respond well to him. I’m not taking anything away from them at all. They just came out and thumped us. I just thought our guys would put up more of a fight than that. And there, in part, lies my disappointment.”
“I was telling them right from the opening tip. ‘We’ve got to be ready to play,’” Mathey said. “They responded. It was 8-0 and (Bucyrus) had to call a timeout right away. We just played very well from the beginning all the way to the end.”
Bucyrus earned a split on the night with a 43-27 win in the junior varsity contest.
Brady Rankins had a game-high 13 points to lead the Redmen, while Ethan Powers and Spencer Huff added eight each. Lucas Harbolt and Kyle Jolliff had six points apiece to top Ridgedale.
Box score
Bucyrus 6 9 15 11 — 41
Ridgedale 25 12 18 10 — 65
Bucyrus (1-13, 1-8 N10): Shots 14-38; 3-pt. shots 4-10 (Nick Middleton 2, Lucas Kozinski, Mike Wise); Free throws 9-13; Rebounds 22 (Mike Wise 5); Turnovers 17. Scoring: Lucas Kozinski 3 0 7, Joe Rager 0 1 1, Zach Delaney 1 0 2, Mike Wise 2 5 10, Grady Jackson 2 1 5, Nick Middleton 4 1 11, Jake Hamm 2 1 5.
Ridgedale (4-8, 2-6 N10) Shots 28-48; 3-pt 7-10 (Clayton Lust 2, Adam Beard 2, Sam Leach, Alec Gordon, Michael Burns); Free throws 2-6; Rebounds 27 (Michael Burns 11); Turnovers 12. Scoring: Clayton Lust 6 1 15, Sam Leach 5 0 11, Alec Gordon 7 0 15, Preston Long 1 0 2, Kaden Lester 0 1 1, Michael 3 0 7, Adam Beard 6 0 14.
JV: Bucyrus 43-27.