BUCYRUS — Ridgedale coach Mike Mathey knew the formula for his team to defeat Bucyrus.
The only question was execution of the plan with a short bench.
The Rockets responded. They got off to an early lead and controlled the tempo of the game to hold off the Redmen, 43-32, in a Northern 10 Athletic Conference game at Alex Kish Memorial Gymnasium.
“That was the game plan going in,” Mathey said. “We knew that Bucyrus wants to get out and go and make it a full-court game and we were trying to make it a half-court game. I thought we were pretty successful doing that.”
Indeed, Ridgedale (3-11, 2-8 N10) did control the tempo most of the night. The Rockets held the Redmen to 32 points after they had scored 69 at Carey on Saturday. Each team attempted just 15 shots in the first half.
“Just when we thought we were turning the corner against Carey, we come out with this effort, at home,” Bucyrus coach Barry Egan said. “We seem to be more interested in what’s going on in the stands than we do on the floor and it’s sad.”
Ridgedale got off to a 9-0 start but Bucyrus (2-11, 1-9) scrambled back with six straight points by Mike Wise on a 3-point shot and a three-point play. However, the Redmen could never gain the lead.
The hosts got it to one — at 12-11 on a free throw by Karson Kimmel at 4:45 of the second quarter— but the Rockets scored the last five points of the frame to lead, 17-11 at halftime.
“We got that lead, we still stuck to our game plan,” Mathey said. “We took good shots on offense and we were able to run some clock doing it. I was proud of our kids the way they battled through tonight.”
Bucyrus pressed much of the game and forced 16 Rocket turnovers. But the Redmen were not able to capitalize on the miscues to their optimum value.
“We force a turnover and we come down and miss another shot,” Egan said. “That’s not how we planned it. That wasn’t part of the scouting report.”
Though creating seven turnovers in the first half, Bucyrus hit just four of 15 shots. The Redmen improved the shooting percentage in the second half, but so did Ridgedale.
The Rockets got a basket from Kaden Lester to start the second half, increasing their lead to eight at 19-11 and Bucyrus never got closer than six from there.
“They did enough to handle it,” Mathey said of his team. “(Bucyrus’) pressure was pretty decent and it turned us over at times. I didn’t see their heads go down here like this. They just stuck with it. We stayed in a zone and we were able to get timely rebounds out of the zone. I thought that was a big part of the game.”
Ridgedale eased out to a 32-21 lead after three periods and led by as many as 13, at 5:36 of the fourth, on a pair of free throws by Michael Burns. The Redmen cut it back to six, 36-30, at 3:29 on a basket by Nick Middleton but could get no closer.
“We didn’t get in a flow,” Egan said. “Our inability to execute on the defensive end and offensive end is — we let guys go straight line to the basket drives. A lot of their shots were offensive rebounds. Those are effort things this team has to do.”
The Rockets only had four players score, but three of them were in double figures. Lester led the way with 14 points, Burns had 11 points and 11 rebounds and Adam Beard added 10.
Wise had nine points to top Bucyrus. Malachi Bayless had eight points and five rebounds.
“This was a big win for us,” Mathey said. “It’s been a long year, especially dealing with COVID and having guys in and out. Give our kids credit. They found a way to grind it out and pull this one out.”
“There’s got to come a point in time where — our youth, I know, stands out,” Egan said. “But after a while, that gets a little old and I expect a little bit more out of our guys. I don’t think we got that tonight.
“Until we start finishing the ball and rebounding the ball, it’s going to be the same old, same old all the time,” he added.
Bucyrus gained a split on the night with a 44-39 win in the junior varsity game. Malachi Bayless led the Redmen with 13 points and Kolton Middleton finished with 12.
Kareem McGory had 11 points for Ridgedale, while Landon Murphy and Stephen Collins had eight each.
Box score
Ridgedale 9 8 15 11 — 43
Bucyrus 6 5 10 11 — 32
Ridgedale (3-11, 2-8 N10) Shots 15-31; 3-pt 3-10 (Kaden Lester 2, Adam Beard); Free throws 10-14; Rebounds 31 (Michael Burns 11); Turnovers 16. Scoring: Kaden Lester 5 2 14, Nathan Thiel 3 2 8, Michael Burns 4 3 11, Adam Beard 3 3 10.
Bucyrus (2-11, 1-9 N10): Shots 14-43; 3-pt. shots 1-12 (Mike Wise); Free throws 3-5; Rebounds 19 (Malachi Bayless 5); Turnovers 9. Scoring: Joe Rager 2 0 4, Karson Kimmel 0 1 1, Mike Wise 3 2 9, Jake Hamm 2 0 4, Nick Middleton 3 0 6, Malachi Bayless 4 0 8.
JV: Bucyrus 44-39.