BUCYRUS — When Bucyrus and Colonel Crawford met the first time this season, it was all Eagles as the Redmen were routed 68-22. Saturday’s rematch at Alex Kish Memorial Gymnasium was decidedly different.
Bucyrus shot the ball well from the field — hitting 50 percent from 3-point range — and limited turnovers. Colonel Crawford still prevailed, 69-53, to remain unbeaten in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference and on the season.
“They always play well on their home floor,” Colonel Crawford coach Davis Sheldon said. “We weren’t very good defensively tonight. It’s something we’ve got to address. But hats off to Bucyrus. They went six of 12 from 3 and they’re shooting 20 percent for the year.”
After the Eagles ran off the first five points of the game, the first quarter saw the game tied three times — at 5-5, 7-7, and 10-10 — and Colonel Crawford (14-0, 9-0) held on to an 18-15 lead after one.
Bucyrus (3-9, 1-8) was six of 13 from the field in the frame, including a pair of 3s by Malachi Bayless.
The Redmen cooled off in the second quarter, letting the Eagles push the advantage to 34-20 by halftime. Carter Valentine had seven for Colonel Crawford and Mason Studer had six.
Offensive rebounds were a big part of the difference, according to both coaches.
“Our goal from the onset was to match their intensity,” Bucyrus coach Barry Egan said. “The kids gave a great effort. But that team’s pretty good and when you give up as many offensive rebounds as we did, it just makes the job even tougher.”
“We got 19 offensive rebounds,” Sheldon said. “Our offense was fine tonight. To score 69 points — we get 19 offensive rebounds, we got the shots we wanted, and we had three guys in double figures. With (their) zone, it allows us to go get it off the glass.”
Colonel Crawford essentially put the game away in the third quarter, outscoring Bucyrus, 18-12, to push the lead to 52-32 by period’s end.
Even though the Redmen were again six of 13 from the field, Egan saw lost opportunities to score, including going five of 12 from the free throw line.
“We missed some shots in the key,” Egan said. “It seems to be our Achilles’ heel. There’s got to come a time we make those shots. If we don’t make them, we’re going to continue to have the same outcome.
“Our kids are better free throw shooters than that,” he added. “We’ve just got to make shots.”
By contrast, the Eagles made 13 of 14 free throws.
“They got to the line. They just went five for 12,” Sheldon said of the Redmen. “Those are freebies. You just have to step up and knock them down any chance you can, and we shot them well tonight.”
Bucyrus trimmed four points off the deficit in the fourth quarter, but never seriously threatened.
Valentine had a monster night with 29 points and 10 rebounds. Braxton Baker had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Studer ended with 12 points.
“The worst thing about Valentine is he’s so big in the fourth quarter,” Egan said. “He doesn’t shrink any. But you know, Mason makes the difference. Grady (Jackson) did an admirable job on him, but Mason gets the ball to everybody else in a shooting position — they can just catch and shoot. He doesn’t throw bad passes. He knows where everybody is on the floor. Inevitably, he’s going to do what he does.”
Mike Wise led the Redmen with 16 points, while Bayless had 15 points and five rebounds.
“With our length, we held them to one shot,” Sheldon said. “As good as we were on the offensive glass, we did a great job on the defensive glass. That allows us to get out in transition, to run, to get open looks.”
We’re getting good shots,” Egan said. “I thought we did a good job of reversing the ball and getting it down in the paint to Jake (Hamm) a couple of times. We’ve got to keep fighting and getting better.”
Colonel Crawford also won the junior varsity game, 50-30. Ethan Holt had a game-high 18 points and Tyler Smith added 12. Jackson Farrar had six for Bucyrus.
Box score
Colonel Crawford 18 16 18 17 — 69
Bucyrus 15 5 12 21 — 53
Colonel Crawford (14-0, 9-0 N10): Shots 24-58; 3-pt. shots 8-25 (Braxton Baker 3, Mason Studer 2, Derek Horsley, Nolan McKibben, Carter Valentine); Free throws 13-14; Rebounds 37; Turnovers 6. Scoring: Mason Studer 5 0 12, Ethan Holt 1 0 2, Derek Horsley 2 0 5, Braxton Baker 4 4 15, Nolan McKibben 1 0 3, Carter Valentine 10 8 29, Carson Feichtner 1 1 3.
Bucyrus (3-9, 1-8 N10): Shots 21-42; 3-pt. shots 6-12 (Malachi Bayless 3, Mike Wise 2, Joe Rager); Free throws 5-12; Rebounds 20 (Malachi Bayless 5); Turnovers 11. Scoring: Eddie Dagher 1 0 2, Joe Rager 3 3 10, Mike Wise 6 2 16, Grady Jackson 3 0 6, Jake Hamm 2 0 4, Malachi Bayless 6 0 15.
JV: Colonel Crawford 50-30.