GALION — Entering Tuesday night, Galion sophomore Cooper Kent, who missed a good portion of the early part of the season, averaged a little more than nine points per game.
Kent went off against the Bucyrus Redmen.
The sophomore made 11 of 12 free throws for the game, and finished with 30 points, as the Tigers came from behind to beat the Redmen, 71-63.
With the win, Galion improved to 4-13 on the season while Bucyrus fell to 3-15.
Kent’s 30 points were the second-highest total by a Galion sophomore in school history. And the modest young man was quick to credit his teammates for the performance.
“My teammates just found me,” Kent said. “On that one lob, Hudson Miller looked like a quarterback, I mean, I looked like a receiver, and I went up. I mean, all my teammates get me the ball.”
Kent said that the win was critical for the Tigers.
“Really big because we have been improving lately, but we haven’t been winning, so it hasn’t been showing,” Kent said. “This win will really help boost our confidence.”
Galion coach Ryan Stover said that the effort was the culmination of a season of work.
“The kid can shoot, I mean, he can score,” Stover said of Kent. “He’s a sophomore and he went through his battle scars, but in a rivalry game, he showed up and played really well.
“(The game) just shows his character and how well he’s worked,” Stover said. “Obviously, he missed the first half of the season. He’s finally figured it out. I’m proud of that kid.”
Bucyrus coach Barry Egan said that his squad was well-aware of the Galion sophomore.
“We told the guys on our scouting report, (Kent) was one of the guys that was going to shoot the ball,” Egan said. “No excuse for us not finding guys in transition. That’s been an Achilles heel for us. We work on it in practice all the time and we just don’t put it in fruition during the game.”
The Redmen held a 53-51 lead, entering the fourth quarter but Kent and Miller each opened the frame with a pair of free throws, giving the Tigers a 55-53 lead.
Bucyrus guard Malachi Bayless hit a 3-point shot, tying the game at 56-56 with 5:27 left before Kent drove into the lane, scored, and was fouled. He hit the free throw and the Tigers held a 59-56 advantage.
Jaxon Oswald hit two free throws and Kent added two more free throws, giving Galion a 63-56 lead with 2:10 left in the game.
Kent added three straight breakaway baskets down the stretch to seal the win. He scored 14 points in the fourth period.
On the night, Galion made 24 of 31 free throws, to just eight of 12 for the Redmen.
“Most of our points were free throws in the fourth period, so credit to our guys for shooting free throws every day and it’s showing,” Stover said. “We’re coming around and that’s huge for us to get our fourth win.”
Egan said that the Redmen losing the lead in the final frame has become a trend. Bucyrus did lose starters Joe Rager and Jake Hamm to fouls in the final frame.
“I think a lot of that was, instead of being over and not stopping dribble drives,” Egan said. “And, instead of being on help side to stop the dribbler, we did a lot of reaching and we lost Jake and we lost Joe, and we just can’t lose two quality starters like that.”
Bayless led Bucyrus with 22 points. Mike Wise scored 10 of his 13 points in the first period as the Redmen held a 21-14 lead after one period. Hamm finished with 11.
“We picked up our intensity,” Stover said when asked what adjustments he made in the first period. “I thought we were a little bit flat to start, we were chasing defensively, and they were coming off screens. We fixed that during a timeout and then at halftime we really fixed it and we came out and played a much better game defensively in the second half.”
“We answered some of their runs,” Egan said. “It was back-and-forth, and you have to give credit to them. They hit free throws when they had to, and they made a good adjustment with the zone.”
Galion made 22 of 44 shots from the floor for 50 percent, to 24 of 56 for Bucyrus.
“Our kids are fighting and they’re doing their best,” Egan said. “I thought our bench did a really good job. We just have to play better.”
Bucyrus sophomore Kameron Lewis hit a 3 with one second left to give the Redmen a 46-43 win in the junior varsity game. Lewis led the Redmen with 14 points Blayne Stewart-Barto scored 13 and Kavan Combs scored 12. Tyson O’Brien and Seth Monk scored nine for Galion.
Box score
Bucyrus 21 13 19 10 — 63
Galion 14 16 21 20 — 71
Bucyrus (3-15): Shots 24-56; 3-pt. shots 7 (Malachi Bayless 4, Mike Wise 2, Joe Rager); Free throws 8-12; Rebounds 27; Turnovers 16. Scoring: Joe Rager 3 2 9, Mike Wise 4 3 13, Grady Jackson 2 0 4, Jake Hamm 5 1 11, Malachi Bayless 8 2 22, Dylan Lanker 1 0 2, Noah Burke 1 0 2.
Galion (4-13): Shots 22-44; 3-pt. shots 3 (Jaxon Oswald, Rece Payne, Cooper Kent); Free throws 24-31; Rebounds 20; Turnovers 10. Scoring: Jaxon Oswald 3 2 9, Rece Payne 4 0 9, Steven Glew 4 0 8, Garrett Ison 0 5 5, Cooper Kent 9 11 30, Hudson Miller 2 6 10.
JV: Bucyrus 46-43.