BASCOM — Like a movie you’ve seen before, the ending is always the same.
The Bucyrus Redmen have played well in stretches but cannot sustain it for four quarters. This time the end was not just a loss, but the end of the season.
Taking on familiar Northern 10 Athletic Conference foe Seneca East, the Redmen had two scoring lapses of over three minutes each, allowing the Tigers to open an eight-point halftime lead and blow open a close game in the third quarter.
The result was a 72-52 Seneca East victory in the opening round of the Division III sectional tournament at Hopewell-Loudon High School.
The Tigers advance to play No. 2 seed Western Reserve in the championship game back at Hopewell-Loudon on Friday.
“In the second quarter, we missed five layups, two front ends of the one-and-one,” Bucyrus coach Barry Egan said. “Those are point that are on the board. Now the halftime is a different story. It’s been the story like that all year for us. We just don’t finish well at times.”
After falling behind 7-2 to start the game, Bucyrus (3-20) went on a 9-0 run to grab an 11-7 lead. The score was tied at 15-15 by period’s end.
“I think early, they had a little bit more energy than we did, as far as hitting the glass,” Seneca East coach Anthony Langhurst said. “It took a couple of possessions for us to realize that Bucyrus was here to play.”
The Redmen continued their steady play into the second quarter and were down just 24-23 following a pair of free throws by Joe Rager with 3:06 left in the period.
That’s when lapse number one hit. Bucyrus did not score another point to halftime. Seneca Eat (8-15) put up seven and had a 31-23 lead at intermission.
“In the first quarter, we ran offense and we started getting it to the open person,” Egan said. “We got good looks, got good ball reversal. We just can’t do it for an extended period of time.”
Bucyrus rallied with a 13-7 run to open the second half. Malachi Bayless hit a 3-point shot to make it 38-36, with 3:52 left in the third quarter.
But that was it for the Redmen for the period, and for all intents and purposes, the game. The Tigers took advantage to score the 12 points and open a 50-36 lead.
“They had a run in them,” Langhurst said of the Redmen. “The kids, when we were down, got together, took a deep breath, and we ended the quarter on a 12-0 run. That tells you what type of team they are when we had some adversity.”
“We had the ball, down two,” Egan said. “We shot it quick on a first pass. They got a runout after that. From there, it was just downhill.
“We stopped doing things that got us back in the game,” he continued. “With (Isaac) Mason at the point, you can’t let then get that kind of lead because he’s strong with the ball and gets everybody involved.”
Mason led all scorers with 30 points for the Tigers and grabbed 10 rebounds. Alex King and Aden Hines had 12 points each. Mason broke the single-season school scoring record of 645, previously held by David Jones with 630.
Mason also hit 11 of 12 free throws of the Tigers’ 20 of 23.
“It helps when your best free throw shooter is the one who always gets the contact,” Langhurst said. “We only missed a few free throws tonight. In a tight game, a tournament game, those buckets count.”
Bayless and Rager had 15 points each for the Redmen. Mike Wise and Bayless had five rebounds each.
With the loss, the careers of four Bucyrus seniors come to an end — Wise, Grady Jackson, Kolton Middleton, and Eddie Dagher.
“These four seniors are wonderful guys,” Egan said. “It’s going to be tough for parents to see other kids with their jersey numbers on. Grady, Mike, Eddie, and Kolton — you couldn’t ask for a better group. They are wonderful young men. The are going to be very successful in life.”
It also ends the 42-year career of coach Phil Joseph, who Egan referred to as a legend, a friend, and a good man.
“The kids are excited to play one more game,” Langhurst said. “I know (Western Reserve) Coach Sheldon from my when I was over at Monroeville in the Firelands. We know we’ve got our work cut out for us.”
Box score
Seneca East 15 16 19 22 — 72
Bucyrus 15 8 13 16 — 52
Seneca East (8-15): Shots 22-52; 3-pt. shots 8-23 (Alex King 3, Isaac Mason 3, Aidan Hines 2); Free throws 20-23; Rebounds 39 (Isaac Mason 10); Turnovers 11. Scoring: Graham Gibbs 0 1 1, Alex King 3 3 12, Isaac Mason 8 11 30, Aidan Hines 3 1 9, Kadin Snay 6 0 12, Blake Foos 2 2 6, Wyatt Young 0 2 2.
Bucyrus (3-20): Shots 20-56; 3-pt. shots 3-18 (Malachi Bayless 2, Mike Wise); Free throws 9-12; Rebounds 29 (Mike Wise 5, Malachi Bayless 5); Turnovers 14. Scoring: Eddie Dagher 0 2 2, Joe Rager 5 5 15, Mike Wise 5 1 12, Grady Jackson 4 0 8, Malachi Bayless 6 1 15.