GALION — At halftime Galion and Ontario were nearly deadlocked, with the visiting Warriors holding a slim 29-28 lead.
The second half was a totally different story.
“Our defense was the difference. We lost their guys in transition and when they ran those sets, we didn’t talk through it. We left a kid open, and he hit three 3s in a row,” Tigers head coach Ryan Stover said.
“That was huge right out of the quarter and that was the difference.”
The kid he referred to is Grady Schroeder, 5-10 junior guard, for Ontario. He scored 14 of his game-high 22 points in the third period and propelled the Warriors to a 78-55 Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference win here Friday night.
Gage Weaver added 13, Brady Zehe 11 and Grayson Purvis 10 for Ontario, which is rebuilding after finishing 8-14 and 6-8 last season.
Warriors head coach Tim Mergel was pleased with his squad’s showing.
“I thought we played a lot more unselfish. In the first half I thought we were a selfish basketball team,” Mergel said. “We drove into traffic and giving up deflections and kind of gift wrapping some points for them. It was a beautiful display of basketball in the second half.”
Ontario committed 12 turnovers to 8 for Galion.
Cooper Kent paced Galion with 19 and Elijah Chafin added 11. Kent added 5 rebounds.
“We really need guys to step up and commit and be better. I’m a little frustrated by that second half. That’s two games in a row,” Stover said.
“They worked their way through it. We didn’t battle as much in the second half. You can’t give Ontario 49 points in the second half and expect to try to win.
Kent and Chafin scored baskets in the third quarter to offset a 3 by Brady Zehe to make it 34-33. From there Schroeder took over and hit two 3s from the wing as Ontario built a 55-42 lead heading into the fourth.
“Give credit to Ontario. They did a great job in the second half and just wore us down. We didn’t rotate, and our defense was a little sluggish in the second half.”
Mergel said Galion is an aggressive team.
“They get two guys around you when you get a defensive rebound. Our whole thing is we want to bust out quick and play the numbers game,” he said.
“We knocked down some shots, but it takes a good pass to get that shot. Guys delivered the ball, and we were able to take high-percentage shots.”
Stover noted his team has battled illness.
“We’ve had some guys sick so just trying to get healthy. I would have liked to have been .500 after tonight. We have Highland on Tuesday and then Mount Gilead.”
“The MOAC is one of the toughest leagues in the state. It doesn’t matter who you play. We’re in a dogfight every night and we have to somehow manage to figure out how to get a win,” Stover said.
Mergel thinks his team’s defense is sound.
“Systematically we’ve had breakdowns, but we’re playing hard enough to cover those up right now, which I’m OK with. As long as you play hard and with effort that can cover up a lot of mistakes.”
Ontario goes to Norwalk on Saturday night.
“They’re going to be strong, well-coached and disciplined. So, it’s another tough one on the road,” he said.
“It’s a tough league and we’re trying to be at the top of it.”
Ontario prevailed 54-44 in the junior varsity game.
Wesley Roberts had 19 for the Warriors and Jaxon Manley and Jack Rinehart 11 apiece for the Tigers.
Box score
Ontario 16 13 26 23 — 78
Galion 17 11 14 13 — 55
Ontario (3-1, 3-1 MOAC): Shots 32-57; 3-pt. shots 11-15 (Grady Schroeder 6, Brady Zehe 3, Grayson Purvis 2); Free throws 3-9; Rebounds 25 (Bodgpegn 9); Turnovers 12. Scoring: Grady Schroeder 8 0 22, Jayden Leach 1 0 2, Grayson Purvis 4 0 10, Gage Weaver 6 1 13, Brady Zehe 4 0 11, Landon Fultz 1 1 3, Carter Weaver 3 0 6, Bodgpegn 2 0 4, Braxton Hall 3 1 7.
Galion (2-4, 1-3 MOAC): Shots 21-48; 3-pt. shots 4-8 (Cooper Kent 2, Quinn Miller, Elijah Chafin); Free throws 9-11; Rebounds 16 (Cooper Kent 5); Turnovers 8. Scoring: Coen Fuson 1 1 3, Elijah Chafin 3 4 11, Max Albert 2 0 4, Jackson Hart 3 1 7, Steven Glew 2 0 4, Cooper Kent 7 3 19, Quinn Miller 3 0 7.
JV: Ontario 54-44.