CAREY — It was a historic night in the annals of Bucyrus boys’ basketball.
Malachi Bayless needed 13 points to become the first player in over 110 years of Redmen hoops to hit the 1,000-point mark.
Though the outcome of the game was not what Bayless, or his teammates, had hoped for, the Bucyrus senior got just what he needed to set a new Redmen scoring standard.
Carey jumped out to a 17-9 first quarter lead and never looked back en route to a 75-47 Northern 10 Athletic Conference win.
“They’re undefeated in the league for a reason,” Bucyrus coach Brian Hargis said of the Blue Devils. “They just play real fundamental. They did exactly what we thought they would do.”
Austin Niederkohr single-handedly outscored the Redmen in the first quarter, dropping in 10 of his game-high 24. Virtually all his points came at the rim. Niederkohr, though, had plenty of help the rest of the way.
“That’s how we normally play. We spread it around,” Carey coach Jamie Young said. “Carter (Smiley) is the only one scoring in double figures with 11. Any given night it could be somebody else and tonight it was.”
Given the circumstances, Bucyrus (1-8, 0-6 N10) stayed reasonably close at halftime when Demarius Munn-Page hit a 3-point shot at the buzzer to trim the deficit to 41-25 at intermission.
The focus then turned to Bayless’ historic accomplishment. With the Carey (8-3, 6-0) doing what most teams do — stop Malachi — his getting the 13 points he needed coming in was not a foregone conclusion. He got the final two points with under a minute left in the third quarter.
Even through an off-shooting night, Bayless did not waver. The senior persevered to reach the summit. After the game, he was still wrapping his mind around his accomplishment.
“I think the biggest thing I can say is it’s surreal,” Bayless said. “It does not seem real that I’m the first guy. Why me? I don’t understand why it came this way, but I am very grateful that I’m the first person to break the record.”
Even Young acknowledged the significance of Bayless’ historic night, tipping his cap to him.
“Congratulations to him,” Young said. “I thought we did a good job making him earn all 13 points. He took advantage of some steals and got some runouts, and if you score 1,000 points, you’re going to get to the line.”
His own coach noted that it was a weight lifted off Bayless and the team as well.
“There was kind of a monkey on the back dynamic, but I don’t think that’s affected our record,” Hargis said. “I don’t think Mali’s chase to 1,000 has put us at 1-8. The 1-8 is really self-inflicted.”
Bayless was relieved to reach the goal he has had since middle school and before.
“I told my dad when I was young, ‘I want to be the first boy (to score 1,000 points),’” Bayless said. “I had that mindset coming in. Coach (Barry) Egan gave me a good start to my career. He believed in me as a young freshman, real naïve. Other than that, I pushed myself.”
Young said he has become familiar with Bayless from the other sideline and his happy for him.
“I’m proud of him. I’ve watched him the last four years and you kind of get attached to some of these (opposing) kids as you see them grow,” Young said. “I know he’s an opponent, but that’s awesome for him to be the first in Bucyrus history.”
Bayless wants future Redmen to follow his lead and pass the 1,000-point mark.
“That’s what I’m hoping for. A lot of the guys on the team are saying, ‘I’m next, I’m next,’” Bayless said. “I love to hear that. I hope I’ve pushed them in a way they’ve never been pushed before.”
From here, Bayless wants to help his team salvage something from his senior year.
“That’s the biggest monkey off my back. I’m so glad it’s off. Now I can play free. I don’t care about how many points I score now — just win.”
As for this game, Butch Brodman scored 19 points in support of Niederkohr’s 24 for Carey. Smiley matched his season average with 11 points and Kyler Boes added 10. Dominic Yeater grabbed eight rebounds.
“They play under control, they get to the block,” Hargis said. “If they get to the block, it’s a problem. Low man won tonight. They’re a bunch of football players wearing basketball jerseys and a bunch of guys that know their roles.”
“We made an effort to go inside a little bit more,” Young said. “Anytime we can get points like that inside, it’s a big deal for us, because normally we’re guard oriented.
“Everybody on our team plays football,” he added. “You know our physicalness in football and it translates over.”
Noah Burke seconded Bayless’ 13 with nine points for the Redmen. Burke also had a game-high 10 rebounds. Munn-Page and Georgie Floyd had eight points each.
“We were six deep tonight (on the bench), so I believe a little bit of fatigue set in and that’s kind of been our MO in practice,” Hargis said. “Fatigue sets in and we start getting sloppy, doing uncharacteristic things.
“We’re just trying to get four quarters together,” he added. “I think there were a couple where the score didn’t reflect it, but the progression was there.”
Box score
Bucyrus 9 16 10 12 — 47
Carey 17 24 14 20 — 75
Stats
Bucyrus (1-8, 0-6 N10): Shots 15-52; 3-pt. shots 3-14 (Georgie Floyd 2, Demarius Munn-Page); Free throws 14-23; Rebounds 35 (Noah Burke 10); Turnovers 20. Scoring: Georgie Floyd 2 2 8, Demarius Munn-Page 2 3 8, Noah Burke 3 3 9, Jackson Farrar 2 1 5, Malachi Bayless 5 3 13, Tyrone Mass 1 2 4.
Carey (8-3, 6-0 N10): Shots 31-65; 3-pt. shots 4-15 (Carter Smiley 3, Kyler Boes 2, Sam Cole); Free throws 7-11; Rebounds 42 (Dominic Yeater 8); Turnovers 12. Scoring: Carter Smiley 3 2 11, Alexander Putnam 2 0 4, Kyler Boles 4 0 10, Butch Brodman 8 3 19, Austin Niederkohr 11 2 24, Dominic Yeater 1 0 2, Mitch Boes 1 0 2, Sam Cole 1 0 3.
JV: Carey 57-21.