BUCYRUS (Crawford County Now) — Colonel Crawford basketball rolled on at Bucyrus Friday night.

But to veteran Eagles coach David Sheldon, this game was more significant than just another victory in pursuit of a Northern 10 Athletic Conference championship.

Colonel Crawford shot 60 percent from the field overall and 47 percent from 3-point range to ease past the Redmen, 73-42, on Phil A. Joseph Court at Alex Kish Memorial Gymnasium.

While Sheldon noted that his team did its job, he acknowledged that the victory had a decidedly different vibe for him personally on this occasion.

It was the first boys’ game played since the passing of legendary Bucyrus coach Phil Joseph, the man for whom the court was named.

“This is the first (boys’) game since Phil (passed). He was so special,” Sheldon said. “In my four years here with him, with me and Todd Martin, there were so many great memories. It was a loss. It was bittersweet walking onto that court tonight.”

That did not deter the Eagles from taking care of business. Brayden Holt led the way with a game-high 21 points and post Payne DeGray had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

“We tried to get the ball out of Holt’s hands. If it got to the block with Payne, we were going to double him,” Bucyrus coach Brian Hargis said. “Just a few moments (lapse), they made us pay. They shot well from the arc. Coach Sheldon always gets them ready.”

Bucyrus (1-16, 1-10 N10) hung with the front-running Eagles briefly. The Redmen never led, but Demaris Munn-Page tied the game at 8-8 with a basket at 4:19 in the first quarter.

From there, it was all Colonel Crawford (15-1, 10-1), which went on a 16-4 run to the end of the first period for a 24-12 advantage. Holt registered 10 of his 21 points in the frame. The Eagles connected on 11 of 14 shots.

“He’s a special player,” Sheldon said of his junior sharpshooter. “A lot of the credit for that goes to his father (Ben). His father was a great coach. I’ve known him my whole career — seeing him when he played at Galion and also at his coaching stops.”

Ben coached Brayden his first two varsity years at Wooster Triway. Brayden scored his 1,000th career point last weekend.

“(Brayden’s) a gym rat. He’s the epitome of a gym rat,” Sheldon said. “He has earned all that because of the time in the gym. What people don’t realize is he leads the league in assists. He can distribute it too. A thousand points is good, but Brayden just wants to win.”

The lead expanded to 43-22 by halftime, with Colonel Crawford continuing its torrid shooting pace, hitting 19 of 26 attempts.

The Redmen were able to minimize their turnovers, a modest 15, against the Eagles’ relentless pressure.

“That was not a bright spot, but something we wanted to control,” Hargis said. “At crucial moments, we fell away from the defensive game plan.

“We cut some bad habit out, but then we repeated some of the same bad habits,” Hargis added.

Sheldon was happy with his team’s balanced scoring. John DeGray finished with 19 points and Logan Goddard had 11 to join Holt and Payne DeGray in double digits.

“The impressive thing for us is four guys in double figures,” Sheldon said. “There are just so many weapons out there. You share it. You try to double Holt, he finds people. You double Payne, he’s a great passer. We’ve got shooters around them.”

Georgie Floyd and Dylan Coppler led Bucyrus with 10 points each. Munn-Page, Coppler, and Lincoln Blizzard had three rebounds each.

“I told them these guys are better than us,” Hargis said. “We have no chance if we don’t, at the bare minimum, outwork them and we might have gotten one loose ball. That’s not a knock on our kids. They fought hard, they played hard. But I think Colonel Crawford won every loose ball. That’s a testament to the program they’ve got running over there.”

Sheldon agreed with Hargis’ assessment of the Redmen.

“The impressive thing for me about Bucyrus is they’re still playing hard coming into the last month of the season,” Sheldon said. “Those kids are playing hard and they’re young. They’re going to have everybody back. What they do in the offseason will dictate (success) — whether it’s in the weight room or the gym — to get better. I like the way they respond and play hard.”

Hargis thinks his team needs a few wins to keep the morale high.

“I’ve got a lot of tough-minded kids in there,” Hargis said. “Sometimes I think they are a little numb. We’ve just got to get a couple of wins under our belts before we go to the tournament.

“You want your kids to smile,” he added. “I love that team. It’s a project keeping them together because we’re going to be tough next year.”

The coach sees no time like the present to get started — Saturday night at rival Wynford.

“It’s on to Saturday,” Hargis said. “It’s the biggest game of the year for us. Revenge is sweet and we’re looking to dish it out at their place.”

Box score

Colonel Crawford       24       19      17      13 — 73

Bucyrus                       12       10      13         7 — 42

Stats

Colonel Crawford (15-1, 10-0 N10): Shots 31-52; 3-pt. shots 8-17 (Logan Goddard 3, Brayden Holt 3, Parker Weithman, Lucas Foy); Free throws 3-6; Rebounds 32 (Payne DeGray 10); Turnovers 8. Scoring: Logan Goddard 4 0 11, Parker Weithman 2 0 5, John DeGray 9 1 19, Lucas Foy 1 0 3, Brayden Holt 8 2 21, Dom Dean 1 0 2, Payne DeGray 6 0 12.

Bucyrus (1-16, 1-10 N10): Shots 18-41; 3-pt. shots 4-16 (Lincoln Blizzard 2, Georgie Floyd 2); Free throws 2-6; Rebounds 18 (Demaris Munn-Page 3, Lincoln Blizzard 3, Dylan Coppler 3); Turnovers 15. Scoring: Demarius Munn-Page 4 1 9, Lincoln Blizzard 2 0 6, Georgie Floyd 4 0 10, Dylan Coppler 5 0 10, Carson Witten 2 1 5, Da’Shawn Cosey 1 0 2.

JV: Colonel Crawford won.