WILLARD (Crawford County Now) — The stat line tells only part of the story of all-Ohioan Brayden Holt.

It was a stellar performance as Colonel Crawford dispatched conference and county rival Wynford 77-40 Wednesday night in a Division VI district semifinal. The senior guard tallied 37 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, dished out 7 assists and had 4 steals at Robert L. Haas Gymnasium.

“We really talked about getting off to a good start,” Eagles head coach David Sheldon said. “With the previous two games we thought they might come out and hold the ball. We had some defensive pressure, but we didn’t want to start trapping or going crazy.”

Crawford took a 21-12 lead, as Holt outscored the Royals in the opening quarter.

“That defense turns into our offense. The first time they went box-and-one and tonight they went zone,” Sheldon said.

“That allowed Brayden to go to work, getting assists. He’s pretty good and he deserves all the accolades he gets.

“We were able to put it away by halftime (44-20).”

Payne DeGray added 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Tyler Lash contributed 9 points off the bench.

The Eagles hit 31-of-53 field goal attempts, Wynford connected on 14-of-41. The victors had just 4 turnovers to 9 for the Royals.

“He’s over 1,700 points for his career. People don’t understand that he creates for everybody else. The 4 turnovers tonight is because of the quarterback, the facilitator on the floor when he’s making decisions because of his high basketball IQ.”

No. 1 seed Colonel Crawford (21-2) advances to play third-seed Patrick Henry, a 69-26 winner over Toledo Christian, on Friday at 6 p.m. with a regional berth on the line.

“We’ve got a big one coming Friday,” Sheldon said.

The trademark CC defense was present, limiting the Royals to 20 second-half points.

“That’s the foundation for the 20 years I’ve been at Crawford. We take pride in guarding you every night,” he said. “We do that with our preparation. Then our kids go out and do it on game night.”

Wynford (7-17) was led by sophomore Drew Stanek with 11 points and 4 boards. Reed Johnson and Braylon Wells added 8 points each.

“Getting this experience for a young team is big,” Wynford head coach Adam Guinther. “The sectional win the other night. It’s steps; it’s a process. You hear coaches say that, but it really genuinely is.

“These kids did win quite a bit in junior high. But when you get on the court, mix grade levels and look at the experience level out there, that’s a tough thing to overcome sometimes.”

Colonel Crawford’s free throw shooting has been suspect at times, including 7-of-18 in this game.

“It’s a mental thing. We don’t talk about it. The guys know. Payne goes 3-for-3 tonight. Brayden is an 80% free throw shooter and he goes 2-of-5.”

Guinther said his team had a rough start.

“We wanted to be a little more physical inside early. We didn’t but we did it in the second half,” he said. “I’m very proud of them. It’s been a great step in the process.”

The second-year coach praised lone senior Jace Stuckman.

“He didn’t get a lot of playing time last year. I couldn’t ask for a better kid, he listens, absorbs and understands his role,” Guinther said. “At the end of the night I look and he’s got 4 or 5 rebounds. He kept some plays alive and he’s active.

“He’s going to be terribly missed.”

Getting post-season victories is common at Colonel Crawford.

“Last week we won our 15th sectional, and 13 of those 15 times we were in the district finals. I’m like guys, this is how it used to be back in the day when my father (Rob Sheldon) was coaching. Don’t take it for granted and know that there’s a bullseye on your back,” Sheldon said.

“We’ve got a tough opponent come Friday night, but you expect that in a district final. We’ve got our preparation done.”

Sheldon said as a one-seed the Eagles must play whoever is put in their bracket.

“We don’t get to choose. We love playing at Willard. We’ve been here and it’s 25 minutes away.

“Either of those teams are an hour and a half away and decided they’d come here for a 6 o’clock game Friday night.”

For Wynford, the future is bright with 6 sophomores who got varsity playing time.

“This year we had a motto, One Pride, everyone working together. Next year ours is No Excuses, Only Expectations,” Guinther said.

“I expect this team to challenge for a league championship and expect us to be in a district final. Anything less than that I’m going to be disappointed. These kids will work and listen. I don’t have to worry about that with them.”

Box score

Wynford                     12       8      18       2 — 40

Colonel Crawford    21     23      25       8 — 77

Wynford (7-17): Shots 14-41; 3-pt. shots 4-16 (Braylon Wells, Reed Johnson, Drew Stanek, Clay Rogers); Free throws 8-13; Rebounds 15 (Jaron Vance 6); Turnovers 9. Scoring: Braylon Wells 2 3 8, Jaron Vance 3 0 6, Reed Johnson 2 3 8, Troy Miller 0 2 2, Drew Stanek 5 0 11, Clay Rogers 2 0 5.

Colonel Crawford (21-2): Shots 31-53; 3-pt. shots 8-15 (Brayden Holt 5, Parker Weithman, Tyler Lash, Hayden Spears); Free throws 7-18; Rebounds 29 (Payne DeGray 13); Turnovers 4. Scoring: Parker Weithman 3 0 7, Peyton Baker 1 0 2, Tyler Lash 3 2 9, John DeGray 3 0 6, Brayden Holt 15 2 37, Carter Cramer 1 0 2, Hayden Spears 1 0 3, Payne DeGray 4 3 11.