BUCYRUS — With no scrimmages for his team and the only game on his schedule having been postponed by coronavirus, Bucyrus coach Barry Egan got perhaps a coach’s worst-case scenario.
The Redmen had to take on one of the Northern 10 Athletic Conference preseason favorites, Carey, in their first live action.
Bucyrus held its own early against the powerful Blue Devils but couldn’t sustain it for four quarters in falling, 85-47, in the season-opener at Alex Kish Memorial Gymnasium.
“We tried to come out and press right away,” Carey coach Jamie Young said. “But Bucyrus just attacked us, and we had trouble staying in front of them for a while. They did a good job and Barry had them ready to play. They were competing.”
The Redmen played toe-to-toe with the Blue Devils through the first quarter. Bucyrus led at 8-6 on a basket by Mike Wise and tied the game at 13-13 on a 3-point shot by Joe Rager. Carey (3-0, 1-0 N10) eased out to a 22-17 lead after one.
Bucyrus stayed close in the early minutes of the quarter, pulling within 24-22 on a 3 by Karson Kimmel at the 7:51 mark. But from there, it was all Blue Devils, as they went on a 24-4 run to the end of the half.
“We were in the one-and-one in the second quarter and we settled for jumpers instead of being aggressive with the ball,” Egan said. “I think with a little more practice and everything, hopefully we’ll understand ourselves a little better.”
The second quarter eruption was fueled by Blue Devil’s senior Cade Crawford, who scored 16 of his game-high 24 points in the frame. Crawford’s run included four 3s and Carey connected on 10 of 13 shots.
“Cade came out in the second quarter and put the offense on his shoulders,” Young said. “He was hitting pull-ups. He was feeling it. I think he was five-for-five at one point there. That’s what a senior leader should do.”
The Redmen hit a respectable 12 of 25 shots in the first half but just couldn’t keep up with the red-hot Blue Devils, who made 20 of 31 to build a 46-26 lead at intermission.
In the second half, the Redmen just could not recover their early shooting touch, making only five of 29 shots. Volume was not the problem, as the hosts attempted 54 shots to 59 by Carey.
“They were contested shots and sometimes the ball’s not going to go in for us,” Egan said. “The thing we’ve got to rely on is being scrappy, rebounding the first miss on their end and playing a little better defense overall.”
Crawford scored only three points in the second half, but the Blue Devils didn’t miss a beat on offense. Eight different Carey players hit the scoring column, none with fewer than six points.
“If we can mix it up like that and keep teams guessing on what we’re tying to do, it’s only going to benefit us in the long run,” Young said. “We’ve played three games now and every night, we’ve had a different leading scorer.”
Bryce Conti seconded Crawford’s 24 points with 13 for the Blue Devils. Landen Kemerley was next with 12 and Anthony Bell added 11 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
“He’s a good player,” Egan said of Crawford, “We knew watching tape he’s going to hit those shots. It’s just the way he plays. That team feeds on making baskets. That propels their defense to play a little bit better. They play the way they do for a reason — because they’re pretty good at it.”
Wise topped the Redmen with 15 points and six rebounds. Rager and Kimmel finished with nine points each.
“I’m excited about every opportunity we have (to play),” Young said. “I tell the kids, ‘You never know when it’s going to be taken away.’ Teams around us — other states — aren’t even playing yet.
“Like Barry — they haven’t had scrimmages or a game yet,” Young continued. “This was their first game action. I thought, for that, they did a tremendous job. The competitiveness those kids played with was exceptional.”
“They’re very good. They’re well-drilled,” Egan said of the Blue Devils. “Jamie does a wonderful job. Our kids knew how good they were. We came out, we accepted the challenge. We just have to get better from here on out.
“They do (have a lot of weapons) and we want to try to get to the same way,” Egan added. “We just have a lot of practice to do. We have a lot of good young men that are working hard, and they’ve got great attitudes.”
Carey also won the junior varsity game, 63-28. Cameron Connor scored 13 points for the Blue Devils and Brayden Young dropped in 12. Malachi Bayless led Bucyrus with 12 points.
Box score
Carey 22 24 18 21 — 85
Bucyrus 17 9 11 10 — 47
Carey (3-0, 1-0 N10): Shots 34-59; 3-pt. shots 9-23 (Cade Crawford 6, Hayden Nash 2, Bryce Conti); Free throws 8-12; Rebounds 39 (Anthony Bell 9); Turnovers 18. Scoring: Hayden Nash 2 2 8, Derek Lonsway 2 2 6, Bryce Conti 6 0 13, Anthony Bell 5 0 10, Ashton Hill 3 0 6, Landon Kemerley 5 2 12, Cade Crawford 9 0 24, Cameron Connor 3 0 6.
Bucyrus (0-1, 0-1 N10): Shots 17-54; 3-pt. shots 2-11 (Joe Rager, Karson Kimmel); Free throws 11-17; Rebounds 24 (Mike Wise 6); Turnovers 22. Scoring: Joe Rager 3 2 9, Karson Kimmel 3 2 9, Mike Wise 6 3 15, David Hendrickson 0 2 2, Grady Jackson 1 0 2, Nick Middleton 3 0 6, Malachi Bayless 1 2 4.
JV: Carey 63-28.