BUCYRUS — The Bucyrus Redmen entered their game against Mohawk Saturday averaging 41 points per game.
The Redmen broke out of their scoring rut in a big way. But a 30-point third quarter helped the Warriors overcome a two-point halftime deficit as Mohawk pulled away to a 77-64 Northern 10 Athletic Conference victory at Alex Kish Memorial Gymnasium.
Mohawk coach Paul Dunn pointed to one reason for the increased offense for Bucyrus — the return of senior Lucas Kozinski.
“The biggest surprise of the night was when No. 1 (Kozinski) stepped on the floor for them,” Dunn said. “We didn’t get to see much of him last year, but he’s a great player. We weren’t ready to stop him. When he’s 6-3 and can knock down outside shots like that, he’s a game-changer.”
Kozinski marked his return by scoring a game-high 25 points to energize his team’s offense. He missed most of his junior year and the first five games this year.
Bucyrus coach Barry Egan is happy for Kozinski’s return but stops short of throwing the whole burden on him.
“It’s someone they’re used to playing with,” Egan said. “We need to continue to recognize where our scoring opportunities are. It’s always good to get guys back who will certainly help our team.”
Kozinski made his presence felt early, scoring four points in the first quarter as the Redmen eased out to a 13-10 lead after one. Sophomore Mike Wise scored five of his 11 points in the frame.
Mohawk (3-4, 2-2 N10) used a 10-0 run midway through the second quarter — including a pair of 3-point shots by Austin Tusing — to build a 26-19 lead. But Bucyrus came roaring back, with Kozinski scoring the last nine points of the frame to give the Redmen a 32-30 lead at halftime.
Dunn discounted the possibility that his team was overlooking the winless Redmen.
“I wouldn’t say that. They were an 0-5 team, we were a 2-4 team,” Dunn said. “We don’t have anything to be cocky about.”
The Warriors made some adjustments at halftime and the result in the third quarter flipped the game in their favor. Mohawk exploded for 30 points in the period, fueled by another 10-0 run, to blow out to a 60-44 advantage after 3.
“We’ve just got to find a way to keep the turnovers down,” Egan said. “It puts us in a very big disadvantage on the defensive end. It makes it tough for us to guard when we turn it over and give up a lot of layups.”
Bucyrus (0-6, 0-4) committed six turnovers in the quarter. The Warriors used those along with eight offensive rebounds to overwhelm the hosts. Brock Brause was the major culprit, scoring 13 of his team-high 24 points in the period.
“Every coach will say that the first 3-4 minutes of the third quarter are crucial,” Dunn said. “It was slow-going early, but we finally push (the lead) up to 10 points. We could kind of take a little bit of a sigh there to settle back in.”
The Redmen, however, did not go quietly into the night. They scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter — four by Grady Jackson — to trim their 16-point deficit to nine, 60-51, with just under seven minutes to play.
Unfortunately for Bucyrus, that was as close as it got. Hunter Gottfried scored 10 points in the last eight minutes to hold the Redmen at bay.
“We did a better job of rebounding the ball, at times, in the first half and that certainly helps us,” Egan said. “I’ve never been one for moral victories and I don’t think our players should be in for a moral victory.”
Wise and freshman Joe Rager had 11 points each in support of Kozinski’s 25 for Bucyrus. Kozinski and Gabe Higginbotham had five rebounds each.
Gottfried’s 18 points seconded Brause’s 24 for Mohawk. Tusing had 13 and Landen Snyder finished with 10. Brause grabbed 11 rebounds.
“We’re typically a pressing team,” Dunn said. “Credit my coaching staff. They suggested our press wasn’t giving them many fits. It was probably giving them more layups than anything. We relaxed back into a half-court man and just tried to get stops and get out and run.”
“Our kids need to play with a very solid effort and great attitude,” Egan said. “I think that’s what’s expected around here. We’ve got a lot of youth and we want that youth to grow up as soon as possible.”
“Records don’t mean anything when you’re playing the teams in our league,” Dunn said. “You have to show up and play every night.”
Mohawk also won the junior varsity game, 73-28. Nathan Geary and Bryce Hannam had 10 points each for the Warriors. Ethan Powers and Kolton Middleton had six apiece for the Redmen.
Box score
Mohawk 12 18 30 17 — 77
Bucyrus 13 19 12 20 — 64
Mohawk (3-4, 2-2 N10): Shots 32-67; 3-pt. shots 6-16 (Austin Tusing 2, Tyler Hayman, Brock Brause, Trey Combs, Hunter Gottfried); Free throws 7-17; Rebounds 36 (Brock Brause 11); Turnovers 10. Scoring: Tyler Hayman 3 0 7, Austin Tusing 5 1 13, Landen Snyder 4 2 10, Brock Brause 10 3 24, Trey Combs 1 0 3, Hunter Gottfried 8 1 18, Troy Russell 1 0 2.
Bucyrus (0-6, 0-4 N10): Shots 28-55; 3-pt. shots 6-18; Free throws 2-3; Rebounds 29 (Lucas Kozinski 5, Gabe Higginbotham 5); Turnovers 19. Scoring: Lucas Kozinski 10 2 25, Joe Rager 5 0 11, Zach Delaney 1 0 2, Mike Wise 5 0 11, Grady Jackson 3 0 6, Nick Middleton 3 0 6, Gabe Higginbotham 1 0 3.
JV: Mohawk 73-28.