BOWLING GREEN (Crawford County Now) — Colonel Crawford is traveling a familiar road with an eye on the Division VI state tournament.
Head coach David Sheldon’s team defeated conference rival Seneca East 56-33 in a boys’ regional semifinal Thursday at the Stroh Center on the campus of Bowling Green State University.
“It’s huge. This was our fourth game here. Last year we had the regionals, and our state semifinal game was here,” he said. “We’re not shell-shocked by this environment. But it’s a totally different one from the high school gyms we’ve played in the last four months.”
Colonel Crawford (23-2) will face Van Wert Lincolnview — which downed Convoy Crestview 53-46 — in the regional championship at 6 p.m. Saturday with a return trip to the state tournament on the line.
The Eagles fell behind 6-2 before scoring 10 straight points to lead 16-6 after one quarter. The Tigers kept it close, trailing 29-20 at halftime.
“I thought we were very good in the first, third and fourth defensively. That’s been the foundation of our program. In the second quarter, we had some bad communication defensively,” Sheldon said.
He pointed to ball screen coverage and losing players in transition.
“We needed to talk louder,” Sheldon said.
Seneca East scored 14 points in that second quarter, with Luke Mason and Brady Bloom hitting 3-point shots.
“Parker Weithman did an unbelievable job on Mason. We had Payne (DeGray) as a helper. That team can score and I was proud of our defense.”
DeGray scored 15 points and hauled in 13 rebounds. Brayden Holt added 12 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. John DeGray netted 8 points and 8 boards.
Holt’s 8-footer in the lane gave the Eagles a 9-point cushion. He was chosen Northwest District Player of The Year. Payne DeGray also made the first team.
“Hats off to Seneca East and coach Anthony Langhurst. The year they had after returning just Luke Mason, to win 19 games and get to the regionals, is outstanding. Just an unbelievable job; he was coach of the year in our league (Northern 10 Athletic Conference) and well deserved,” Sheldon said.
“It says a lot for our league to get two teams to a regional tournament.”
Seneca East bows out at 19-7.
“Tonight Payne became the all-time career rebounder at Colonel Crawford. That record of 682 stood since 1972. Jim Shuck went to Indiana and played (football) four years at Indiana and was the last cut on the Dallas Cowboys.”
The Eagles held a 39-23 edge in rebounding.
“He’s a big reason for that. He goes and gets it, just like as a defensive end in football,” Sheldon said of the 6-foot-5 senior. “It’s tough to get it away from the big fella.”
DeGray has been a force on the glass his entire career.
“It means a lot. That’s one of the biggest names to come out of Colonel Crawford. It’s a selfless position to go get offensive rebounds and give second chances to our 3-point shooters Parker, Peyton (Baker) and Brayden.”
DeGray said he was disappointed early in the season with his performance on the boards.
“My sophomore year I did a great job. My junior year I had my brother step up a little bit. It’s been a big emphasis to get to the boards. Those second shots can be huge in making the run that we want to make.”
Crawford held the Tigers to 5 points in the third quarter. Tyler Lash came off the bench and hit two baskets and a pair of free throws as the black and gold pulled away, 43-25.
“We talk a lot about contested shots and no open looks,” Sheldon said. “When you see no open looks, our guys take that to heart. It’s our physicality. They all played football and it’s part of being at a small school where our kids play multiple sports.
“We’re old school from the 80s and 90s and not the specialization you see now. We’ve got a very humble group. Before the game you don’t see a lot of hand slaps and dancing. They just want to compete.”
Langhurst said it was a special season.
“At the start we didn’t have a lot of expectations. A lot of people counted us out and we had guys buy in to what we were coaching them. I’m sure coaches looked at our film and wondered, ‘Who are these guys?'”
The Tigers lose three seniors in Mason, Bloom and first-year player Nicholas Parks.
“We play hard and our length is pretty good. That’s a good recipe for success,” he added. “It’s so hard to get runs against Crawford. If you miss, then Payne is there cleaning it up and Holt is great at getting to the middle.”
Mason and Bloom had 10 points each for the Tigers.
“We had some defensive assignments blown early. Second half we started OK then went stagnant on offense,” Langhurst said.
“It unraveled pretty quickly there in the third quarter. Early in the game we tried to get the ball out of Holt’s hands. But spacing and some things on the backside. We were trying to trap on the wings and get their role players sped up.
“But like any good team, they make an adjustment to our adjustment.”
Mason reflected on a stellar career at Seneca East.
“Coming in as a freshman I played alongside my brother (Isaac), and he took me under his wing. I wanted to be like him.”
Mason’s role continued expanding.
“We had a great team, a special bond, when I was a sophomore. I took note of that and tried to carry that over. This year we had a great group of guys and going to new heights,” he said.
“It was amazing to get here.”
Mason cemented his legacy by becoming only the fourth boys basketball player in school history to reach the 1,000-point career milestone. That includes his brother, who is the Tigers all-time leading scorer.
Sheldon also spoke of his squad’s bonds.
“These are my sons. I have two daughters that play for my wife, who’s coached 30 years at Wynford,” Sheldon said.
“These are the only sons I have and we’re trying to turn them into men. They’ve seen the guys before us, last year getting to our first Final Four. And these guys are just following the tradition.”
Because of the new pod system the regional semifinal games matched two teams from the same conference.
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“Lincolnview puts four guards with a post that can flat out play. They are very skilled. We’ll go back to work tonight and have another quick turnaround, like we did in the district finals.”
Max Hammons led the Lancers (21-5) with 24 points, including 5 from beyond the arc.
“It’s been 10 years since we played for hardware like this,” head coach Brett Hammons told the Lima News.
“It’s something you relish and it’s something that’s always special. These guys are finally getting to experience that after they’ve been through some rough years. It’s just special as a coach to see these guys’ hard work paying off for them.”
Will Sheets led Crestview with 19 points.
Box score
Colonel Crawford 16 13 14 13 — 56
Seneca East 6 14 5 8 — 33
Colonel Crawford (24-2): Shots 23-51; 3-pt. shots 5-18 (Peyton Baker 2, Brayden Holt 2, Parker Weithman); Free throws 5-11; Rebounds 39 (Payne DeGray 13); Turnovers 7. Scoring: Parker Weithman 2 2 7, Peyton Baker 2 0 6, Tyler Lash 2 2 6, John DeGray 4 0 8, Wyatt Spiegel 1 0 2, Brayden Holt 5 0 12, Payne DeGray 7 4 15.
Seneca East (19-7): Shots 12-43; 3-pt. shots 5-17 (Brady Bloom 2, Luke Mason 2); Free throws 4-4; Rebounds 23 (Ayden Perkins 7); Turnovers 11. Scoring: Luke Mason 4 0 10, Brady Bloom 3 2 10, Logan Collins 1 0 3, Jaron Depinet 2 2 6, Landyn Hicks 2 0 4.