NORTH ROBINSON (Crawford County Now) — Colonel Crawford is known for its lockdown style of defense. The Eagles put that on full display at Mac Morrison Gymnasium with a 67-34 Northern 10 Athletic Conference win over Seneca East Friday night.

Luke Mason, who entered the game as the league’s top scorer at 19.4 points per game, was held in check and managed just 5 points.

“I thought we showed our diversification tonight,” Colonel Crawford head coach David Sheldon said. “In the first half they were really doubling Payne (DeGray).

“At the end of the first half, we were settling for 3s, you gotta get paint touches then your 3s whether it’s penetration or post touch. We challenged them at halftime … and this is a veteran group of seniors and juniors who want to keep getting better — it doesn’t matter what the scoreboard shows — and I thought in the second half we showed that.”

A relatively slow start still put Colonel Crawford (8-0, 5-0) ahead 30-17 at halftime.

Holt scored 12 second-half points and Payne DeGray got 9 of his 13. John DeGray added 13, with Parker Weithman and Peyton Baker each contributing 9 points.

“That balance is what this group does. It’s a team that is very unselfish and plays together,” Sheldon said. “In the second half Brayden Holt does an unbelievable job of attacking the zone and getting paint touches. When you get 17, 13, 13, nine, and nine, that’s good balance.

Shutting down SE’s best player set the tone.

“Mason is an outstanding player, over 1,000 points, and he had 5 with one field goal. Parker has a motor that is just outstanding. You saw that on the football field the way he runs routes. He did an unbelievable job and our other guys too. It was team defense.”

Seneca East (9-2, 5-2) was led by 6-foot-2 freshman Jaron Depinet with 12 points, 3 rebounds and a steal.

“Jaron, as a freshman, stepped up and did some nice things. We’re not 9-2 without him. What he gives us offensively is good, plus his length and his rebounding ability. He’s been a pleasant surprise and he keeps getting better,” Tigers head coach Anthony Langhurst said.

“Our role players, whether it was individually or what we were trying to do defensively, we focused on that. We talked about what were the little things we saw you do good tonight, or the things to do to get better in the long run.”

All 5 Crawford starters scored in the first quarter, giving the hosts a 17-7 lead.

“We let them go on a 10-0 run to end the half and that didn’t help at all. We knew coming out in the second half that we just had to take care of business and be us,” Holt said.

“It was just being able to make plays and create, and on the defensive end we got stops. We didn’t give up easy points to them.”

Holt added 5 steals and 5 assists, plus 2 rebounds. Both DeGrays grabbed 8 boards and Weithman added 4 rebounds, an assist and a steal.

“Obviously, they’re a good team so when you take away a couple options, they still have a couple of other good options out there,” Langhurst said. “We wanted to compete as long as you can. They beat down a lot of teams. Their horses kind of took over there in the third quarter and we struggled to score there at times, and that had a lot to do with what Crawford was doing defensively.”

“They take away Luke and he was forced to exert a lot of energy … He’s never going to stop competing. They got one or two shooters. You take them away and the DeGrays get you inside and then Holt goes to work. It’s a pick-your-poison situation.”

Seneca East hosts New London Saturday and Ridgedale Tuesday in non-league games.

Colonel Crawford entertains Mohawk Wednesday.

“We weren’t really happy at halftime. We challenged them and did a better job of getting Payne touches. You’ve got to get him touches, whether it’s penetration or post touches,” Sheldon said.

“We were up 13 at half, but we were not happy and this is a veteran group of seniors and juniors. They want to keep getting better and it doesn’t matter what the scoreboard says. In the second half, we showed that.”

Staying on top of the league is the Eagles’ goal, Holt said.

“It’s a big win, but we gotta take each game one at a time. We’re about halfway through the league and we know we’re gonna get everyone’s best shot. They’re going to have a game plan to try and stop us … (we just have to) take care of business.”

Box score

Seneca East                  7      10       9       8 — 34

Colonel Crawford    17      13     19     18 — 67

Seneca East (9-2, 5-2 N10): Shots 13-35; 3-pt. shots 3-8 (Jaron Depinet 2, Brady Bloom); Free throws 5-8; Rebounds 15 (Landyn Hicks 4); Turnovers 11. Scoring: Keegan Boes 1 0 2, Nicholas Parks 1 0 2, Luke Mason 1 3 5, Brady Bloom 3 0 7, Jaron Depinet 5 0 12, Landyn Hicks 2 2 6.

Colonel Crawford (8-0, 5-0 N10): Shots 28-49; 3-pt. shots 9-21 (Parker Weithman 3, Peyton Baker 3, Hayden Spears 2, Brayden Holt); Free throws 2-7; Rebounds 33 (John DeGray 8, Payne DeGray 8); Turnovers 7. Scoring: Parker Weithman 3 0 9, Peyton Baker 3 0 9, John DeGray 6 1 13, Brayden Holt 8 0 17, Hayden Spears 2 0 6, Payne DeGray 6 1 13.

JV: Colonel Crawford 55-32.