BASCOM — On paper, Bucyrus versus Crestview looked like an even matchup.
Crestview acted like they didn’t believe it.
The Cougars built a 13-point halftime lead and then coasted to a 65-43 victory over the Redmen in a boys’ Division III sectional semifinal at Hopewell-Loudon High School.
It was a similar script to others Bucyrus has played in most of the year — turnovers and giving up offensive rebounds.
“Mix in not finishing shots,” Bucyrus coach Barry Egan said. “It’s been an Achilles’ heel all year for us and it just reared itself up here this evening.”
As has been the case in several games, Lucas Kozinski bore the scoring load for the Redmen. The senior had all six of Bucyrus’ points in the first quarter as the Redmen trailed, 14-6, after one.
Kozinski scored seven of his team’s 11 points in the second quarter as Crestview (7-16) moved out to a 30-17 advantage by halftime.
Evan Hamilton did most of the damage for the Cougars in the first half, accounting for 15 of Crestview’s 30 in the first two quarters.
“We knew he was the best player for them,” Egan acknowledged. “We let him loose and he made us pay for just about everything. He’s a good player.”
Bucyrus (2-21) made a run at getting back into the game to start the second half, hitting four of it first five shots to trim the deficit to 34-25 on a basket by Mike Wise with 5:21 left in the third quarter.
But the Redmen managed just five more points in the frame, allowing the Cougars to extend their lead to 46-30 by period’s end.
“We have to work twice as hard because, when we turn the ball over, it takes the ball out of other guys hand and we don’t get the chance to get that second and third score,” Egan said. “That’s been pretty much the story of our season.”
Crestview stayed hot in the fourth quarter, even with heavy substitution, hitting eight of 11 shots to set the final score.
Hamilton finished with a game-high 27 points to lead the Cougars. Kameron Goon added 15 points and each of them grabbed nine rebounds. Nine different players scored for Crestview in all. The Cougars had a commanding 40-21 edge on the boards.
Kozinski closed out his career at Bucyrus with 21 points. Grady Jackson finished with 10 points and Wise had nine rebounds.
Skylar Lucio and Zach Delaney, along with Kozinski, played their final games in a Bucyrus uniform.
“Three wonderful young men and I just hate that the season is over because I enjoy seeing them every day,” Egan said. “I was very, very proud of our seniors.”
Next season starts now for the Redmen.
“This program’s got an awful lot of work to do,” Egan said. “I certainly hope that our kids are going to be committed to doing it. We’ve got our work cut out for us, that’s for sure.
“We’ve got to get some leaders that can be strong with the ball and get everybody else involved and make everybody around them better,” Egan continued. “Until we do that, we are going to get the same thing going here.”
Crestview will play for a sectional title against No. 1 seeded Willard on Friday at 6:15 p.m. back at Hopewell-Loudon High School.
Box score
Bucyrus 6 11 13 13 — 43
Crestview 14 16 16 19 — 65
Bucyrus (2-21): Shots 19-48; 3-pt. shots 3-16 (Lucas Kozinski, Mike Wise, Nick Middleton); Free throws 2-4; Rebounds 21 (Mike Wise 9); Turnovers 21. Scoring: Lucas Kozinski 9 2 21, Joe Rager 1 0 2, Mike Wise 3 0 7, Grady Jackson 5 0 10, Nick Middleton 1 0 3.
Crestview: (7-16): Shots 26-58; 3-pt. shots 3-14 (Christian Sauder, Evan Hamilton, Kameron Goon); Free throws 10-13; Rebounds 40 (Evan Hamilton 9, Kameron Goon 9); Turnovers 18. Scoring: Mason Baith 1 0 2, Christian Sauder 2 0 5, Jake Littleton 2 0 4, Frank Ardis 1 0 2, Evan Hamilton 11 4 27, Kameron Goon 4 6 15, Hunter George 1 0 2, Mason Ringler 1 0 2, Nick Ritchey 3 0 6.