GALION — Galion did something they haven’t done in eight years as a basketball program on Tuesday night against Clear Fork.
The Tigers defeated the Colts 60-44 to move on to a Division II sectional final game against Lexington. Galion hadn’t won a postseason game since 2016 when they defeated Margaretta.
“I don’t think it’s a secret that there have been some rough years here, but I thought last year I saw where Galion was trending to and where they were heading. They were so explosive offensively, and you could tell it was a great group of kids,” Galion head coach Tyler Sanders said after the win.
Back on Jan. 18, the Tigers fell to the Colts by a score of 62-53. That loss was on their mind tonight and Galion was able to improve to 2-1 on the season against their conference foe.
“That was definitely the lowest part of our season, and I knew that wasn’t the team I knew,” Sanders said on the loss. “We were in that six-game tough stretch there, and we were getting to the tail end of it.”
The Tigers played Clear Fork back in January in between games against River Valley, Marion Harding, Lexington, and Shelby.
“But man, the way the kids responded, we went 6-3 in the final nine games, now 7-3 in the last 10,” Sanders explained. “I think it speaks a lot to the boys’ work ethic. And I appreciate all the faith and trust they put into me and in our coaching staff.”
Clear Fork jumped out to a quick start, leading 6-0, when the Tigers got their first basket with less than four minutes left in the opening period.
It was the second quarter when Galion took control and didn’t look back. After leaving the first quarter with a narrow 14-11 lead, the Tigers came out in the second quarter and built some separation. Quinn Miller drilled a three-point shot to start things out and Cooper Kent added a pair in the quarter. The Tigers went to intermission leading 31-21.
At halftime, Kent had 14 points to lead the Tigers and Adam Vanausdle had 10 for the Colts. A point of emphasis in the second half for Galion was to slow down the damage that Vanausdle was causing. Sanders said that he placed Elijah Chafin on Vanausdle, and it worked out, as he had just three points the rest of the way.
The Tigers went up by 16 points in the third quarter, which belonged to Steven Glew. Glew had 12 points on the night and eight of those came in the third when Clear Fork had no answer for him.
Both teams played an even final quarter, scoring 12 points apiece to bring the sectional semifinal matchup to an end.
“The big three of Steven, Chafin, and Cooper were excellent tonight,” Sanders said. “Steven is such a tank, he does everything. Coop was Coop, and that is just the blood, sweat, and tears that he puts into this program on a daily basis.”
Kent led the Tigers with 24 points on the evening. Chafin added six points but was a problem defensively and was often setting his teammates up for open looks.
The road is going to become a whole lot tougher for Galion. To win a sectional title, the Tigers would have to upset No. 1 seeded Lexington (20-2). The Minutemen defeated the Tigers 50-40 back on Jan. 6.
“Lex is the best team in the area and until they’re dethroned, Lex is king,” Sanders said. “You want to play the best and Lex is definitely the best. They have some tremendous players; they have a tremendous coaching staff. Coach (Scott) Hamilton has been doing it for years and there’s a reason why he is so successful.”
Galion will play at Lexington for the second time this season on Friday at 7 p.m.