GALION — Head coach Tom Howell knew what the difference was in Buckeye Central’s 65-62 win over Galion in a non-conference game Tuesday night.
“We could have closed it with the free throws. We didn’t make them, but we came up with some big offensive rebounds,” he said.
On the night the Bucks were 10 for 19 from the charity stripe but missed six of those in the final 1:12.
“At my end, I was struggling with personnel a little bit. We finally got a little rotation going. The way they (Galion) shoot it, they’re never out of a game. Never,” Howell said.
Galion got 20 points from Hudson Miller and 15 from Rece Payne in a losing effort on Senior Night.
“I thought we did some good things tonight offensively. We did decently on defense but couldn’t close it at the free throw line. That’s what we have to start doing,” said Howell, who credited Galion’s leading scorers with a fine effort.
“Number 23 (Miller) he hit some big ones. Number 4 (Payne) also made some big ones tonight too,” he said. “Our kids didn’t give up even when they took the lead.”
Senior Alex Kanney and junior Tyler Sanderson paced Buckeye Central with 17 points each.
“They were huge. I think we surprised them a little bit by getting out and running in the first quarter. I don’t think they were expecting that. Alex was getting down the floor and getting some good shots,” Howell said.
Galion head coach Ryan Stover was disappointed for his seniors.
“We didn’t put enough effort into boxing somebody out. There’s no blaming the officials. Just a lack of execution,” he said.“I feel bad for those seniors. They have been through a lot in their four years. This season has been a step in the right direction for them, but my heart breaks for those five kids.”
It marked the final home game for Miller, Payne, Garrett Ison, Carson Teynor and Jaxon Oswald.
The visitors went up 20-13 with Kanney getting a dozen.
Galion played even with BC in the second period and trailed 38-31 at halftime.
The Tigers played a strong third quarter outscoring the Bucks 20-13 and making it 51-51.
Miller hit a basket to make it 48-46 with 2:30 left in the third.
Damian Dean hit a trey that tied the game after Oswald’s drive put the Tigers on top 51-48 on the previous possession.
“He stepped up and shot them like he was supposed to,” Howell said of Dean’s pair of 3-pointers.
Dean added nine rebounds and Sanderson grabbed six.
Ison made it a 64-62 game with 31.8 seconds left after McDougal missed two free throws. He hit one with 14.7 seconds left and Galion was unable to score again.
Stover thought his team fought back after being down 12 points early in the second quarter.
“We picked up our intensity and played more physical. I thought we were a little soft and let Buckeye run whatever they wanted to run. We figured it out and played much better in the second half,” he said.
“Give credit to Rece Payne and Hudson Miller. They really stepped it up at the defensive and offensive level. They didn’t want to go out with a loss. Those kids, all five seniors, are special. They’re a good group,” Stover said.
Overall, Howell was pleased with his team in gaining its sixth win of the season.
“Tyler played a heck of a game. I know he was tired at the end, but I didn’t want to take him out.
“It was a good team win. A lot of kids did a lot of good things, but tonight Tyler held everything together a little bit.”
McDougal added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Bucks.
Oswald scored nine and Cooper Kent six off the Tigers’ bench.
Buckeye Central won the junior varsity game 40-37 in overtime.