By Dan Messerschmidt
GALION — New Bucyrus coach Justin Mattix was hoping to begin his career with a victory.
Galion’s size derailed his plan.
The Tigers outrebounded Mattix’ Redmen, 46-25, and never trailed in the game as Galion defeated Bucyrus, 67-50.
It was the season opener for both teams and the 196th time the county rivals have squared off on the hardwood.
Ryan Evans had a monster night for the Redmen, scoring a game-high 25 points — including seven 3-point shots — but it was not enough.
“Ryan really stepped up,” Mattix said. “It’s nice to see that the work he put in during the summer is paying off.”
Galion took advantage of its size advantage in the post to grab 20 offensive rebounds. Bucyrus managed just four. As a result, the Tigers attempted 21 extra shots.
“We should have (had an advantage) with our length,” Galion coach Matt Valentine said. “The kids really got after it.”
Cold shooting helped the Redmen dig an early hole. The Redmen hit just three of 14 shots in the first period. The Tigers took advantage to build a 16-6 lead after one.
Evans hit three of his treys in the second quarter to help get the Bucyrus offense out of mothballs, but Galion still managed to add a point to the lead which stood at 30-19 at intermission.
The Redmen hit their first four shots of the second half to pull within 34-29 but they could never quite get over the hump. The Tigers went on an 11-0 run to get the lead to 45-32 by period’s end.
“We got it to five and we turned it over,” Mattix said. “As we cut it, we’d do something we have control of. We’d give up an offensive rebound or turn it over.”
The Galion lead stretched to 22, at 62-40, on a three by Nathan Eckert, before Bucyrus closed the gap to the final of 67-50.
Evans was the only Bucyrus player in double figures. Ben Seibert grabbed seven rebounds.
Jack McElligott led a balanced Tigers’ attack with 15 points. Isaiah Alsip added 14 ad Gage Lackey dropped 13. Colten Skaggs pulled down 12 rebounds.
“Many of the guys are learning roles they haven’t been in before,” Mattix said. “Ryan (Evans) is scoring more than he was asked to in the past. Kade (Slagle) is being asked to score. We’re young, varsity wise.”
“We limited our turnovers against a pretty good Bucyrus team,” Valentine said. “At the same time, we improved. It was a big win for us.”
“If we keep it close in the first quarter, it might have been different,” Mattix said. “We were trying to fight back all night.
“But give Galion credit,” he added. “They are an athletic, tough team. They were hitting shots with hands in their faces.”
Bucyrus won the junior varsity game, 47-39. Zach Delaney had a game-high 18 points for the Redmen, while Jaylen Zehner added nine. Carter Keinath topped Galion with 16.
Bucyrus 6 13 13 18 — 50
Galion 16 14 15 22 — 67
Stats
Bucyrus: Shots 18-46; 3-pt 9-23 (Ryan Evans 7, Gram Dick, Kade Slagle); Free throws 5 15; Rebounds 25 (Ben Seibert 7); Turnovers 16. Scoring: Gram Dick 1 2 5, Jaylen Zehner 1 1 3, Ben Seibert 2 2 6, Ryan Evans 9 0 25, Kade Slagle 1 0 3, Dylan Goff 1 0 2, Kyle Hamm 3 0 6.
Galion: Shots 29-67; 3-pt. 8-22 (Jack McElligott 3, Isaiah Alsip 2, Nathan Eckert, Gage Lackey, Colton Powell); Rebounds 46 (Colten Skaggs 12, McElligott 8); Turnovers 14. Scoring: Isaiah Alsip 6 0 14, Zhamir Anderson 2 0 4, Nathan Eckert 2 0 5, Gage Lackey 6 0 13, Jack McElligott 6 0 15, Colton Powell 1 0 3, Colten Skaggs 3 1 7, Tristan Williams 3 0 6.