HOLMES TOWNSHIP — For many years, the Wynford boys’ basketball team was known as the Runnin’ Royals, playing in W.R. Donnenwirth Gymnasium.
In a throwback game of sorts, Wynford took on rival Bucyrus in the old gym. This year’s version of the Royals is running as well as ever.
Wynford raced out to a 21-7 first-quarter lead and never looked back in overwhelming the Redmen, 79-48, in a Northern 10 Athletic Conference game.
The Royals’ Grant McGuire channeled his uncle Mike McGuire — Wynford’s second all-time leading scorer and top single-season scorer — who was in attendance, by scoring 19 of his team’s total in the first period.
“He was tough tonight — a great game,” Wynford coach Mike Smith said. “His uncle was in the stands. He wanted to put on a little show. He had a great game here last year against (Colonel) Crawford. I told him, ‘This is your place.’”
McGuire took it to heart, nearly equaling the Bucyrus total at halftime (30) by scoring 25 of his game-high 30 points in the first two quarters.
Then again, McGuire had plenty of help. Wes Prenger finished with 20 points, Drew Johnson had 11, and Sam McMillan dropped in 10 and had nine rebounds. The Royals forced nine Redmen turnovers in the first quarter to help fuel the fast start.
First-year Bucyrus coach Brian Hargis summarized the components.
“It was a half-court trap, they’re long, they love to shoot,” Hargis said. “They’ve got the green light to shoot as much as they want. They kind of maximize possessions. They keep a high percentage behind the arc.”
Bucyrus (1-6, 0-4) got the offense going in the second quarter, scoring 23 points on nine of 17 shooting from the field. But Wynford (7-1, 3-1) was more than equal to the task, hitting 12 of 22 shots in the frame to total 30 points and took a 51-30 lead at intermission.
“I wasn’t real happy (with the second quarter). I thought we got a little sluggish maybe with our trap,” Smith said. “That’s why we went man (defense) in the second half. The second half was really good. Maybe we’re a better man team than I thought we were.”
Malachi Bayless had seven of his team-high 20 points in the second quarter and Noah Burke had seven of his nine points. Despite the Royals’ best efforts, Bayless maintained his position as second in the N10 in scoring in the early season.
“Our focus was to try to get the ball out of his hands, but sometimes that doesn’t happen,” Smith said. “You tip your hat to him. He’s a good player.”
Hargis was pleased with the way his team responded offensively after the rugged first quarter.
“They did a great job of speeding us up. Their defense is stellar,” Hargis said. “They took the middle away early. We started to get to the middle (in the second quarter) and that’s when we were able to break them down a little bit.”
The damage had been done, however, and Wynford did not stop scoring, adding 26 points in the third quarter. The Royals hit 29 of their 59 shots, despite missing their last eight attempts from the field.
“It’s a great shooter’s gym. It’s always been a great shooter’s gym,” Smith said. “We came over here all week. They shot the ball well in practice. I had no doubt they’d shoot the ball well, especially when (Bucyrus) went 2-3 zone against us.”
“I think it was a good atmosphere for the young guys,” Hargis said. “It was the biggest crowd they’ve been in front of. Hopefully, they learned a little bit tonight.”
Wynford won the rebound battle, 34-23, and forced 18 turnovers while committing just seven. Dylan Coppler had 10 of Bucyrus’ total. Smith credited his post players.
“We have pretty athletic bigs,” Smith said. “We might be a little more athletic in our bigs than their bigs.”
“It was a tough battle at the rim and the battle of the length was a lost battle today,” Hargis said. “But I’m proud of my guys for fighting. They fought to the very end.”
“I know Brian’s going through some rough times here, but his kids played hard, and they’ll get better,” Smith said. “They’re young. I told him he’s doing a good job.
“We’re 7-1 at Christmas time,” Smith added. “We could have easily been 8-0. We played well at Carey the other day and things just didn’t go our way. What else can I ask for?”
Boys
Wynford 79, Bucyrus 48
Bucyrus 7 23 10 8 — 48
Wynford 21 30 26 2 — 79
Stats
Bucyrus (1-6, 0-4 N10): Shots 19-48; 3-pt. shots 3-15 (Malachi Bayless 2, Georgie Floyd); Free throws 7-13; Rebounds 23 (Dylan Coppler 10); Turnovers 18. Scoring: Georgie Floyd 3 0 7, Noah Burke 4 1 9, Dylan Coppler 3 2 8, Malachi Bayless 7 4 20, Tyrone Mass 2 0 4.
Wynford (7-1, 3-1 N10): Shots 29-59; 3-pt. shots 9-24 (Wes Prenger 3, Grant McGuire 3, Drew Johnson 3); Free throws 12-19; Rebounds 34 (Sam McMillan 9); Turnovers 7. Scoring: Ashton Warren 2 0 4, Wes Prenger 5 7 20, Anthony Evans 1 0 2, Grant McGuire 12 3 30, Drew Johnson 4 0 11, Sam McMillan 4 2 10, K.J. Kotalik 1 0 2.