BUCYRUS — The progress the Bucyrus Redmen have made this season is evident on the court if not in the win column — yet.
After losing to Mohawk by 42 points at home on December 30, the Redmen made the trip to Sycamore on Saturday for the rematch. The result was decidedly different.
Bucyrus led for much of the game including late in the fourth quarter. But the Warriors were able to capitalize on turnovers down the stretch, handing the Redmen a heartbreaking 51-49 loss in a Northern 10 Athletic Conference game.
“The team that played the best for the most minutes of that game definitely did not win tonight,” Mohawk coach Paul Dunn said. “I told our kids last night after our loss to Carey, ‘We’ve got to find ourselves, find an identity of who we are at this point in the season.’”
Bucyrus (3-14, 2-11) went toe-to-toe with the explosive Warriors from the opening tip. Mike Wise gave the Redmen a 12-9 lead in the first quarter with a basket at 1:12 — his eighth point of the period. Mohawk scored the last four to lead 13-12 after one.
“Mike did a great job finishing and you’ve got to give credit to our guys for getting him the ball in the right spot,” Bucyrus coach Barry Egan said. “Nick (Middleton) is running everything out top and doing an excellent job of keeping everyone court balanced. Defensively, our kids are playing to a T, the guys that are coming off the bench are playing really good defense as well.”
Defense was the byword for the Redmen as they held the Warriors to seven of 25 from the field in the first half to take a 23-19 lead to the locker room at halftime. The 51 points for the game were 23 fewer than Bucyrus allowed Mohawk (13-5, 9-4) in the first meeting.
“We watched their Seneca East film from (Friday) night, and they guarded Seneca East as good as anybody,” Dunn said. “Seneca East gave us fits and Bucyrus did a good job of controlling their onslaught. They did a good job of contesting our guys.”
The Redmen gave no indication of shrinking under pressure in the second half. They pushed their lead out to as many as 11, at 35-24, on a pair of free throws by Eddie Dagher at 2:36 of third. The lead was 37-32 after three.
“Our effort was outstanding,” Egan said. “Hopefully, our kids are buying into what we’re doing. Their effort has been great, the defense has been good.”
Bucyrus kept the momentum well into the final period. The visitors got the lead back to nine, at 41-32 on a Wise basket with 5:42 left in the game and still led by seven — 46-39 — on a pair of free throws by Wise at the 3:01 mark.
But over the last three minutes, Mohawk outscored Bucyrus, 12-3, to overtake the upstart Redmen. Austin Tusing hit a pair of 3-point shots and three Bucyrus turnovers resulted in points for the Warriors, who finally regained the lead on a basket by A.J. Hess with 1:12 to go.
“I thought all of our guys, whether they were on the floor or off the floor, were excited,” Dunn said of the rally. “We’ve struggled to play as a team and tonight — especially those last two minutes — we played like a team. I’m excited for what they showed they could be moving forward.”
The Redmen chose to milk the clock and go for the last shot for the tie (and overtime) or the win. Bucyrus inbounded the ball with 12.5 seconds left and Wise got a wide-open look from 3 that was on-line but came up just short of the upset.
“We got a really difficult spot there at the end,” Egan said. “I certainly have to do a better job of getting us into scoring position there. That’s not on the kids, that’s on me. We got a good look at the end and it just didn’t go in.”
Joe Rager and Wise each had 14 points to lead Bucyrus. Grady Jackson had seven points and nine rebounds. Egan was glad to see the resurgence in offense from Rager.
“Joe and Eddie (Dagher) have been working really hard at practice like everybody else,” Egan said. “We believe in Joe.”
Tusing and Hess tied for scoring honors with 16 points for the Warriors and each grabbed five rebounds. Tyler Hayman added 12 points. Only five players scored for Mohawk.
“I told the guys to get to the basket early and we didn’t do it,” Dunn said. “We were shooting fadeaways off rebounds. It just wasn’t good basketball on our part. In the second half, I thought our guys did a better job of being patient.”
“Missing seven free throws in the fourth quarter didn’t help,” Egan said. “But I’ve got enough confidence in our guys that they will knock those down the next time.”
“I told Barry before the game I think he’s done a great job with these guys,” Dunn said. “For a team that’s got a 3-13 record , they’re playing hard as heck at this point in the season.
“I’m really happy with our guys grinding back,” Dunn added. “Easily, against a team playing the way they are as hard as they are, we could have folded our tents when we were down (nine) there in the fourth quarter.”
“They’re good for a reason. They’re well-drilled and do a lot of good things,” Egan said of Mohawk, citing Tusing as one of the best players in the league. “I’m proud of the way of the way our kids are playing and it’s just a shame I couldn’t help them out down the stretch a little bit better.”
Box score
Bucyrus 12 11 14 12 — 49
Mohawk 13 6 13 19 — 51
Bucyrus (3-14, 2-11 N10): Shots 18-36; 3-pt. shots 2-7 Joe Rager 2); Free throws 11-19; Rebounds 23 (Grady Jackson 9); Turnovers 14. Scoring: Joe Rager 5 2 14, Karson Kimmel 2 1 5, Mike Wise 6 2 14, Grady Jackson 3 1 7, Nick Middleton 1 3 5, Malachi Bayless 1 0 2, Eddie Dagher 0 2 2.
Mohawk (13-5, 9-4 N10): Shots 21-51; 3-pt. shots 3-15 (Austin Tusing 2, A.J. Hess); Free throws 6-13; Rebounds 31 (A.J. Hess 5, Austin Tusing 5); Turnovers 14. Scoring: Tyler Hayman 5 2 12, Austin Tusing 6 2 16, Landen Snyder 2 1 5, A.J. Hess 7 1 16, Reese Hannam 1 0 2.