BUCYRUS — One team knows how to win basketball games. The other is still learning.
Perennially successful Colonel Crawford broke open a close game in the third quarter with an 18-6 run. The Eagles used it to cruise to a 62-38 Northern 10 Athletic Conference win over host Bucyrus on Phil A. Joseph Court at Alex Kish Memorial Gymnasium.
“We’re just trying to win against the good teams around here,” Bucyrus coach Brian Hargis said. “We just need one. A lot of the guys on the team haven’t had a big win against a quality conference opponent. That’s kind of the goal in here.”
For two-plus quarters, the upstart Redmen did hang with the Eagles, though they never led in the game.
Colonel Crawford (13-4, 8-2 N10) eased out to an 11-6 lead in the first quarter. Trevor Vogt scored six of his 13 points in the frame. As the Eagles’ leading scorer, Vogt became the target of the Bucyrus defense from there on.
“Vogt played his role well,” Hargis said. “He didn’t over penetrate. He got 22 on us the last time (at Colonel Crawford). We were just trying to keep him under 15.”
The Redmen succeeded in that goal, but others stepped up big for the Eagles. Both coaches pointed to Connor McMichael, for one.
“Connor McMichael had a great game,” Colonel Crawford coach David Sheldon said. “It was impressive that we have four guys in double figures. So, we were able to win, on the road, by 24 and move on.”
McMichael, who came into the game averaging 4.6 points per game, had 11. Payne DeGray, the other key difference maker, led the Eagles with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Kaden Bruner was the fourth double-digit contributor with 10.
“We were leaving McMichael,” Hargis admitted. “He did a great job of catching, two-foot finish — just small basketball decisions. And DeGray was there on the back side.”
With McMichael leading the way in the second period with six points, Colonel Crawford eased out to a 28-18 halftime lead. Bucyrus (4-11, 1-9) got the same number of shots (21) and equal rebounds (12) in the half, but shooting percentage — makes — became the difference, 10 for the Eagles to seven for the Redmen.
“Our statement before the game was, ‘If we get as many shots as them, we should be there,’” Hargis said. “Poor percentage from the field hurt us.”
Bucyrus made one last run to start the third quarter. After Vogt opened the half with a basket to push the Crawford lead to 12, the Redmen went on a 7-0 run, with Malachi Bayless hitting a pair of free throws and a 3-point shot. Demarius Munn-Page scored in the paint to pull Bucyrus to within 30-25 with just over five minutes left in the third.
“They’re not going to get a lot of guys over 10 points,” Hargis said. “So, we thought if we kept DeGray off the boards and Vogt out of the paint, we’d have a decent shot. And we were there in the third.”
But the Eagles righted the ship, scoring 18 of the final 24 points in the period to push their advantage to 48-31 after three. DeGray scored six points and grabbed three rebounds in the eight minutes.
“Payne’s had a great year for a sophomore,” Sheldon said. “He does a great job getting position inside.”
Bayless led the Redmen with a game-high 19 points. But no other Bucyrus player had more than Munn-Page’s six. Jackson Farrar had five rebounds.
“We need a couple guys over 10 points, especially when (Malachi) has to work so hard to, one, get the ball, and two, to get an open look,” Hargis said. “I think he settled a little bit early, but he started getting downhill. You can’t knock the effort of Malachi.”
“Tonight, (Malachi) hit shots early,” Sheldon said. “The last time, he didn’t score until the fourth quarter.”
Hargis thought consistency was the key to Colonel Crawford’s victory.
“They did tonight what they’ve done all year,” Hargis said. “They maximize possessions with good defense and great rebounding — just working.”
“We only give up 37 points per game,” Sheldon said. “That’s the best in school history and the guys take pride in it. We do it night in and night out.”
“I thought Georgie (Floyd) did a good job (defensively) on Trevor,” Hargis said. “I thought he played well, and I thought you saw it in his shots. He worked so hard on the defensive end that he was a little flat on his shots.”
The win sets up a huge showdown in the N10 when the two teams tied for first play on Saturday night.
“It’s going to be a great atmosphere in North Robinson when Carey comes to town,” Sheldon said.
“We got the shots we wanted so I cannot be mad at that,” Hargis said. “We got outworked a little bit and it got away from us.”
Colonel Crawford also won the junior varsity game, 55-27. Jacob Cochran had a game-high 22 points for the Eagles, and Walker Cramer added 12. Lincoln Blizzard had nine for Bucyrus.
Box score
Colonel Crawford 11 17 20 14 — 62
Bucyrus 6 12 13 7 — 38
Stats
Colonel Crawford (13-4, 8-2 N10): Shots 23-44; 3-pt. shots 3-10 (Logan Goddard 2, Kaden Bruner); Free throws 13-20; Rebounds 34 (Payne DeGray 11); Turnovers 12. Scoring: Logan Goddard 2 0 6, Trevor Vogt 3 7 13, John DeGray 2 0 4, Lucas Foy 0 2 2, Connor McMichael 4 3 11, Kaden Bruner 4 1 10, Payne DeGray 8 0 16.
Bucyrus (4-11, 1-9 N10): Shots 12-39; 3-pt. shots 2-12 (Malachi Bayless 2, Tyrone Mass); Free throws 11-16; Rebounds 21 (Jackson Farrar 5); Turnovers 16. Scoring: Georgie Floyd 0 2 2, Demarius Munn-Page 3 0 6, Noah Burke 2 1 5, Jackson Farrar 0 2 2, Malachi Bayless 6 5 19, Tyrone Mass 1 0 3, Carson Witten 0 1 1.
JV: Colonel Crawford 55-27.