NEW WASHINGTON — Buckeye Central couldn’t have faced a worse matchup than it did Friday night against Seneca East.

The Tigers have one of the most athletic teams in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference, including senior guard Lucas Bordner.

Bordner used his size and athletic ability to get to the hole at will. He scored 25 points and teammates Bryler Beamer and Luke Mason added 17 each as the Tigers broke open a close game late in the first half and rolled to a 67-46 win.

With the win, Seneca East improved to 5-2 overall, 3-1 in the conference. Buckeye fell to 3-4 overall, 1-3 in the conference.

“I think we have one of the more athletic teams in the conference,” Seneca East coach Anthony Langhurst said. “I know there are some really good teams in the conference. I like our pieces. We’re still trying to figure that out, the best way to try and utilize that athleticism.

“On nights like tonight, I think that worked on both ends of the floor.”

Buckeye Central coach Chris Moyer said that the Tigers’ athletes were a tough matchup for his team.

“They’re a tough matchup with Mason and Bordner; the kids are super-athletic, and the kids are experienced and know how to play the game,” Moyer said.

“We tried to go 1-3-1 late in the first half, and Luke got open for a couple of threes. You’re trying to find solutions and keep people in front of you and keep them out of the paint.”

It was a 3 1/2-minute stretch of the game that proved to be the difference.

The Bucks had played one of the best first halves of the season, hitting 11 of 20 shots in the first two periods and hanging with one of the most talented teams in the league.

In fact, BC guard Caydin Jarvis scored on a running layup and, with 1:32 left in the first half, the game was tied at 29-29.

But the Tigers got baskets from Justin Reiter and Beamer before Mason was fouled shooting a three with 1.6 seconds left. He hit all three free throws and Seneca East held a 36-29 lead at the break.

As the second half opened, the Tigers came out strong. Beamer and Bordner each opened with baskets and Bordner scored on a penetrating layup and the Tigers expanded the lead to 42-30. BC never got within 10 points the rest of the way.

“The first half was one of our better offensive games in a while,” Moyer said. “We got the looks that we wanted, and we were patient. But you have to close out halves. They went on at least a 7-0 run to finish the half to stretch it out. We made a bad decision fouling a three-point shot. Those are things you can’t give a team like that.

“They came out with a ton of energy in the second half.”

‘This team plays so well together,” Langhurst said. “They are willing to make the extra pass and get the better look.”

Jack Phillips dropped five 3s and led the Bucks with 17 points. Jarvis and Hunter Caudill each added 13.

“Our energy was good, execution offensively in the first half was really good,” Moyer said. “Then we come out cold in the third and kind of let it get away. The bottom line is you can’t give run outs to teams like that.”

Box score

Seneca East            20     16     19     12 — 67

Buckeye Central   14     15     11        6 — 46

Seneca East (5-2, 3-1 N10): Shots 28-57; 3-pt. shots 5 (Luke Mason 4, Lucas Bordner); Free throws 6-13; Rebounds 10; Turnovers 7. Scoring: Bryler Beamer 8 1 17, Luke Mason 5 3 17, Lucas Bordner 11 2 25, Justin Reiter 3 0 6, Caden Miller 1 0 2.

Buckeye Central (3-4, 1-3 N10): Shots 16-37; 3-pt. shots 9 (Jack Phillips 5, Hunter Caudill 3, Caydin Jarvis); Free throws 5-9; Rebounds 25; Turnovers 18. Scoring: Hunter Caudill 5 0 13, Caydin Jarvis 4 4 13, Jeremiah Fishpaw 0 1 1, Jack Phillips 6 0 17, Matthew Heefner 1 0 2.

JV: Seneca East 46-43.