ATTICA — Bucyrus took as many shots as did Seneca East.
Makes were another story altogether.
The Redmen hit just one shot in the second quarter and were nine for 40 from the field through three periods.
The Tigers took advantage. They used a 12-2 scoring edge in the second quarter to build a 30-14 halftime lead. A 24-8 third quarter differential gave the hosts a 32-point bulge en route to 68-50 Northern 10 Athletic Conference win.
Bucyrus (0-3, 0-1 N10) started the game with a 7-2 lead. Seneca East chipped away and took the lead for good at 13-11 on a 3-point shot by Luke Mason. The Tigers ended the first period, up 18-12.
“(Bucyrus) did a nice job of coming out and making some shots,” Seneca East coach Anthony Langhurst said. “It took us a while to communicate and locate guys. I thought our guys did a good job of hunkering down and communicating and recognizing where guys were at.”
One of the Redmen Langhurst was particularly concerned about was Georgie Floyd, who entered the contest averaging 27.5 ppg.
“We went zone, but we knew he was a real good shooter,” Langhurst said. “It was a sticky situation for us. We had to make sure we weren’t rotating off him, make sure everybody knows exactly where he is at at all times. He has a quick trigger so that helps him be the shooter he is.”
Floyd finished the game with 23 points, but he had only five points in the first half and 13 after 3 quarters.
“That (effort to stop Floyd) puts the spotlight on the other guys,” Bucyrus coach Brian Hargis said. “For some of these guys, it’s only their third high school game. I’m just trying to keep that in perspective.”
The Seneca East defense helped force 20 consecutive missed Bucyrus shots in the second quarter, allowing the Tigers to build a double-digit lead at halftime. Mason scored eight of his team-high 17 points in the frame.
“It helps when teams miss shots, obviously,” Langhurst said. “We’ve had some issues rebounding the basketball and I thought we did a nice job of doing that tonight.
“We’re hoping that our defense filters into some offense. And luckily, we had enough of that in big spurts tonight.”
The Tigers had a 37-30 rebounding advantage — 23-10 in the pivotal middle two quarters —resulting in fast-break opportunities on their way to a virtually insurmountable 54-22 lead after three.
“Even in the second quarter, we got the shots we wanted,” Hargis said. “A few were forced, we settled a little bit on the 3. The last half of that second quarter kind of got away from us.”
Bucyrus did a good job defensively on Lucas Bordner, who finished with 12 points. But eight different Tigers scored to help pick up the slack.
“He’s going to get that every night — him and Luke (Mason),” Langhurst said. “It’s not a big secret. Our offense runs through both the Lukes. L.J. did a great job of not forcing it even though he wasn’t getting the usual looks he gets. He did some really nice things for us getting the ball up the floor.”
With both teams substituting liberally, the Redmen were able to rally in the fourth quarter, tallying 28 points and at one point cutting their deficit from 32 to 14. Lincoln Blizzard had all nine of his points — on three 3s — in the last eight minutes.
“I was proud of the way they fought back there at the end,” Hargis said. “That was the message going into the fourth — cut it to 20, maybe cut it to 10.”
Dylan Coppler seconded Floyd’s 23 with 10 points for Bucyrus and Blizzard added nine. Floyd grabbed 10 rebounds.
Mason’s 17 points led Seneca East, while Bordner and Taylor Young had 12 each. Bryler Beamer had nine boards.
“We’re 1-0 in the league right now,” Langhurst said. “The kids will enjoy it one night. We’ll look at some film tomorrow. We have a couple tough matchups coming up, at Carey, at Upper Sandusky. We’ll get back to work tomorrow.”
“They’ve got experience,” Hargis said of the Tigers. “Borner and Mason did a good job tonight. They did a decent job in the 2-3 (zone). We didn’t get to the bottom layer enough.
“We’re still trying to figure out the team,” Hargis added. “It’s next man up. There’s plenty of spots open. There’s not a lot of depth.”
Seneca East won the junior varsity game, 60-33.
Box score
Bucyrus 12 2 8 28 — 50
Seneca East 18 12 24 14 — 68
Stats
Bucyrus (0-3, 0-1 N10): Shots 19-54; 3-pt. shots 9-25 (Georgie Floyd 5, Lincoln Blizzard 3, Dylan Coppler); Free throws 3-6; Rebounds 30 (Georgie Floyd 10); Turnovers 17. Scoring: Demarius Munn-Page 1 0 2, Georgie Floyd 9 0 23, Dylan Coppler 3 3 10, Quin Ross 1 0 2, Carter Bierce 2 0 4.
Seneca East (3-1, 1-0 N10): Shots 24-52; 3-pt. shots 7-17 (Luke Mason 3, Landyn Hicks 2, Taylor Young, Ayden Zack); Free throws 3-17; Rebounds 37 (Bryler Beamer 9); Turnovers 14. Scoring: Taylor Young 5 1 12, Bryler Beamer 2 2 6, Luke Mason 6 2 17, Lucas Bordner 4 4 12, Ayden Zack 2 1 6, Justin Reiter 1 1 3, Caden Miller 1 2 4, Landyn Hicks 3 0 8.
JV: Seneca East 60-33.