BUCYRUS — Willard was expected to contend for a Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division title this season.
The Flashes’ team depth enabling them to do so was on full display Thursday night.
Playing a little short-handed with two starters out, Willard broke open a close game with a 20-7 advantage in the second quarter to roll past Bucyrus, 78-40, in a non-league game at Alex Kish Memorial Gymnasium.
“We let (Bucyrus) reverse the ball and their spacing was hurting us early on,” Willard coach Joe Bedingfield said. “Closing their gaps a little bit in the second quarter and definitely our length helps us in rebounding. That also led to some transition points and opened up the game a little bit.”
Bucyrus (0-2) hung close in the first quarter on the strength of a pair of three-point shots by Zach Delaney and the Redmen were still within one, at 8-7, when Mike Wise hit the second of two free throws at the 2:49 mark.
Willard (2-0) eased out to a 13-9 advantage by period’s end, with sharpshooter Cooper Parrott scoring nine of the Flashes’ points in the frame.
“We’re asking our kids to try to take care of the ball,” Bucyrus coach Barry Egan said. “Once you turn it over, (Willard) can go and finish real quick and that’s exactly what happened, especially in the second quarter. We kept it as close as we could in the first quarter. Second quarter, we turned it over and they shot layups.”
The Flashes converted nine of their 20 points directly from turnovers which helped them in eight of 12 shooting from the floor. The 13-point bulge over the Redmen in the second ballooned the Willard (3-0) lead to 33-16 at intermission.
“The nice thing about this team is our length helps us rebound, but also getting out in transition is what we like to try to do and that is what got us going in the second quarter,” Bedingfield said. “It was really big for us. We got some stops (defensively).”
Bucyrus struggled shooting the ball, hitting just five of 18 shots in the first half and continuing into the third period, where the Redmen were three of 10. Willard was an impressive 10 of 16 in the third allowing them to expand the lead to 60-22.
“We had our opportunities and didn’t convert,” Egan said. “Our first two games, we’ve struggled to find our offense. We’ve just got to do a better job of taking care of the ball and feel a little bit more comfortable running what we’re trying to run.”
Shots began to fall more consistently in the fourth quarter, with Bucyrus making nine of 13 shots and matching Willard’s 18 points to set the final at 78-40.
Parrott led all scorers with 29 points — including five 3s — for the Flashes. Austin Adelman had 11 points and Jake Cok finished with 10. Micah Dawson grabbed 10 rebounds.
Spencer Huff and Grady Jackson had eight points each to lead the Redmen. Wise and Delaney had three rebounds each. Bucyrus had a 31-19 deficit on the glass.
“Some kids stepped up for us tonight that might not (normally) get a lot of minutes,” Bedingfield said. “Tonight, we had to play a different lineup. It was good to see how we would respond to that as well.”
“We’re very young, no doubt about that,” Egan said. “But that is the hand we’re dealt, and we’ve got to play that hand. We’re still going to keep coaching them. Our kids have got a good attitude and they’re trying their best to do what we’re asking them to do. I certainly don’t have a problem with that.”
“They’re young, Bucyrus is a young team,” Bedingfield agreed. “They’ll get better. Coach Egan does a good job and runs some offenses. Anytime you force 27 turnovers, it’s going to get lopsided. People shooting the ball well early kind of gave us some relief and gave us some confidence.”
“They’ve got good size, they’re well-coached. They’ve got a nice team,” Eagan said of Willard. “Hopefully, we’ll take some steps forward and improve on Saturday (versus Ridgedale). We talk about getting one percent better day to day. We want to continue to knock down doors until things change.”
Willard also won the junior varsity game, 58-33. Caleb Picklesimer had 17 points for the Flashes to lead all scorers. Trey Mock added 12.
Brady Rankins topped Bucyrus with 13 points.
Box score
Willard 13 20 27 18 — 78
Bucyrus 9 7 6 18 — 40
Willard (3-0): Shots 31-59; 3-pt. shots 5-17 (Cooper Parrott 5); Free throws 11-21; Rebounds 31 (Micah Dawson 10); Turnovers 12. Scoring: Cole Weiss 3 0 6, Trey Paxton 4 0 8, Austin Adelman 3 5 11, Casey Sallee 2 0 4, Cooper Wiers 1 0 2, Micah Dawson 3 2 8, Cooper Parrott 11 2 29, Jake Cok 4 2 10.
Bucyrus (0-2): Shots 17-41; 3-pt. shots 3-11 (Zach Delaney 2, Gabe Higginbotham); Free throws 3-4; Rebounds 19 (Zach Delaney 3, Mike Wise 3); Turnovers 27. Scoring: Zach Delaney 2 0 6, Mike Wise 2 1 5, Grady Jackson 4 0 8, Nick Middleton 1 2 4, Spencer Huff 4 0 8, Skylar Lucio 1 0 2, Gabe Higginbotham 1 0 3, Jake Hamm 2 0 4.
JV: Willard 58-33.