ONTARIO – Mansfield St. Peter’s plays its best basketball at a fast pace. Unfortunately for the Spartans, Buckeye Central plays even better.
The Bucks proved it with a 12-2 run in the third quarter that broke open a close game and earned Buckeye Central (21-2) a Division IV sectional title with a 70-58 win over St. Peter’s (13-11) at Ontario High School on Friday night.
It’s the second straight year BC has knocked the Spartans from the tournament.
“We are at our best when we are going up and down the floor,” Spartans coach Pat Durham said afterward. “But we got a little careless with the ball in the third quarter and our shot selection was maybe not what we liked. It got (BC) started.”
“That pace is our best offense,” Buckeye Central coach Phil Loy said. “It’s also their best offense. They shot the ball very well in the first quarter. We were fortunate to end the quarter with a two-point lead (19-17).”
With just a 32-26 halftime lead, Loy cautioned his team the Spartans would try to mount a run of their own.
“We switched our defense up in the second half (going to a zone) and it forced them to take more perimeter shots. We were able to get the rebound and go and we got some good looks in the second half,” Loy said.
The Bucks led 34-28 less than one minute into the third quarter. Over the next four-plus minutes, BC scored on six of its seven possessions. The Spartans managed just one basket on seven possessions in that period, missing five shots and committing three turnovers.
When the run ended, the Bucks had a 46-30 lead and the sectional title basically wrapped up.
The Spartans welcomed the return of 6-10 senior center Cole Phillips back to the court. Phillips badly injured his knee in the season opener and didn’t return to the court until Friday. Playing just 9 minutes, he finished with 7 points, four rebounds and two blocked shots.
Sophomore David Hall led St. Peter’s with 17 points. Senior Joseph Rall added 12 and junior Richard Shaw had nine. St. Peter’s hit 23 of 57 shots from the field and eight of 18 at the line.
Grant Loy led BC with 16, followed by Austin Worm (14), Stone Wurm (13), Cade Kaple (12) and Sam Robertson (11). The Bucks hit 27 of 57 FG tries and eight of 15 from the line. BC had an edge in rebounds (36-34) and in turnovers, 16 to 20.
Buckeye Central advances to the Division IV district semifinals at Willard High School next week.
