The Plymouth Big Red stepped into Robert L Haas gymnasium in Willard High School with a 22-2 record and high expectations. The only problem was their opponent was the Sandusky St. Mary’s Central Catholic Panthers. The Panthers would use a lackluster second half by the Big Red to punch their ticket to Friday night’s showdown with Buckeye Central for the District Championship.
The game was back and forth through three quarters. The Big Red took a 32-28 lead into half time but they never seemed to come out of the locker room as they would only put up nine points to the Panthers 21 in the third frame. The lead grew to 15 by the middle of the fourth quarter as the Panthers were just a step quicker than the Big Red defenders.
St. Mary’s used a dribble drive offense for much of the fourth quarter in which they would hold the ball near half court until a Plymouth defender came with in arms reach and the ball handler would use his quickness to get into the lane to create scoring opportunities. It proved to be the difference in the ball game.
The Big Red managed to score just 20 points total in the second half after putting up 32 in the first. Plymouth Head Coach Troy Keene said, “We just couldn’t get anything going. Some guys didn’t show up to play tonight, but I was most disappointed in our second half defensive effort. We let guys penetrate too much and get to the basket way too easy.”
Plymouth junior Tyrell Edmiston would not let the Panthers take the game easily. He brought the Big Red back to with in 9 points late in the fourth quarter, but the lead was just too much for anyone to over come.
Edmiston finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds along with a pair of assists. Fellow standout Tyson Beebe had a hot start to the game with eight points in the first half, but he would not tally another point for the rest of the night. He also had 7 rebounds on the night. Sophomore Dodge Collins added 8 points as well, connecting on a pair of three pointers. Tyler Taylor and Hunter Bailey rounded out the scoring with 8 and 7 points respectively.
The Big Red shot 61% on two point shot attempts and 33% from three-point land where they connected on 7 treys.
Sandusky St. Mary’s were simply hotter, sinking 69% of their two-point shots and 57% of over all shots. Senior Denarius Harris led with 19 points and eight rebounds along with four assists. Senior Lucas Will added 15 points on the night.
The Panthers will be in action in the District Championship game on Friday night against The Buckeye Central Bucks who defeated the St. Paul Flyers 46-21 in the 6:15 p.m. matchup.
The Plymouth Big Red finished the season with one of the top three seasons in school history with 22 wins. But Plymouth Head Coach Troy Keene has a different measuring stick for success. “We measure our success on the amount of championships we win. I am proud of the Firelands Conference Championship and the Sectional Championship. My personal goal was to get out of Districts.”
Keene added, “The expectations only go up from here. There is no reason why we should not make it to Regionals next year. I know my guys will put in the work in the offseason and they will come back even stronger. I saw a world of difference from last year to this year when this group was even younger and just the improvement that they made was eye opening. I am looking forward to these guys building on their basketball I.Q. as seniors.”
It’s hard to believe that the Big Red could get better that a 22-3 season, but it is true. Plymouth loses three players, none of who are starters. The depth problem that plagued the Big Red all season will be non-existent. They will return seven letter winners as well as a group of young players that will only get better with time.
