MANSFIELD, Ohio – A couple of big guns joined the Madison basketball team for the first time on Friday night, and it helped the Rams fire on all cylinders.
Senior Billy Buckley and junior Jacob Koehler made their respective debuts after sitting out two-game suspensions, and their presence helped coach Tim Mergel’s team roll over Ashland 58-42 at Madison Junior High School.
“Having Buckley and Koehler back gave us more leaders on the floor,” Rams’ standout Tyrell Ajian said.
The 6-foot-1 Ajian pumped in a game-high 18 points, while Buckley chipped in 16 to help Madison improve to 2-1 overall, 2-0 in the Ohio Cardinal Conference. The Rams were especially impressive on the perimeter, drilling 10 treys, compared to nine two-point field goals.
“We’ve done a good job of identifying what a good shot is,” Mergel said. “Billy Buckley had some good looks. It’s not the way I like to live and die. I’d like to get some more kids involved inside, but Ashland did a good job of slowing down our dribble penetration and the kickouts were open tonight.
“Obviously, we took advantage of those opportunities.”
Ashland set the tempo at the outset, taking advantage of its size inside and opening a 15-13 first-quarter lead. But the Rams responded. Buckley scored 14 of his 16 points in the first half, boosted by four treys.
That sharpshooting display helped Madison gain control and eventually a 28-23 halftime margin.
“Madison did a great job of moving the ball and getting good looks,” Ashland coach Jason Hess said. “(Buckley) really hurt us tonight shooting the ball.”
The Rams stingy defense allowed them to stretch the lead to 40-33 heading to the fourth quarter. Buckley, at 6-foot-3, and Koehler, at 6-5, were a big part of that effort, according to Mergel.
“Billy Buckley is the best defender I’ve ever coached,” Mergel said. “His positioning and instincts to get in the right position before the ball is passed are second to none.
“We kept him on (6-5 Logan) Brewer. He pulls the toughest matchup every night with an inside game.”
Ashland (0-2, 0-1) tried to exploit its size advantage, and did get into the double-bonus early in the fourth quarter. However, Hess saw his team make just 11 of 19 free throws (59 percent), and the Rams countered by hitting all 10 of their freebies, eight of them by Ajian.
“We seemed to run out of gas, especially at the defensive end,” Hess said. “We were a step slow on our rotations. We gave up a lot of in-rhythm 3’s to some pretty good shooters and they knocked them down and made us pay.”
Junior John Wolfe topped the Arrows with 14 points, while junior Griffin Gerwig added 13. But Madison won the rebounding battle 28-17.
“Having (Buckley and Koehler) back changed our mindset … put our other guys at ease a little bit,” Mergel said. “It gave us a couple more offensive weapons.”
