ONTARIO — Cooper Kent and his Galion teammates exorcised more than a decade’s worth of demons Friday night.
Kent scored 32 points — one off his career high — as the Tigers knocked off Ontario 66-53 in Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference action at the O-Rena.
The victory was the first for Galion over the Warriors since Jan. 7, 2012. The Tigers had lost 19 straight.
“I have no idea what it means to beat Ontario,” said Kent, who came in averaging 18.5 points a game. “We have that under our belts so now the future players of this program know how to beat Ontario and we’re going to try to build on that.”
A senior sharpshooter, Kent was instrumental as the Tigers (2-2, 2-1) erased an early fourth-quarter deficit.
Ontario (0-4, 0-2) led 48-47 after a Landon Foltz 3-pointer with 7:41 to play before Galion scored 10 straight points to take command.
Kent’s 3-pointer with 5:04 remaining gave the Tigers a 52-48 advantage. His conventional three-point play with 1:55 showing on the fourth-quarter clock gave Galion a 60-50 lead.
Galion outscored Ontario 19-8 in the fourth quarter after squandering a seven-point third-quarter lead.
“We played a lot better (in the fourth) than we did in the third,” Kent said. “In past years I think we would have folded in that third quarter.
“Our defense helped us get back on track and not fold like we would have in the past.”
Ontario raced out to a 19-14 first-quarter lead as seven players scored in the period. Galion responded with a 22-16 advantage in the second and took a 36-35 lead to the half.
The Tigers opened the third on a 7-1 run and opened a 43-36 margin on Quinn Miller’s layup with 4:25 to play in the period. Ontario outscored Galion 9-4 the rest of the quarter and trailed 47-45 going to the fourth.
“I think what helped … was senior leadership,” first-year Galion coach Tyler Sanders said. “When you have Elijah Chafin and Cooper Kent handling the basketball, you always feel pretty good.”
Steven Glew backed Kent with 15 points. Chafin and Miller scored eight points apiece.
“The growth of all those guys in different parts of their game has been fun to watch,” Sanders said. “We just want to keep building on it and keep getting better.”
Grady Schroeder led the Warriors with 13 points. Foltz had 12 and Bradyt Zehe added nine.
The Warriors, under first-year coach Jerry Moten, are 0-4 for the first time since the 1974-75 season.
“It’s kind of hard to (see progress) when you’re 0-4,” Moten said. “Hopefully, this is our rock-bottom.
“I think it will start translating eventually. It’s a process and I’ve got to be patient.”