The Galion boys basketball team had a rough ride after losing to the Western Reserve Roughriders 65-47 in the district semifinals of the Division III Norwalk District Thursday night.
The Tigers trailed the Roughriders 35-19 at halftime.
Galion made 20 shots and 6 of 12 free throws, while Western Reserve made 24 shots and 5 of 8 free throws.
The Tigers narrowly lost in the second half to the Roughriders 30-28.
Galion head coach Colby Bright said Western Reserve were getting more shots.
“They knew the inside scoop,” he said. “You get it out [Galion senior Houston Blair’s] hands… that kind of hurt.”
Blair only scored five points for the night. Colton Moore led the Tigers with 25 points – he was the only scorer during the first quarter with 11 points.
“He’s just a great player,” Western Reserve head coach Chris Sheldon said.
While Sheldon and the team’s plan was to hold Blair at bay they also weren’t going to let Moore beat them either.
“We play like Gladiators on the glass,” he said. “We got open and made the shots and they got open shots and miss them.”
Jaret Griffith led the Roughriders with 22 points.
Western Reserve will play in the district championship Milan Edison, which earlier Thursday evening defeated Willard 57-40.
Galion concludes it’s basketball season 12-12.
The team loses seven seniors: Houston Blair, Josh Eckert, Colton Moore, Zach Phelps, Gavin Ratliff, Kalvin Rinehart and David Salisbury.
Bright said he had a lot of talent on the team and regretted that he couldn’t get it to “gel” in the end. He hopes the younger team members will take Thursday’s loss as a learning experience that will carry on into the off season and beyond.
“It’ll be tough,” he said.
