MARION — The Galion Tigers boys basketball team was in Marion on Saturday night to meet up with the Pleasant Spartans in Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference Red Division play. The Spartans were too much for the Tigers to handle and breezed to a 75-45 victory over Galion.

The Tigers drop to 2-8 on the season and are now 1-4 in MOAC Red play while the Spartans improve to 6-4 overall and an even .500 in conference play at 2-2.

Galion played Pleasant close in the opening quarter of play and found themselves down just 17-14 to start the second period. That’s when things began to slip away as the Spartans outscored the Tigers 20-6 to head into the intermission with a 37-20 lead. A big third quarter by Pleasant put them ahead by a score of 65-30 to start the final quarter. Galion would put up 15 to Pleasant’s 10 points in the fourth which was not enough to get them out of the 35-point deficit they were in.

“Our boys played with a lot of effort tonight, I can’t fault them for that. We never laid down,” said the Tigers’ head coach Matt Valentine.

Chase Cooke was the top scorer for Galion on the night with 11 points to go along with seven rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block. Isaiah Alsip put in 10 points for the Tigers, as well as three rebounds and two assists. Tristan Baldy contributed eight points in the Galion effort. Big Men Colten Skaggs and Nic Sorrenson had four points apiece. Jack McElligott and Zhamir Anderson chimed in with three points each while Bobby Gilbert finished up the Tigers’ scoring with two points.

Joe Craycraft and Nick Kimmel both scored in double-figures for the Spartans. Craycraft had 18 points for the contest and created many problems for the Tigers’ offense. Kimmel added 10 points in the win.

“Craycraft’s ball pressure on our point guards and giving up offensive rebounds was the difference tonight,” says Valentine. “We need to continue to work on the very basics of basketball and we must get physically stronger in the weight room. I must get through to the kids the importance of becoming physically stronger,” the coach continued.

Galion will travel to Mount Gilead on Tuesday Jan. 10 to meet up with the Indians in a non-conference matchup.