GALION — The Galion Tigers boys basketball squad welcomed Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference foes, the Clear Fork Colts, to their home gymnasium on Thursday evening.
Entering the contest, Galion was stuck in a three-game losing streak and looking for their first conference win of the season. On the other end of the scorer’s table, Clear Fork had dropped four in a row following their season-opening victory and were also looking for their first victory within the MOAC in 2019-2020.
After the first quarter of play, the two teams would find themselves knotted at 15 points apiece. In the second, Clear Fork would put a little distance between themselves and their hosts but, thanks to an Isaiah Alsip buzzer-beating three pointer, the Tigers entered halftime trailing by just two points; 34-32.
Both teams came out shaky in the second half, trading turnovers at their respective offensive ends and when the horn sounded, the Colts led by seven at 51-44. In the fourth quarter, it would come down to a game of strategy as the teams would be neck and neck. Valuable missed free throws and put backs on offensive rebounds, along with a costly turnover would determine the outcome of the contest as Clear Fork snapped their skid and earned their first conference win of the season; 64-59. The Colts improved to 2-4 overall and 1-2 in the MOAC, having lost two games so far this season by two points or less. For the Tigers, they fall to 1-4 on the season and remain winless in league play at 0-3.
Alsip led all scorers on the evening, pouring in 33 of Galion’s 59 points. Brennan South finished as the top scorer for the visitors, tallying 16 on the night. Three other Colts would reach double-figures as Ethan Delaney and Brady Tedrow added 13 points apiece with Merritt Burgholder adding 11 in the win.
The Tigers have three games remaining in the calender year, starting with a trip to Shelby to clash with the Whippets on Saturday, December 21. On Friday, December 27, Galion heads to Ontario to meet up with the Warriors in MOAC play before hosting the Northmor Golden Knights the next day in non-conference action.
Clear Fork will be on the road again for their next game as they travel to Marion to meet up with the Pleasant Spartans on Friday, December 27. The Colts return to their home floor to begin 2020 and will host the Harding Presidents on Friday, January 3.
