NORTH ROBINSON — Colonel Crawford remained unbeaten after blowing past Bucyrus 68-22 in a Crawford County showdown on Saturday evening. The Eagles allowed the Redmen to score just eight points after the first quarter.
“I thought our defense created offense,” Colonel Crawford head coach David Sheldon said. “We were able to turn it over. We wanted to set the tone and I thought we did that. We put three guys in double figures and another guy at nine. Good level scoring that we have to have night in and night out.”
Carter Valentine poured in 20 points to lead the Eagles and fellow senior Mason Studer had 17 points of his own. Junior Braxton Baker added 12 points. Junior Jacob Maddy scored nine points for the Eagles and was tough in the paint all night long.
“That’s what is expected of them,” Sheldon said. “They have been through the wars. I thought this Saturday was so much better than last Saturday. Last Saturday we were a little flat. We had a tough week of practice.”
The Eagles performed much better this week than they did against Buckeye Central, a game the Eagles still won 54-42, Sheldon said.
Colonel Crawford (5-0, 2-0 Northern 10 Athletic Conference) got off to a fast start and pushed the ball on offense. The Eagles built a 15-2 lead and led 29-14 after one quarter of play. The senior duo of Studer and Valentine combined for 26 points in the opening eight minutes.
The Eagles’ defense amped up the pressure in the second quarter. Bucyrus managed just one bucket in the second quarter and trailed Colonel Crawford 49-16 at halftime. At the half, Valentine led all scorers with 18 points. Studer added 15 of his own and Jacob Maddy had six points.
“I think we played right into their hands tonight,” Bucyrus head coach Barry Egan stated. “We shot it way too quick and didn’t run much offense.”
The Redmen were paced by Grady Jackson with six first-half points. Those six points would lead Bucyrus all night. Next up was Mike Wise and Joe Rager who each chipped in four points.
Like the second quarter, the Eagles allowed just one bucket in the third quarter. Braxton Baker led the Eagles with five points in the period and Colonel Crawford pushed its advantage to 61-18 with just eight minutes to play.
The Eagles again had a strong defensive quarter in the final period, allowing just one bucket. Colonel Crawford’s defense was the difference in all night, forcing 20 Redmen miscues. Colonel Crawford only committed 10 turnovers.
“We turned it over and they converted on the back end of it. We have to do a better job,” Egan said.
Sheldon agreed that his ballclub opened the game against Bucyrus more focused after a long week of practice. He said there are still a couple things he wants to clean up after the lopsided win.
“Penetration at times, we are a little late on some rotations. Offensively, we just have to keep sharing the ball to get great shots instead of good shots,” Sheldon said.
Colonel Crawford remains hot and will host Seneca East next Saturday in another Northern 10 contest.
Bucyrus (1-2, 0-2 Northern 10) will look to get on track next Friday against neighboring Wynford.
