GALION — This time it was much closer.
Shelby defeated Galion in Mid Ohio Athletic Conference play on Friday evening to complete a season sweep of the Tigers. The Whippets defeated the Tigers by a score of 80-67. Shelby used a big fourth quarter to grab the win.
“We played really well. Shelby is a really good team,” Galion coach Ryan Stover said following the game. “For us to be in it the entire game it shows a lot of heart in our guys. We’re getting there.”
Tigers made big strides from the 77-49 loss they were handed by the Whippets back on December 11th.
In the victory Shelby’s Alex Bruskotter led the way with 20 points. Andre Hill and Marshall Shepherd each added 13 points. Jeremy Holloway chipped in 12 points for the Whippets.
Galion was paced by Jaxon Oswald who scored a team-high 17 points. Rece Payne added 15 points and Coen Fusion scored 10 points. Hudson Miller pitched in nine points and Garrett Ison added eight points for the Tigers.
Galion stormed out of the gates with the exact effort they wanted. After a quarter it was 14-all as the Tigers forced the Whippets into eight first quarter turnovers.
Shelby was able to out score Galion 22-18 in the second quarter to head into halftime with a 36-32 lead. Ramsey scored eight points in the second quarter alone for the Whippets.
Tigers were able to hold the MOAC’s leading scorer Bruskotter to just seven first half points. Each of those points would come from the free-throw line.
“We wanted to take him away. We wanted someone else to beat us. We felt if we tried to take him away, we would be in the game. It worked most of the game,” Stover said.
Oswald gave Galion some huge minutes in the first half of the game. The senior guard had 12 points by halftime, nine of those game in the second quarter.
“He played well. Oswald is a senior and this is his last ride. He’s proven to be a leader,” Stover said.
Ison added five points from the free-throw line in the second quarter for the Tigers.
Fuson gave the Galion six points in the third quarter, to help cut the lead to just three points. With eight minutes to play Shelby led Galion 53-50. Shepherd scored seven points in the third quarter for the Whippets.
Shelby was able to pull away in the final quarter to grab a double-digit win. The Whippets outscored the Tigers 27-17 in the final quarter. Bruskotter added 10 points in the final quarter to propel Shelby.
Galion (2-10, 2-8 MOAC) will travel to Lexington on Saturday for a tough matchup with the Minutemen.
