BUCYRUS — Galion watched their season end Wednesday night in a Division II sectional game. Tigers were defeated 93-45 at the hands of Mansfield Senior.
Brock Hill was the high-scoring man for the Tygers with 18 points off the bench. Hill was a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point land. Maurice Ware pitched in 13 points. Overall 14 players scored for Mansfield Senior.
Cooper Kent led Galion with 15 points. Rece Payne added in seven points for the Tigers.
Mansfield jumped out of the gates with a 30-point quarter. The Tygers held Galion to 19 first quarter points. Nine guys scored the basketball in the first quarter for Mansfield Senior, a testament to how well the Tygers were clicking.
Jaxon Oswald scored seven point in the first quarter for Galion, the number he would end with.
The Tygers were able to blow the game open in the second quarter. At halftime Mansfield Senior led Galion 61-25. Tygers out scored Galion 31-6 in the second quarter.
“They have size, they have length. We don’t have size and we don’t have length — we’ve got a couple kids. We don’t have anyone to really match their physicality,” Galion head coach Ryan Stover explained.
“They played really physical with us and we weren’t ready. That’s a good team.”
Hill and Ware each scored six points in the second quarter for Mansfield Senior.
Mansfield Senior did not slow down to start the second half. Tygers pushed the lead to 75-35 by the 2:54 mark — when all starters were pulled. After three quarters Mansfield Senior held. 80-35 advantage.
“We wanted to pack it in and make them shoot because they haven’t shot well. Just like every game we’ve played, guys who don’t shoot well, then shoot well,”
Galion was outscored 13-10 in the final quarter.
Mansfield Senior was able to out-shoot Galion from behind the arc. Tygers drilled eight three-pointers, while Galion knocked in five.
Tygers forced Galion into 20 turnovers, while turning it over just 10 times themselves.
Galion finished the season with an overall record of 5-18. That mark is a big improvement from a win-less season last year.
“Credit goes to the seniors because they’ve set the foundation. They have had a bad last couple years and I still think we’re better than our record indicates,” Stover explained.
“Those seniors put in the time, put in the effort, they wanted to get better. They’ve pushed these younger kids.”
