by The Ohio Bruins survived a furious rally by the Burning River Buckets to cling to a 110-92 victory at home tonight. They held a 85-64 lead heading into the fourth quarter when the Buckets did everything possible to give them a thrilling and dramatic finish. With the win, the Bruins improve to 5-1 on the season with their fifth straight win while the Buckets fall to 3-1.
The Bruins were led by the red hot shooting of Marcus Reinke with 33 points. Reinke had 22 of those in the first half and buried 8 three balls on the night. Jay Farrow was all over the court and finished with 29 points, including 6 big foul shots in the fourth quarter. Gary Hoover was a monster on the boards and in the lanes as he dominated each all night. Hoover would finish with 20 points in the contest.
The Buckets came in highly ranked in the nation, and for good reason as they showed massive heart and skill tonight when it counted. They never allowed the score to dictate the game and once the shots finally started dropping, things turned in in their direction.
Martell Medley used a massive second half to finish with 22 points. Medley had 9 points from beyond the arc. Dylan Contento found the bottom of the net on several three balls as well, and used that to finish the game with 23 points with 18 from beyond the arc.
Anthony Coleman saw the floor a lot tonight and made the most of it with 22 points, including 18 from beyond the arc. KT Taylor finished with 13 while Justin Fritts had 9, Aaron Beidleman had 7 and Michael Ryan 6.
The Ohio Bruins jumped out to a 20-8 lead 5 minutes into the game as Marcus Reinke got red hot to start. He lit it up with 11 quick points, including 9 from beyond the arc. Jay Farrow had 8 during that stretch as well as coach Koenig called timeout at the 6:10 mark to try and settle things down. The Bruins would then push the lead to 30-15 with 2:37 left in the quarter as they just kept attacking the boards, and draining three’s as well.
The Bruins would push the lead to 34-17 after one quarter of play. Marcus Reinke was on fire with 16 points in the quarter, including 12 from downtown. The Bruins hit five from long range as Farrow had one himself, as part of his 7-point quarter. The Buckets were paced by Coleman with 7.
The second quarter remained the same as Jay Farrow and Marcus Reinke stayed red hot. The Bruins played lights out defense and also attacked the boards to hold the Buckets to plenty of one and done possessions. They ran the lead out to 48-22 in the first five minutes of the quarter. The Buckets simply couldn’t get a second shot off and it was hurting them badly.
The Bruins took a 58-36 lead into the half as they were paced with 24 from Marcus Reinke, including 18 of those from beyond the arc. He was helped by Jay Farrow with 17 and Gary Hoover with 10. The Buckets were led by Dylan Contento with 13. It was just an off half for the Buckets as usual sharp shooter Cole Krizancic was held scoreless in the half as he had Bruins draped all over him any time he tried to shoot.
The Buckets came out in the second half with a higher intensity on defense and an attacking the ball mentality. This along with three balls from Dylan Contento, Martell Medley and Anthony Coleman helped them cut into the lead, but it wasn’t enough to change the tide as the Bruins maintained a strong lead as they led 85-64 after the next 12 minutes of play were complete. On the bright side, the Buckets did win the quarter 28-27.
The Buckets had a flash to start the fourth quarter as they began it on a 7-2 run to cut the lead to 87-71 just two minutes in. Some more aggressive defense and sharp shooting by Martell Medley and KT Taylor would then cut the lead to 98-85 with a little over 6 minutes to play. A few minutes later, it was Taylor nailing a three ball, getting fouled and cut the led to 100-91 with 4:10 to go.
Another Martell three ball would cut it to 102-94 with 3:38 to go. After another bucket by the Buckets it was 102-96 with 2:42 to go. The Buckets would cut it to 104-99 with under a minute to go, but that was as close as they could get it. The Bruins would hold on for a 110-102 victory.
The Ohio Bruins came into the night on a 4-game winning streak with victories over the Midwest Falcons, Illinois Bulldogs, Beaver County Indians and Akron Aviators after an opening night loss to the Indiana Lyons. They are now 5-1 on the early season.
The Burning River Bucket return home this Thursday as they host the Akron Aviators. A team they beat in overtime earlier this season. The Buckets are now 3-1 on the campaign.
You can purchase a ticket for the big matchup with the Avaiators by clicking here – https://burningbuckets.com/tickets
You can follow them on twitter here – https://twitter.com/BurningBuckets
The Buckets would like to thank Desmond Williams and Casey Gillepese for all of their help off the court this season.
