East Union High basketball coach Ryan Tarr was none too pleased following Tuesday’s 86-82 loss to visiting Buhach Colony.
The Lancers (6-3) had looked great early on, leading by 23 points midway in the second quarter only to see the Thunder roar back in the second half.
“It was embarrassing,” he said. “We let them back in the game. They blitzed us in the third quarter.”
Buhach Colony (5-7) withstood East Union’s hot start by mounting a 10-2 shortly before the intermission.
“(The Thunder) took that momentum into the second half,” Tarr added.
By then, Buhach Colony had employed its press.
“We made some adjustments,” Thunder coach John Bliss said. “We’re a pressing team (on defense) but we got away from that.”
His game plan had been geared to stop East Union’s Gyse Hulsebosch, who sparked his team to a 30-14 first-quarter lead.
He scored 12 of his game-high 29 points in that opening period, dishing off three assists including a crosscourt pass to teammate Malik Thomas for an open 3-point basket.
The Lancers hit 11 of 12 from the field during that early run including four treys.
But the tide turned soon after as the Thunder controlled the boards, getting second-chance baskets during key stretches of the game.
Andrew Morris, Buhach Colony’s 6-foot-4 junior, overcame a quiet first half with 14 points, including eight in the extra session.
Kory Woods also played a big role in the comeback, hitting a pair of baskets and getting the assist on another as the Thunder 74-68 lead in the fourth quarter.
Austin Miller hit a pair of free throws and Hulsebosch canned a 3 and delivered the tying shot to send the game into overtime.
East Union had no answer for Morris, who completed a three-point play early in the extra session. He followed that up with a second-chance basket and hit three of four from the line as a topper.
“We’re only as good as our rebounding,” said Tarr, who looking for his team to step on attacking the boards.
Besides Hulsebosch, Thomas contributed with 14 while Miller and Daniel Ramos chipped in with nine and eight points, respectively.
Miller, Woods (15) and Jake Walejko (14) paced the Thunder.

Sophomore
East Union 66,
 Buhach Colony 39
The Lancers improved to 4-0 in the non-league victory over the Thunder.
JoJo Espinoza led way with his game-high 15 points. Drew Sena added 13 and Blake Greenlee and Jay Gakhal contributed 11 and 10, respectively.
Jesse Ansar also chipped in, scoring nine points.