NEW MATAMORAS -The Frontier Cougars have had better nights on the hardwood.
The team shot just 23 percent (9-for-39) from the floor, including 1-for-15 from beyond the arch, in a 57-24 loss to Buckeye Trail Tuesday night.
Frontier is now 1-5 on the year after the loss while the Warriors remain undefeated at 5-0.
Article Photos
JORDAN HOLLAND The Marietta Times
Frontier’s Eddie Salazar dribbles low near the halfcourt line as the ref counts the seconds
"We just came out flat," said Frontier head coach Roger Kirkpatrick. "We missed a ton of bunnies. Once you get down like that, it's hard to catch up when you can't score a lot of points. You start doing things once you're down that you're not good at and they capitalize on it."
In spite of what the final score looked like, the Cougars were in it early.
Down 11-3, baskets by Frontier's Jay Eddy and Taylor Merckle sandwiched a free throw by Trail's Caleb Gray to cut it to 12-7. A Zach Roe free throw made it a 13-7 Buckeye Trail lead going into the second quarter, where the Warriors pulled away.
Fact Box
Buckeye Trail 57, Frontier 24
Buckeye Trail 13 23 13 8 - 57
Frontier 7 5 6 6 - 24
Buckeye Trail (5-0)
Zach Roe 6 8-10 20, Austin Evans 1 0-2 2, Jed Burgan 0 0-0 0, Tyler Doudna 1 0-1 2, C.J. Beaver 3 3-4 9, Kyle Lashley 0 0-0 0, Caleb Gray 4 3-4 11, Lane Starr 1 0-2 2, Tyler Starr 4 0-0 11, Spencer Warden 0 0-0 0, Corey Cutlip 0 0-0 0, R.J. Douglas 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 14-23 57.
Frontier (1-5)
Drew Schneider 1 1-3 3, Jay Eddy 1 1-3 3, Jordan Jefferson 1 0-0 2, Eddie Salazar 0 0-0 0, Levi Cochran 0 0-0 0, Dusty Wright 0 0-0 0, D. Metheney 0 0-0 0, Taylor Merckle 1 2-4 4, Dylan Absher 0 0-0 0, Rodney Barnes 0 0-0 0, Josh Kirkbride 2 1-2 6, Dylan O'Neal 3 0-1 6, Cole Farley 0 0-0 0. Totals 9 5-13 24.
Team stats: Buckeye Trail: Shooting: 20-51 (39 percent); Rebounds: 34 (L. Starr 8, Roe 7); Steals: 7 (T. Starr 3); Turnovers: 12; Frontier: Shooting: 9-39 (23 percent); Rebounds: 13 (Schneider 3); Assists: 5; Steals: 8; Turnovers: 12.
JV: Buckeye Trail 37, Frontier 32
Next game: Bridgeport at Frontier at 6 p.m. Thursday.
Trail outscored Frontier 23-5 in the second frame, paced by two 3-pointers from Tyler Starr and five points from Roe. It was 36-12 at halftime, and the Cougars just couldn't fight their way back.
"I thought we were making strides the past couple games, but we took three steps back tonight," Kirkpatrick said. "We just didn't show up. Give credit to them, they're a good team, but we did not play well at all."
Along with out-shooting the Cougars, the Warriors held a big advantage on the boards, notching 34 rebounds to just 13 for Frontier. The teams were even in turnovers with 12 apiece.
"We just played really well tonight," said Buckeye Trail head coach Rod Gray. "Overall, from start to finish, that was probably the best we've played. We did some nice things offensively. We did some nice things defensively. We even rebounded well."
The Warriors were led by Roe, who had a game-high 20 points along with seven boards. Roe was 6-for-9 from the field and 8-for-10 from the free throw line. Caleb Gray and Tyler Starr chipped in with 11 points and C.J. Beaver had nine. Lane Starr was the high rebounder with eight.
Seniors Josh Kirkbride and Dylan O'Neal combined to lead to Frontier as each had six points. Kirkbride had the only 3-pointer of the game for the Cougars, coming in the final seconds of regulation.
Junior Drew Schneider, who had three points, led Frontier with three boards.
"I'll tell you, Frontier is scrappy," Gray said. "They're young kids are coming along. They're gonna be pretty good. It's gonna be a lot different when we play them again, that's for sure."
Buckeye Trail took the junior varsity contest 37-32. Frontier will look for its second win of the season Thursday in another home game against Bridgeport.
