TORONTO — The Indian Creek boys’ basketball team wants to play at a slower pace, while Toronto wants to get out and run.

Indian Creek got off to a fast start in the fourth quarter as 9-2 spurt enabled the Redskins to race out to a seven-point advantage. The Red Knights rallied and closed to within two with under two minutes left, however, Indian Creek collected the final two baskets of the game en route to a 47-41 victory Friday night inside the George J. Kunzler Memorial Gymnasium.

“We did a good job of running our offense, and we were able to get a couple of baskets and get the lead,” Indian Creek (4-10) head coach Joe Dunlevy said. “Then, we were able to hold on. We were trying not to turnover it over, and we were able to finish the game.”

It was back-and-forth all game long as the lead changed hands multiple times.

“It was back-and-forth for a while,” Toronto (9-3) head coach Sean Tucker said. “Our guys are resilient. Our guys will figure it out.

“We discussed the little things that we had to do well. We had to box out, and we had to control the boards. Those were things we needed to do all night, but we lost the battle of the boards and that cost us. It’s not about Xs and Os. It’s about offensive rebounding being a priority and defensive rebounding being a priority. That is what the game came down to.”

The Redskins scored the first basket of the game near two minutes in before the Red Knights responded to take the lead. A 3-pointer off the glass gave the hosts an 8-6 lead, and they tool a 10-9 lead into the second.

The boys from the Gem City hit a 3 to go up 13-9 in the second before later extending their advantage to 16-11. The visitors closed to within 20-19 before a late basket gave Toronto a 22-19 advantage heading into the locker room at halftime.

“The biggest part is both teams play great defense,” Dunlevy said. “When you play great defense, there’s not going to be a lot of scoring, and there is not going to be a lot of run outs.

“We have played five games in eight days. It’s like COVID when we were in quarantine all the time. We played four games in five days. We played really well Tuesday up at East Liverpool. We lost in overtime. We lost in overtime to a team that beat us by 30 the first time. We played really well Tuesday, but we did not play well against a really-good team Wednesday.

“Toronto is always fundamental. They are well coached. You know what you are going to get. You are going to have to play for 32 minutes or longer. They beat us in overtime here last year. We are fortunate to get the win. Sean and his staff do a great job.”

The victors regained the lead in the third, however, a free throw by the Red-and-White knotted the score at 32 entering the fourth.

“We knew it was going to be a close game,” Tucker said. “It is always a dogfight whenever we play. Their is a lot of respect between the programs. They played really well. They played really hard.

“They were able to score, and we got a little off course from what we were trying to do.”

The visitors scored 59 seconds into the fourth to go up by two before the boys in white came right back to tie the score. The boys in red countered with a 7-0 run to go up 41-34 with 4:31 left to play in the game.

A three-point play pulled the home team to within 43-31 with 1:57 showing on the scoreboard clock. The Redskins scored with 54 seconds left to go up by four.

Trailing by four, Toronto called a timeout with 27.3 seconds left, however, the Red Knights were unable to score, and a run out led to a layup for the Redskins with 8 seconds left to seal the deal.

“Their new guys are quick and athletic,” Dunlevy said. “He’s playing mostly juniors. They are 9-3 with the schedule they play. They play a lot of bigger schools, and we’re one.

“It was a great game. It’s tough to lose. They swept us last year in two tough games.”

Toronto outscored Indian Creek in the first two quarters, while the Redskins outscored the Red Knights in the last two.

“We sped them up for the most part,” Tucker said. “We did a good job with our on-ball defense. We sped them up a lot of times. They were very frustrated in their offense. We sped them up.

“It was their typical style of play. Our guys did a very good job of speeding them up. We made them uncomfortable. We forced a lot of turnovers.

“We drew up a play. We were down two. We wanted to get a good look to tie it up or to take the lead. We ran our offense to perfection. Things just didn’t go our way. That happens.

“Our guys continued to fight until the last second. That is what we ask them to do. I am proud of their effort.”

Four players scored for Indian Creek, and all four produced double digits in points. Individually, Carl Bonecutter tallied a team-high 13 points to lead the way offensively, Mason Lester netted 12 and Caleb Bodo and Nickey Eddy each delivered 11.

“I am proud of our kids for how hard they play,” Dunlevy said. “We don’t make excuses. We did not practice yesterday. We went over Toronto at the end of school today, and we came here and played. I’m really proud of the kids. I am proud of how hard they play.”

Toronto also had four players score in the game. Individually, Brady Fair finished with a team-high 12 points, Landon Grimes tallied 11 and Austin Buchanan netted 10. Also, Aiden Filby added eight to the Red Knights’ cause.

“We want to play bigger schools,” Tucker said. “We want to play physical teams. Harrison Central is physical. Indian Creek is physical every year. They have six seniors who play really hard.

“We want to expose our team to that so they will be ready for the postseason. We may play teams from the IVC, and they are physical and they play hard. We may play other teams that are physical and play hard. We have to get our kids accustomed to it. We have to get them accustomed to their style so they will be prepared for the postseason. If we are prepared for it, we can have a successful year.”

Toronto is scheduled to play Buckeye Local Monday afternoon at home. The JV game is slated to start at 1 p.m. After the varsity game, the Toronto girls will play Bridgeport in a varsity-only game at 5 p.m.

Indian Creek will play Weir Tuesday night at home before playing Bellaire in the Buckeye 8 Championships at 12:30 down at the ECO Center.

All games are weather permitting.

Indian Creek 47, Toronto 41

Indian Creek 9 10 13 15 – 47

Toronto 10 12 10 9 – 41

INDIAN CREEK (4-10): Bonecutter 6 0-0 13, Bodo 5 0-2 11, McGrew 0 0-0 0, Eddy 5 1-2 11, Lester 6 0-0 12, Saffle 0 0-0 0, Shultz 0 0-2 0, Johnson 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 22 1-6 47.

TORONTO (9-3): 3 2-2 8, Grimes 4 2-2 11, Buchanan 3 2-3 10, Fair 5 1-3 12, Henry 0 0-0 0, Dickinson 0 0-0 0, Heckathorn 0 0-2 0. TOTALS: 15 7-12 41.

3-POINTERS: Indian Creek 2 (Bonecutter, Bodo); Toronto 4 (Buchanan 2, Grimes, Fair)