ATTICA - The game was over and the fans who had attended Thursday night's game in Attica were filing out.
But there was a pocket of people - a small crowd - still on the floor.
In the center of it was Seneca East player Ben Hahler, the star of the Tigers' 75-51 rout of Calvert.
When you play like Hahler did, you're bound to be popular.
Hahler scored 23 points and had 15 rebounds, and played a dominant third quarter where the Tigers turned the game from a close one to a blowout.
Seneca East opened up an 11-point advantage early, but led just 31-28 at halftime.
Fact Box
Seneca East 75, Calvert 51
Calvert (0-4, 0-2): Brian Gruss 4-0-11; Brad Iannantuono 0-1-1; Mike Bennett 2-4-8; Donavon Stith 2-0-4; Austin Ball 2-0-4; Jared Thompson 3-4-10; Tyler Long 0-1-1; Marcus Somers 3-0-6; Austin Perry 1-1-3; Drew Ritzler 1-0-3. Totals: 18-11-51.
Seneca East (2-2, 1-1): Ethan Caudill 7-1-15; Gus Baldosser 2-0-4; Nate Phillips 3-0-6; Adam Hall 0-0-0; Dylan Bordner 8-0-18; Dan Bartley 3-1-7; Ben Hahler 11-1-23; Dan Beat 0-0-0. Totals: 34-3-75.
Calvert 14 14 8 15 - 51
Seneca East 22 9 21 23 - 75
Field goals: Calvert 18-50; Seneca East 34-51.
Foul shots: Calvert 11-20; Seneca East 3-5
3-point goals: Calvert 4-14 (Gruss 3, Ritzler); Seneca East 2-5 (Bordner 2).
Rebounds: Calvert 22 (Somers 6); Seneca East 34 (Hahler 15).
Turnovers: Calvert 11; Seneca East 18.
Then Hahler completely took over. He started the third quarter on a 6-0 run himself, and scored the Tigers first 10 points of the period as he continually got the ball under the basket. On the rare occasion that he missed a point-blank shot, he'd rebound it and score on a put-back.
"The third quarter we came out and played as a team, and decided to go back to what we're good at," Hahler said. "Pass the ball inside and see what that gets us."
What it got the Tigers was 12 third-quarter points and seven rebounds from Hahler. It also caused the Tigers' post to get more attention from the Senecas, which freed up more Tigers to score.
When Hahler popped in a short jumper just before the buzzer of the third, the Tigers capped a 21-8 scoring run, and took a 51-36 lead into the fourth.
"The bad thing was, Hahler scored, and we're not scoring," said Calvert coach Ted Willman. "Hahler by himself outscored us [in the third]. Our whole thing is communication. A lot of the stuff they were getting was a lack of communication on our guys' part."
Seneca East dominated the most of the final quarter, extending its lead to 30 (71-41) on a Nate Phillips layup with 2:28 left.
Hahler didn't even play the final four minutes of the period. Dylan Bordner (18 points) and Ethan Caudill (15) also scored in double digits for the Tigers (2-2, 1-1 Midland Athletic League).
Seneca East was 34 of 51 from the floor, mostly because of its high percentage opportunities.
"I just challenged them to do what they do every day in practice," Seneca East coach Joe Bedingfield said. "They did that."
Calvert (0-4, 0-2) was led by Brian Gruss, who had 11 points, and Jared Thompson, who had 10.
"We didn't knock shots down in that second half," Willman said. "Especially that third quarter. If we could score 14, 16 with them in that quarter, you're still there."
