BUCYRUS - Carey came back from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter to win Friday's first game at Kish Gymnasium, and Wynford's sub-par free throw shooting in the fourth nearly allowed Mohawk to make its own comeback in the nightcap.

Instead, the Royals joined Carey as Division IV sectional champions after holding on for a 46-41 win over the Warriors. In the first game, the Blue Devils stumbled around for the better part of three quarters before getting in gear to pull out a 52-48 win over upset-minded Buckeye Central.

Carey (16-5) will play Lucas in the second game of Wednesday's district semifinals at Willard. Wynford will take a 14-7 record into its district matchup with New London.

Carey trailed 24-21 at halftime, and only that thanks to Bryce Orians' assist to Gary Chapman in the final seconds. The Blue Devils committed 13 turnovers in the first half, and Buckeye Central (10-12) scored no less than half its points off those miscues.

"This game went almost exactly as the first game did," Carey coach C.J. Kin said, referring to a 63-60 overtime win in late December. "We were at our place, and we had 21 turnovers that night."

"Bryce Orians, our sophomore point guard, I think he had tournament jitters tonight. That's not how he usually plays. That was the big key [in the second half], not turning the ball over, and we were able to get the ball to Mike [Dennis]."

In the fourth quarter, Carey committed two turnovers in the first minute, then made all seven of its shots from the field and sank 9 of 10 free throws.

Before that, Buckeye Central had scored the final eight points of the third, starting with Tyler Erwin's off-line but banked-in 3-pointer from the wing, to take a 35-27 lead into the fourth. Erwin then got a backcourt steal for a layup and Josh Kintz turned another Carey cough-up into a basket for a 39-27 lead with 7:04 mark.

The Blue Devil comeback started in earnest when Steven Vaughn sank a 3-ball to make it 40-32. Dennis, playing with four fouls after being whistled in a double-foul, added four points and Cy Strahm added four free throws in the comeback, and the Bucks helped by getting called for two charges.

A long Vaughn trey from the right side pulled the Blue Devils within 46-45 at the 3:19 mark, and Strahm drove the baseline to tie things at 47 with 2:40 remaining.

Buckeye Central then burned a minute off the clock before Carey fouled Elliott Kreim, but Kreim managed just a split at the line.

At the other end, Orians appeared to be in a jam on the wing, but he pivoted and found Mason Tong open on the block for the go-ahead basket with 1:23 left. Vaughn then rebounded a Kreim miss and eventually got fouled with 14.9 seconds left.

Vaughn split the pair, and after BC called timeout Kreim tried to pop one in the lane over Dennis but was offline. Dennis rebounded and sank two more foul shots to ice the sectional title.

"(Kreim) is a quite a matchup problem," Kin said, "but I think we made him work for everything he got."

Dennis had game-highs of 20 points and eight rebounds, and Vaughn (10 points) also reached double figures. Strahm and Chapman added eight points apiece, with all of Chapman's coming in the second period.

Erwin's 15 points and four steals and Kreim's 13 points led the Bucks.

"What makes it so tough is we did everything we needed to do," BC coach Phil Loy said. "Down the stretch, on both ends of the floor, I thought we got a little impatient. ... We never really executed offensively down the stretch."

While Carey was on the mark in the final period, Wynford made just 4 of 13 freebies down the stretch. But the Royals' offensive rebounding, something that carried them early on, showed again as John Lower's putback of a missed foul shot gave them a three -point lead with 10 seconds left.

Mohawk, which bowed out at 8-14, had lost 60-39 to Wynford in the season's first weekend.

"I don't know if I've been disappointed in the effort all year," Mohawk coach Brent Konkle said. "Sometimes I've been disappointed in the execution, but never the effort."

The aforementioned rebound, which was tipped before Lower snared it and scored, could be filed under execution.

"You've gotta work, and you've gotta desire it," Konkle said. "That's everything right there, that rebound."

Mohawk tried an ultra-patient approach in the first quarter to Wynford's physical advantage, but two turnovers and four Wynford offensive boards foiled that strategy. Kentucky football recruit Tyler Brause had two putbacks in the period and scored off a lob from Seth Rall to give the Royals an 11-4 lead at the first stop.

"That's what we talked about, that if they're gonna play zone, our wings and posts have to crash the glass, because it's hard to check out," Wynford coach Tim Ehresman said of his team's offensive rebounding.

The margin grew to 15-4 before the Warriors slowly chipped away. Aaron Konkle started the comeback with a 3-pointer, and his two free throws and steal for a layup made it 24-19 for halftime. At the end of the third, his theft and assist to Zach Keller cut the deficit to 34-28.

"Aaron had a great game, and that's not just because he's my son," coach Konkle said. "His best game of the year."

Konkle the player (16 points, 5 assists, 4 steals) scored again and assisted Cody Baker's basket as Mohawk got within 36-34 early in the fourth. Wynford stretched its lead to six but made just two foul shots out of seven tries, including the front end of all three 1-and-1 chances, allowing Mohawk to pull within 42-39 on Konkle's trey with 59 seconds showing.

Chris Brown then missed a pair of foul shots for Wynford, and Konkle scored in the paint to make it a one-point game with 34 ticks left.

"Those are the things you expect to do; you expect to make free throws," Ehresman said. "It's a contagious thing, I think. You just have to take a deep breath."

Brause missed a pair with 12.8 showing but was bailed out by Lower's clutch play, and Brause finally sank two after rebounding a missed 3-pointer at the other end.

Brause finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds to pace Wynford, and Baker added 12 points and five rebounds for Mohawk.