NEW CARLISLE — After a bad end in its season opener against Troy on Friday, Sidney played its best in the fourth quarter of a nonconference game on Tuesday.

The Yellow Jackets outscored Tecumseh by 11 points in the fourth to run away to a 55-39 victory at Reynolds Gymnasium.

Sidney junior guard A’Zon Steele scored 11 of his game-high 22 points in the fourth to help the Yellow Jackets (1-1) secure the win. Julius Spradling scored 15 points, eight of which came in the second half.

“Really pleased with the way we finished,” Sidney coach John Willoughby said. “It’s the first time we’ve seen a zone, and we haven’t practiced much against it yet. …They’re aggressive, they run all over the place and if you’re not strong with passes and sharp with your cuts, they cause you some trouble.

“It was nice to see us pull away when they tried to pick us up full court.”

Tecumseh sophomore guard Chase Stafford hit a 3 late in the third quarter to pull the squad within 29-27, but Steele hit a 3 from the right corner in the final minute to boost Sidney’s lead to five points.

The teams traded points to a 36-31 score in the fourth quarter before Sidney went on a 12-1 run to pull away. Jayce Daniel and Mitchell Davis made baskets during the run along with Steele, and Spradling made a pair of free throws.

“A lot of people played well,” Willoughby said. “A’Zon was on fire. Mitchell played pretty well inside.”

Stafford led Tecumseh (0-2) with 19 points. He led the squad with 15 points in a 58-38 loss to Oakwood on Friday.

“We were concentrating on him. You have to, because he can light it up,” Willoughby said. “He scored four points in the last minute or so, but otherwise, we did a pretty good job.

“They take a lot of long shots; the rebounds were ricocheting and we weren’t quite ready. They were almost hitting us in the face. I think we did better as the game wore on.

“When Tucker (Herron) came in, he helped. He didn’t play a lot of minutes, but he kind of got the aggression going on the boards, and Ethan New and Mitchell at the end ripped some of those rebounds down.”

Daniel scored eight points and Davis added seven.

Sidney will resume Miami Valley League play on Thursday at Xenia; the Buccaneers lost 44-43 on a buzzer-beater at Piqua in their opener on Friday.

Thursday’s game was originally scheduled for this Friday but was moved back due to a wrestling tournament. Xenia and Sidney’s girls varsity squads will play at 6 p.m., and the boys will play after.

The Yellow Jackets haven’t won at Xenia since the 2020-21 season; a 67-55 loss two years ago was one of only two league losses during an MVL championship run.

“It’s always unique going to Xenia,” Willoughby said. “To do it on a Thursday is real different. We’ll get ready tomorrow. That’s the biggest thing, trying to get ready so quickly. I know some of their players are back, but their new players, I don’t know much about. Hopefully we can learn on the fly and adjust.”

Steele made two 3’s and Spradling made one to help Sidney take a 9-4 lead early in the first quarter. But Tecumseh closed the gap to 13-10 by the end of the quarter and later tied it 18-18 in the second.

Daniel made a put-back and Davis made a dunk in the final 70 seconds of the second quarter to give Sidney a four-point lead at halftime.

“We were good at the beginning, but they have active hands, and that bothered us a little bit,” Willoughby said. “We weren’t thinking enough and made some lazy passes. The two games so far, our turnovers have been critical. We’ve got to get better at that. …They’re coming in critical situations, back-to-back turnovers when we have a lead, and it lets a team right back in.”

Sidney led the entire second half. The Arrows stayed close, though, until Sidney’s 12-1 run.

The Yellow Jackets hit 6-of-8 free throws in the fourth quarter; they finished 12 for 14 from the free-throw line.

Reach Bryant Billing at 937-538-4818, or follow @SidneyOHSports on Twitter and @BryantBillingSDN on Facebook.