GIRARD — In 2018, the East High football team hosted the Girard Indians. The Golden Bears overcame a 21-point deficit and had a chance to put the game away in the final minute, but instead saw the Indians end their season, 34-30, which started a run to the Division IV state championship game.

Current East coach, Kevin Cylar, was on that staff and was reminded of that game during the National Anthem.

“I was looking up at the 2018 state runner-up (sign),” Cylar said. “I looked at my son (Zane). He was the quarterback that season. He got hurt. He came from Liberty, so he had been playing against Girard all his life. He was confident, but he didn’t get a chance to play in that game. In my mind, I was like, Zane, this one is for you. We are going to make sure we handle this tonight.”

Cylar’s prophecy rang true as 10th-seeded East led wire-to-wire for the first time all season as they upset the seventh-seeded Indians, 58-49.

The Golden Bears (6-17) play at Struthers on Friday at 7 p.m., in a Division II sectional bracket final.

East couldn’t have asked for a better beginning in Tuesday’s matchup as they outscored Girard 13-4 in the opening quarter with four players scoring while holding the Indians (9-15) to 1-of-7 shooting.

“We just got off to a bad start,” Girard coach Craig Hannon said. “Tournament nerves and their athleticism bothered us. There was some stuff they did that we thought we were ready for, but they just bothered us. Their start put them out to a big lead, and we couldn’t recover.”

East was led by John Clay’s 14 points, while Ramere Bledsoe added a 10-point, 13-rebound double-double.

The Golden Bears dominated the boards, with a 38-21 advantage.

“I give them all the credit,” Hannon said. “We give them credit. They played hard. They got after us. They were involved for 32 minutes. They’ll be a tough out because of how they play. We knew Xavior (Leonard) wasn’t playing. We felt that would help us on the glass. It didn’t. They still hurt us on the glass.”

Everything ran perfectly for East in the first half as they held a 29-19 lead at the half, which Cylar felt was from his assistant coaches and a scouting report from assistant Jason Ray that provided the necessary spark.

“I have to talk about my assistant coaches: Dan Turner, Claude Bently Jr., son of a legend, Jason Ray, these guys help me out so much,” Cylar said. “To come in here and get the first tournament win in seven years at East High is big. It’s not just big for our team to advance, it’s big for the student body, to feel they can accomplish something against a school that does it the right way. That’s what I’m mostly proud of. That’s the story right there.”

East extended its lead to 34-19 with 6:28 left in the third quarter. The Golden Bears have had problems closing out games, and the Indians had Christian Graziano, who scored 34 points in the matchup against East back in December.

He finished with a game-high 21 points Tuesday night.

“In my opinion, and I’m biased, he was the player of the year in the conference,” Hannon said. “I think about all the pieces from last year we lost. The young guys that we’re playing. Without him, I don’t know where we are. I think a lot of people would agree. He’s meant everything to the program. He’s a great kid. I’m really going to miss him.”

So, heading into the final quarter with East up 44-34, the Indians started to chip away at the East lead and got within three after a Thomas Cardiera 3-pointer.

“They gave me their effort all year,” Hannon said. “I didn’t think they’d quit.”

Though, unlike some past defeats, the Golden Bears rallied and closed out the game at the line during the final two minutes.

“We understand basketball is a game of runs,” Cylar said. “We’ve played a tough schedule this year, so we’ve seen it all. I think playing that schedule prepared us tonight. We have a bunch of tough boys. They came out and showed it tonight. It wasn’t pretty, but any game you can win in the tournament, you have to take it. Hats off to Girard. They played well. We did enough to win. My assistant Jason Ray, he had a hell of a scouting repot. He documented every single thing they do. All we had to do was follow that game plan.”