By By MICHAEL BASHARA / Niles Daily Star
BRIDGMAN -- The No. 6-ranked Buchanan varsity basketball extended its winning streak to 8-0 by beating Bridgman in a close Lakeland Conference game 54-46 Friday night.
The game was close most of the way with Bridgman holding a lead for almost half the game.
Tony Robinson scored first on Buchanan's second possession when he put back his own rebound.
Bridgman's Corey Kuhn led all scorers with 24 points. Kuhn gave Bridgman a brief first period lead when he hit the first of his five 3-pointers.
Buchanan came out in a zone press, which allowed Kuhn to be open on the wing. He simply went to his spot and hit the shot. Kuhn had the first 19 points for Bridgman.
In the second half Buchanan switched to a man-to-man press, and the Bucks were able to keep Kuhn from scoring later in the game.
Buchanan led through most of the first and second quarters, but at 1:55 in the second period Bridgman took a 25-24 lead. The Bees didn't give the lead again until 4:22 remained in the final period when Jordan Lee hit two free throws to put Buchanan up 46-45. From that point on Buchanan never lost the lead.
Actually, Buchanan held Bridgman to three points in the final period on a field goal and a free throw.
With the score 47-46, Bridgman fell back into a tight 2-3 zone. Buchanan responded by holding the ball just across the half-court line. Almost two minute ran off the clock before any pressure was applied.
When asked about it, each coach spoke to the need to get a little rest on the court after working so hard.
Robinson led the Bucks with 18 points. He had an alley-oop dunk in the second quarter. Robinson played the whole game as did Gordon Bryant who finished with 14 points.
The junior varsity game was won by Bridgman, 54-51 in overtime. P.J. Pollock scored 24 for the Bucks.
The Buchanan freshmen also lost, 42-36. Terrell Tucker led the way with 12 points and True Sulier chipped in with nine points for the Bucks.
The Bucks host Cassopolis Tuesday night with the freshmen game starting at 4 p.m.
Buchanan….54
Bridgman….46
Buchanan: Jordan Lee 2 2-2 6, Brian Shannon 0 0-0 0, Kyle Tracy 2 0-0 6, Quinton Buish 2 1-2 5, Tony Robinson 7 3-4 18, DuJuan Bennett 2 1-2 5, Jacob Brown 0 0-0 0, Gordon Bryant 5 3-4 14, Zach Bonham 0 0-0 0. Totals: 20 10-14 54
Bridgman: Todd Henricks 0 0-0 0, Matt Haughey 0 1-2 1, Dan Kunde 2 0-0 4, Corey Kuhn 9 1-1 24, Tyler Weaver 6 0-0 13, Nate Lyman 1 2-5 4. Totals: 18 4-7 46
Buchanan 14 13 8 19--54
Bridgman 13 20 10 3--46
3-point shooting: Buchanan 4 (Tracy 2, Robinson, Bryant), Bridgman 6 (Kuhn 5, Weaver). Team fouls (fouled out): Buchanan14 (none), Bridgman 14 (Hendricks). Team records: Buchanan 8-0 (4-0 Lakeland), Bridgman 5-5 (2-3)