Cassopolis senior boys basketball player Brandon Glover couldn’t watch the award ceremony.

Glover had his jersey covering his face and was visibly dejected after the Rangers fell to New Buffalo, 67-60, in a Class C district final on Friday.

Glover scored 24 points and grabbed five rebounds for Cassopolis, which fell to New Buffalo for the second straight year in a district final. The Bison won 73-62 last year.

“The intensity,” Cassopolis coach Ricky Evans said about what decided the game. “(New Buffalo) came out to play in the first half. We just couldn’t get it together. We didn’t match their intensity.”

The Rangers took their last lead of the game at 8-5. The rest of the first half belonged to the Bison, who went into halftime with a 38-24 lead.

“That was our best half of basketball this year,” said New Buffalo coach Randy Mast. “We decided to play as a team and move the ball. We beat their press and got some easy shots. We also played pretty good defense out of our 2-3 zone. We usually don’t play zone that much.”

Poor shooting plagued the Rangers throughout the game. Cassopolis shot only 26 percent (19-of-73) from the field.

“We weren’t hitting,” Evans said. “Give credit to them. They played great defense with their zone. They held us in check.”

Pressure defense and rebounding helped the Rangers jump back into the game in the second half. Cassopolis forced 12 second-half turnovers and outrebounded New Buffalo, 26-13, in the second half.

A time-out by Evans also seemed to energize the Rangers. After talking to his team, Cassopolis went on a 9-0 run to pull within 42-37 with 2:59 left in the third quarter.

“I just wanted us to come out and play,” Evans said. “The game wasn’t over. I wanted us to bring the intensity and have more fire and get back in the game.”

New Buffalo still led by five points at the end of the third quarter. Deion Gatson’s 3-pointer with 10 seconds left cut the Bison lead to 51-46 to start the fourth quarter.

Cassopolis went the coldest from the field in the fourth quarter, missing 22 of its 27 shots, but the Rangers still found themselves down only 56-54 after getting 1-of-2 free throws from Matthew Pittman with 2:09 remaining.

New Buffalo then responded with an 11-3 run to seal the game.

Gatson finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Rangers, who finish at 16-7.

Evans praised Gatson and Glover after the game.

“Gutty,” the Rangers coach said about the duo. “They had the hot hand and we wanted to try to get them the ball.”

Cassopolis had to play to much of the game without 6-4 center Noah Woods, who had to sit after picking up his third foul with 3:01 left in the first quarter. Woods returned to start the second half and picked up his fourth foul with 6:22 left in the third. He returned with 7:01 left in the fourth and eventually fouled out with 3:24 left in the game.

“It was a big,” Evans said about the impact of not having Woods on the floor. “He’s our big man.”

Jarek Hotwagner scored 19 points and grabbed 18 rebounds to lead a balanced New Buffalo offense. Marques Artz added 14 points.

“I’m proud of everyone, especially our seniors,” Evans said. “I feel sorry for them. I wanted (a district title) for them and we came up short.”

 

NEW BUFFALO 67, CASSOPOLIS 60

New Bufalo 67

Marques Artz 14, Jarek Hotwagner 19, Zac Workman 9, John Paul Perez 8, Elisha Dryden 11, Travis Maddux 2, Rylee Fournier 2, Creo Brewster 0, Clayton Artz 2. TOTALS: 23 19-24 67

Cassopolis 60

Matthew Pittman 3, Bryce Saxton 5, Noah Woods 4, Deion Gatson 20, Brandon Glover 24, Isaiah Crider 1, Malik Ballard 3, Shane Los 0. TOTALS: 19 17-23 60

 

New Buffalo               18       38       51       67

Cassopolis                  11       24       46       60

3-point baskets: New Buffalo 2 (M. Artz), Cassopolis 5 (Glover 2, Saxton, Gatson, Ballard). Total fouls (fouled out): New Buffalo 17 (Dryden), Cassopolis 18 (Woods). Shooting: New Buffalo 23-of-47 for 49-percent, Cassopolis 19-of-73 for 26-percent. Rebounding: New Buffalo 33 (Hotwagner 18), Cassopolis 41 (Gatson 11). Turnovers: New Buffalo 21, Cassopolis 14. Varsity records: New Buffalo 15-7, Cassopolis 16-7