Brandywine roll to 65-47 win over Buchanan

Published 8:00 am Saturday, December 10, 2016

By Erika Pickles

It wasn’t the team-effort Buchanan coach Reid McBeth was hoping for in his season opening game against host Brandywine Friday evening.

On the other hand, it was the team effort Bobcat head coach Nate Knapp was hoping for in his team’s home opener as Brandywine ran away with a 65-47 BCS Athletic Conference Red Division victory in boys’ basketball action.

The game started on a positive note for Buchanan as senior Andrew McQuirt nailed back-to-back 3-point shots to open the scoring. Another bucket from Kenny Gathright pushed the Bucks to an 8-2 lead only three minutes into play.

But just as fast as it took the lead, Buchanan watched that gap dwindle when its defense faded and the little amount of teamwork present quickly fell apart.

“We need to learn how to play team basketball. We haven’t figured that out yet,” McBeth said.

Brandywine got 3-point baskets from Dalton Knapp, Brady Duval and Hunter Slaughter in the first, which targeted a fairly comfortable shooting game for the remainder of the contest.

The Bobcats took a 13-10 lead after the first quarter, and a 26-16 lead heading into halftime.
“They jumped to that 8-2 lead, but our guys buckled down after that. We played great defense and we knew what was at task. We had some great open shots and we hit them when we needed,” Knapp said of his team’s first half performance.

The first two free throw shots of the game didn’t come until the 6:02 mark of the third period when Buchanan’s McQuirt went 2-for-2, adding to his game-high 25 points. Unfortunately for the Bucks, the Bobcats were already on their way to extending their lead, and went ahead as much as 20 points midway through the third period, ending the third with a 45-29 advantage.

The frustration from a struggling Buchanan team was evident in the fourth, where the team was nailed with three technical fouls. One fan was ejected from the game, and senior Dalton Riddle received stiches at the hospital after taking an elbow to the side of his face. Both teams spent over two minutes in the fourth period at the free throw line before the Bobcats walked away with the win.

“Until we learn (how to play as a team) we’re going to be pretty bad. We don’t want to play defense and we don’t move the basketball and we don’t want to share it. Until we fix that, we will be bad all year,” McBeth said.

McQuirt was the only Buchanan player to score double digits for the Bucks.

For Brandywine, Jaden Croom led the way with 14 points. Slaughter added 12 and Duval rounded out the top scoring with 11.

“We help each other out. I teach the kids it’s not the one-on-one. It’s the unit, the defensive unit. As long as we keep that in mind and keep working on that we should continue to improve and do well,” Knapp said.
Brandywine’s next stop is Friday when it hosts Bridgman in a key Red Division contest. Buchanan will travel to Covert Monday for a reschedule game. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.

 

BRANDYWINE 65, BUCHANAN 47

At Brandywine

BUCHANAN 47

Ahmad Thompson 2 0-0 4, Kenny Gathright 1 0-0 2, Austin Taylor 1 0-0 2, Andrew McGuirt 8 6-6 25, Chad Adkerson 1 3-6 5, Dalton Riddle 1 0-0 2, Hunter Goodrich 1 3-8 5, Josh Reed 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 16 12-20 47.

BRANDYWINE 65

Hunter Slaughter 4 3-4 12, JeRod Glenn 0 1-4 1, Dalton Knapp 2 0-0 5, Brady Duval 4 0-0 11, Jaden Croom 6 2-5 14, Vinny Peel 2 2-2 6, Scott Miller 3 0-0 7, Nathan Kemp 4 0-1 9. TOTALS: 25 8-16 65.

 

Buchanan                   10       16       29       47

Brandywine               13       26       45       65

3-point baskets: Brandywine 7 (Duval 3, S. Miller 1, Kemp 1, Slaughter 1, D. Knapp 1) Buchanan 3 (McGuirt 3). Total fouls: Brandywine 16, Buchanan 17. Varsity records: Buchanan 0-1, 0-1 Red; Brandywine 2-0, 1-0 Red. JV score: Buchanan 54, Brandywine 51. Freshmen score: Buchanan 70, Brandywine 37.

 

 

 

 

More Brandywine HS

Daily Data: Saturday, Dec. 14

Brandywine hoops teams sweep Dowagiac

Daily Data: Wednesday, Dec.11

Schoolcraft’s size, perimeter shooting too much for Brandywine in 60-21 loss

Print Article

SportsPlus